HikeArizona.COM

The endless chatter of weather.

These recent Pineapple Express storms have been nice with the rain and all, and Arizona has done pretty well, but the High Sierra has a noticeable gap in it for precipitation, and the snow line here has been very high. The models are not showing a lot for AZ with this next storm, but more rain would probably be great for the desert. Still, it looks like the last 2, with not much for the High Sierra, and nothing impressive for AZ. I'd like to get an old fashioned strong, cold, and snowy storm that comes down the coast and moves over southern California. That seems to be the good track for snow and totals over AZ. Still, Tucson and much of the desert has done really well with rain this month, as has Flagstaff, but some snow might be nice.

Interesting storm. Drive into Peralta TH Saturday morning was slick and wet. Creeks in the Supes not as swollen as expected, though. Camped near Marsh Valley and didn't get any rain in the evening, though Sunday morning found out some people camped about a mile upstream in LaBarge got hail. Weird.

@Joel Hazelton
That's the Supes

The General Store on Mount Lemmon in Sunmerhaven reported 10 inches of snow last night around 930. Mount Lemmon got far more than the Peaks.

19" at A Basin in the last 24 hours, 16" at Breck and 6" at the house.

Well, that is good! I bet the resort goers are loving it.

Looks like a dry cold front from the NE for Arizona today, likely dry for the rest of the year, too. Hopefully, a strong, moist and cold low comes down from the Gulf of Alaska, tracks off the California coast like the best ones do, moves in over southern California, and tracks over Arizona, and proceeds to drop lots of snow and rain in the usual places, sometime after the New Years, as so far, the snow situation this year is less than stellar, not just for AZ, but also the Sierra. All the rain is good, but, you know....

9" more at A basin and 13" at Breck. I know where I'm going this week.

So this cold Great Basin tracking low will be mostly an Arizona Snow maker, from the model forecasts. Forecasts for snow levels down to 2,000', which is below most of Tucson's elevation. Should be interesting to see, except I'll be driving back north on Thursday.

I've noted that the California snowpack is really low, and the storm tracks are less than stellar, despite the early Pine Apple Expresses. I think, unless the winter turns, the drought continues and may worsen, for the water users in the Golden State. The mountains don't care, as there are lakes in the Sierra Nevada today, that have tree stumps in them and scientists believe they grew during a massive drought abut 800 years ago, so it has likely been way drier, in California.

Hoping for about a foot of powder at GRCA on Wednesday!

-12 F for a low tonight more snow mañana.

@MtnBart01
I say you are right where you ought to be. Every time I consider moving to CO to some non-mountain town, I consider the winter cold, and shutter!

http://www.pstramway.com/long-valley-cam.html

Looks like about a foot on San Jacinto in the current webcam image, and clear blue sky here in Tucson!

I think I'll slip in a quick Blackett Ridge hike and cross over 300,000' for the year.

Snow down at Phantom today. More of a dusting it looks like.

Brrrr! Well, it has started to rain in Tucson, and I am going to go to the hot tub to relax some of the final minutes of the year away.

I saw snow on the coastal mountains at Camp Pendleton. I heard it snowed for the first time since 1948 in Bullhead City. Same source told me it snowed at Lake Havasu and also in Needles, where I currently live. I'm in Oceanside at the moment. I will go back out and see what I can see pretty soon, now that the clouds have started disappearing.

6" at my place in Payson so far and its still snowing. Snow earlier was a dry snow and now its a wet snow which made a nicer snowman. Need to ice up my shoulder, threw to many snow balls.

Good snow at GRCA - hard to say exactly how much since it was blowing around so much, but at least 6 inches ... supposed to continue overnight, too. It's awesome!

Rain changed to snow at my house just before 10 pm. Nearing half inch of precip for the day.

@rwstormFlakes mixing with drops here at 1187 feet. Gonna be a chilly walk home

There are some impressive rain and snow totals from around Tucson, and Flagstaff, too. East valley Tucson and Phoenix) have some 1/4 inch reports. I am pleased with the rain totals around Tucson, especially the western and northern end, where 4/10 to 6/10th of rain were widespread. Should be good for flowers!

No reports from Mount Lemmon, yet, but Snowbowl reports 13 inches, and Flagstaff and surrounding areas report over a foot. Looks like that area was the big dump, as the Rim totals I have seen are not as impressive. Could be old data,though. Either way, the snow wasn't too dry, as Flagstaff reports 84/100ths of an inch of liquid, so it may have been a dense snow. That is great for the Peaks backcountry, if you watch that sort of thing, if the density was the same.