Freezing cold, rain to revisit Phoenix, big snowfall to hit northern Arizona

PHOENIX – It’s going to be freezing cold again by early Wednesday in metro Phoenix but that is nothing compared to what is expected to happen in northern Arizona.

A freeze warning was put into effect in the Valley starting at 11 p.m. Tuesday and lasting until 9 a.m. Wednesday. The temperature low was anticipated to drop to 33 degrees during those hours and rain is on its way later in the week.

That is still outdoor weather compared with Flagstaff and other spots in northern Arizona, where a storm that produced heavy snowfall over the weekend should continue to produce snow showers through Thursday, according to weather experts.

“This is a very potent storm,” National Weather Service meteorologist Robert Rickey told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Tuesday.

His Flagstaff bureau was predicting the storm would move through northern Arizona on Thursday and Friday and leave behind 2 feet of snow in Flagstaff and nearly 3 feet in Payson.

“We haven’t had storms this big in the last couple of years,” Rickey said.

Bundle up and protect your plants and pipes. Freezing conditions are expected across much of the lower deserts including the Phoenix area tonight through Wednesday morning. #azwx #cawx pic.twitter.com/8ZVDQlqiiJ

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) February 19, 2019

Here’s your 7-day forecast via @IrisABC15, Arizona’s most accurate forecast. Tune in to @AZMorningNews for the latest weather news: https://t.co/yZGKw0g8ON pic.twitter.com/wVkfAZoI6T

— KTAR News 92.3 (@KTAR923) February 19, 2019

5:45 AM MST – Winter Storm Watches have been issued for all of northern Arizona beginning early Thursday and continuing through Friday afternoon. Now is the time to prepare for what will be the biggest winter storm of the season so far! #azwx pic.twitter.com/3FvMcyzEfy

— NWS Flagstaff (@NWSFlagstaff) February 19, 2019

Travel conditions in northern Arizona were expected to be “really difficult” in northern Arizona through Friday.

“If people need to travel, they should get that out of the way (Wednesday) because travel is going to be very difficult and in some cases just impossible,” Arizona Department of Transportation spokesman Garin Groff told KTAR News on Wednesday.

The snow will bring a high of 27 degrees with a low of 3 in Flagstaff.

“What we really hope we don’t get is a warm storm that comes along and dumps warm rain on top of it because it tends to melt it out really quickly and then we end up with a lot of runoff and flooding,” Nancy Selover, an Arizona State University climatologist, said.

Phoenix will enjoy sunshine with its 55-degree highs for the next couple of days, but a 20 percent chance of rain jumps to 90 percent by Thursday. A little more rain could fall Friday.

KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Jim Cross and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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