Winter weather advisory in Flagstaff to last until Monday evening

PHOENIX – Snowfall totals continue to pile up in Arizona’s high country and create hazardous driving conditions that shut down roads to start the workweek.

A winter weather advisory was in effect for Flagstaff on Monday until 5 p.m., the National Weather Service said, and stretches of northbound Interstate 17 were closed because of snowy and icy road conditions for hours.

The weather had shut down I-17 between Cordes Lakes and Camp Verde (mileposts 263 and 282) until around 9:30 a.m. Cordes Lakes is about 67 miles north of Phoenix.

“The snow levels are pretty low – there have been pictures of snow in the Cottonwood area,” meteorologist Jeremy Mazon told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

Northbound State Route 87 at milepost 254 in Payson, SR 64 from mileposts 242 to 265 near the Grand Canyon and SR 260 between Camp Verde and SR 87 were also closed for varying lengths.

“With these very cold temperatures, all this precipitation is falling as snow – the roads are very slick. There have been several reports of vehicle accidents along I-17 … especially northbound heading to Flagstaff,” Mazon said.

2am: Snow continues across north-central AZ early this morning. Roads are snow-packed and slow.

Snow is falling down to Sedona, Rimrock area, and even Cottonwood.

Webcams: I-17 near Flag, SR89A in Sedona, I-17 McGuireville and SR260 in Cottonwood #azwx pic.twitter.com/Q4I31JMGYp

— NWS Flagstaff (@NWSFlagstaff) January 23, 2023

About 2.5 inches of snow fell Monday morning in Flagstaff, the weather service said, adding to significant snowfall amounts for January.

As of noon, the city had 60.4 inches of snow for the month, the third highest amount on record for a January, behind only 104.8 inches in 1949 and 63.4 inches in 1980.

Flagstaff averages about 21 inches in January.

Forecast for the remainder of the week was sunny and cold but mostly clear.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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