Northern Arizona to get snow, Phoenix rain for Christmas

PHOENIX — The Bing Crosby classic “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas” is turning into an accurate holiday weather forecast for some parts of Arizona.

Darren McCollum with the National Weather Service in Flagstaff said the northern part of the state should wake up to snow on Sunday because of a cold front moving in from the Pacific Ocean.

“The Kaibab Plateau, Grand Canyon and White Mountains will see snow,” he said.

The weather service estimated Flagstaff will receive up to a foot of now, while nearby Williams could receive nearly 18 inches.

The cold front will also send temperatures plunging in Flagstaff nearly 20 degrees by Sunday. The high on Christmas Day is expected to be a brisk 31 degrees and the low should be about 15.

The incoming winter weather could prove an issue for some Phoenix residents looking to head north over the long weekend.

“This (the weather) will affect holiday travel, especially if the snow level goes lower on Saturday night,” McCollum said. “The question is how low will it go.”

Those Phoenicians heading north will likely leave some chilly rainstorms behind. The National Weather Service is calling for two rounds of the wet stuff before Sunday.

The agency said there is an 80 percent chance of showers between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, with up to a half-inch possible in some locations.

The rain will move out of town Thursday evening, but it will likely return Saturday morning, when there is a 70 percent chance of showers. Another half-inch is possible.

Rain chances dwindle to 10 percent on Sunday.

High temperatures are expected to drop to 57 degrees by Christmas morning, with lows slipping into the low 40s.

KTAR’s Jim Cross contributed to this report.

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