Rain, snow comes to Arizona, nearly halts all travel to high country

PHOENIX — A powerful storm system brought large amounts of rain across the Valley on Friday, while Arizona’s high country was plummeted with snow.

635pm: Another round of steady rain into Phoenix around 7pm. Then a 2nd bout of moderate rain, gusty winds w/ the cold front 9-10pm #azwx pic.twitter.com/N1MtdHi7es

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) January 21, 2017

Rain totals have reached as high as 1-inch in some places, Maricopa County’s Flood Warning Branch tweeted out Friday night.

6-hr rain totals arnd the County. Lots of values above 0.50" & even a few above 1.00" up north. More to come! #azwx https://t.co/k2pFKrJe9t pic.twitter.com/GOhM8MJm35

— FCDMC Flood Info (@FCDFloodInfo) January 21, 2017

Arizona Department of Transportation officials tweeted that Thursday’s storm was “just a dress rehearsal,” since the strongest storms were expected to hit the Valley on Friday and stick around through Saturday afternoon.

NOW: It's officially raining cats and dogs in the Valley. Slow your roll, folks. #PhxTraffic pic.twitter.com/AalCMAL21d

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) January 20, 2017

While the Valley was hit with some wet weather Friday afternoon, it was Flagstaff and other parts of northern Arizona that were completely halted by snow storms.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety warned against traveling to northern Arizona late Friday afternoon, shortly after Northern Arizona University announced that all classes after 2 p.m. were cancelled for the day.

DPS discouraging all travel to Northern Arizona as a powerful storm moves in. pic.twitter.com/PRQcA9aE7N

— Dept. Public Safety (@Arizona_DPS) January 20, 2017

Arizona Snowbowl officials tweeted that the first storm brought 22 inches of snow to the area, while the next round of storms could bring as much as 18 inches of snowfall by Saturday.

First storm delivered a total of 22" of #snow. Two more systems are headed our way with up to 2 feet possible! https://t.co/NzJI3Du3nA pic.twitter.com/4lQKKsRnpm

— Arizona Snowbowl (@AZSnowbowl) January 20, 2017

The city of Strawberry, Arizona, saw at least 10 inches of snow by Friday night — with more to come.

10" and counting. pic.twitter.com/owlseShe8m

— Strawberry, AZ 🍓 (@strawberry_az) January 21, 2017

The National Forest Service has closed all roads that lead to the Four Peaks and Mount Ord recreation areas in the Tonto National Forest northeast of Phoenix, due to snow and bad conditions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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