Hard wind whips through Phoenix, Flagstaff gets storm full of snow

PHOENIX — A fast-moving storm packed a punch Sunday night, but it wasn’t much of a rainmaker in most of Arizona.

Flagstaff, however, was a snow magnet. Enough fell overnight that schools were closed. Schools in Blue Ridge, Chino Valley, Payson and Prescott were under two-hour delays. Drivers faced whiteout conditions on Interstates 17 and 40. There were reports of vehicles sliding off the roads.

Hard winds pushed the snow sideways.

Our first look at I-17 about 6 miles south of Flagstaff. Very snowy. pic.twitter.com/SzDcEAD1km

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) February 1, 2016

More snow was expected all day.

Here's the initial snowfall reports around N. Arizona as of 845 AM MST – we'll have more coming soon! #azwx pic.twitter.com/FiFFUlK74I

— NWS Flagstaff (@NWSFlagstaff) February 1, 2016

Flagstaff was expected to get 5 to 9 inches, Payson 2 to 4 inches, Prescott 3 to 5 inches and Sedona 1 to 3 inches.

Snow was falling south, as well.

This is from the Elgin, Canelo area this morning. Beginning to look like a winter wonderland. #azwx pic.twitter.com/FjBr6Qlt8i

— NWS Tucson (@NWSTucson) February 1, 2016

Despite the strong winds in the Valley, with gusts up to 50 mph, Monday dawned with little damage done.

Chris Kuhlman with the National Weather Service said thunderstorms kicked off strong winds then added some rain.

Here is a look at some rainfall amounts in the Phoenix and surrounding area. #azwx pic.twitter.com/Gqkx5t1l8a

— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) February 1, 2016

“Gusting up to 40 miles per hour and then the strong cold front went through late in the evening,” Kuhlman said. “The rainfall was generally around a tenth of an inch in the areas that didn’t see thunderstorms.”

Fountain Hills saw up to a half-inch of rain, he said.

KTAR’s Detour Dan was busy Monday morning watching weather happen all around the Valley.

Just flew through some snow in Chandler, but check out this precip in Apache Junction, pic.twitter.com/yMHKrM2moo

— Detour Dan (@DetourDanKTAR) February 1, 2016

Kuhlman added light showers locally could fall later Monday morning.

The first 40 miles down the hill from Flagstaff to Sedona will be slippery. South of there, no issues on I-17. https://t.co/tw8CSMGTjU

— Arizona DOT (@ArizonaDOT) February 1, 2016

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

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