Phoenix marks the spot for western rainstorms, snow over next few days

PHOENIX — If you recently washed your car, you are going to have to do it again soon: a couple of rainstorms are coming right at the Valley before the weekend.

At least two rainstorms will be rolling through Arizona, and at times the rain and snow could be heavy.

The National Weather Service was predicting rain would start falling Thursday in metro Phoenix and get particularly heavy over the weekend.

Wet weather ahead. Rain on Thu followed by heavier rain Fri & Fri night. Winter Storm Watch for above 5500' thru Sat morning. #azwx pic.twitter.com/t6Au5BnZTb

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) January 18, 2017

All that wet weather will make plenty of snow in Flagstaff and other higher-elevation parts of the state.

Flagstaff typically has 18 inches of snow in January; as of now, the city could end up with 19-24 inches over the next few days.

The weather service said the first storm would bring moderate to heavy snow Thursday night through Friday morning at the 6,500-foot level but drop to 5,000 feet by Friday.

“These (storms) are being driven by what we call the ‘polar jet,’ ” Benjamin Peterson of the weather service said.

A second storm was expected to hit harder and drop the snow level to perhaps 4,500 feet by Saturday.

550AM – A series of winter storms will arrive in Arizona starting on Thursday. Be prepared, be safe. #azwx pic.twitter.com/aMksHtwIEN

— NWS Flagstaff (@NWSFlagstaff) January 18, 2017

If amateur weather watchers were betting that it’s been wetter than usual the past 30 days or so, they’d be right.

From mid-December to Jan. 15, rainfall totals were just above last year’s numbers for the same time frame. The 1.18 inches is the most for that stretch in a dozen years.

How wet has #Phoenix been lately? Here’s a comparison of the dates of Dec 15 thru Jan 16 for recent years since 2004/2005. #azwx pic.twitter.com/0Pnw12wHSh

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) January 17, 2017

KTAR News’ Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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