Rain, wind hit Phoenix area; snow forces road closures in northern Arizona
Dec 24, 2016, 12:38 PM | Updated: Dec 25, 2016, 12:49 pm
PHOENIX — Rain was in the forecast for Saturday, but wind gusts and a dust storm warning hit the Phoenix area along with the expected wet weather.
The National Weather service issued a blowing dust advisory on Interstate 10 between Phoenix and Casa Grande until 2 p.m. Gusts in Casa Grande reached 41 mph, while the Valley began seeing higher winds clocked at 24-25 mph in Mesa and Phoenix.
The West Valley was first to get rain.
The storm hit hardest near New River, where rainfall totals were measured at 0.75 inches. South of Goodyear saw 0.55 inches of rain while much of the Phoenix metro area only saw from 0.08 inches to 0.35
Meanwhile, up north, a 200-mile stretch of Interstate 40 from the California border to Flagstaff was making travel difficult due to rain and snow. Eastbound I-40 was closed going both directions from mile-post 146 to 195.
The I-40 was filled with snow and ice Sunday morning.
I-40 near Ash Fork. Snow and ice and stalled traffic. #aztraffic #azwx pic.twitter.com/1NLiSaSiZd
— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) December 25, 2016
Interstate 17 was closed for an hour near Sedona due to a crash.
A crash closed 89A north of Prescott Valley due to a crash as well.
High winds hurt visibility. They also forced Snow Bowl to close at 2:30 p.m.
As of Sunday morning, snowfall totals showed 12.1 inches of snow at the Flagstaff airport and 7 inches in Prescott. There were reports of snow in lower elevations around the state such as Sedona and Oracle.
Authorities are advising travelers to be prepared for the poor and potentially hazardous driving conditions due to the blowing dust southeast of the Valley and in northern Arizona along I-40 due to snow.
Travelers are being advised to avoid travel if they can but to take water, food, warm clothes and other supplies if they must hit the road.
A winter storm warning was issued for much of northern Arizona for elevations above 6,000 feet until late Saturday or early Sunday morning, depending on locations.
Numerous motorists are getting stuck on I-17 south of Munds Park near Shoeman Lake. Please avoid area. @Arizona_DPS @ArizonaDOT pic.twitter.com/qexCBsLFDC
— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) December 25, 2016
Moving west to east, the heavy rain began to hit lower elevations of western Arizona and areas of the I-10.
North of the Phoenix area, the storm expected to bring heavy rain to the Valley was already producing heavy amounts of snow.
Peach Springs was one of the first towns to see white covering their roads. I-40 west of Flagstaff, and between Kingman and Seligman, also saw snow begin to stick. Traffic was slowed because of the inclement weather.
Prescott began seeing snowfall around 1 p.m.
