HikeArizona.COM

The endless chatter of weather.

It's a bone chilling 59 degrees at my house north of Tucson this morning. Going on almost 48 hours without my air conditioner on, though I was tempted for about an hour yesterday afternoon. Then the clouds rolled in and the temps dropped again. Turning into a rather pleasant October so far.

Arizona is set to experience the first "winter-type" storm system of the season over the weekend. While snow has fallen over the highest elevations a few times over the past month or so, the forecast suggests accumulating snow is possible even below 7000 feet by Monday morning. Time to wax my snowshoes!

Delightful temps in the wake of the weekend storm system ... Tucson notched the coldest high temperature for Oct 24 in the 127 years of official records with just 67 degrees. I even wore a long-sleeved shirt for a few minutes yesterday morning!

It was 42 degrees yesterday when I walked my dog and at least ten degrees cooler when I walked through the two big washes that bisect my subdivision. Had me scrambling around looking for my winter clothes before I went walking.

SpiderLegs wrote:It was 42 degrees yesterday when I walked my dog and at least ten degrees cooler when I walked through the two big washes that bisect my subdivision.

The low last night in NW NJ was 60. The last couple weeks have been unseasonably warm.

big_load wrote:The low last night in NW NJ was 60. The last couple weeks have been unseasonably warm.

Now it's in the books for real. According to WNBC, of the 12 days so far in November, Newark has had 9 record highs. The low last night at my place was 63. The highs next week are forecast to as much as 40 degrees lower than last week.

big_load wrote: ↑Nov 12 2022 5:48 pm

big_load wrote:The low last night in NW NJ was 60. The last couple weeks have been unseasonably warm.

Now it's in the books for real. According to WNBC, of the 12 days so far in November, Newark has had 9 record highs. The low last night at my place was 63. The highs next week are forecast to as much as 40 degrees lower than last week.

After highs in the 70s all last week, it's it's snowing here now, up to 1.5" just a few miles up the road. The weather must have finally noticed the calendar.

There were mid single digits at Bryce last night and probably again tonight.

Flip the calendar to winter. Yay.

Can anybody remember a more pleasant November in these parts?

Only one time in the history of PHX temp record-keeping has there been a November that was cooler than this one compared to average (though the average is much warmer now than it used to be).

Tuscon reported an interesting stat ... every single day of November this year was cooler than the same day was last year.

Now, let's get some snow.

last year it was 85 degrees december 1st
which is more my speed

trekkin_gecko wrote:85 degrees december 1st
which is more my speed

I'll give you 8 months, can I please have the other 4?

I think I missed the part of the forecast where Phoenix was slated for 100% chance of rain for 8 straight hours!

There are storms forecasted to be a rainpocalypse that don't turn out as delightful as today has been!

An intriguing forecast for the next few days. A foot or two of snow looks possible in higher elevations, and some good desert rain might get some washes flowing, which should bring the whole state above normal for the winter. I'm beginning to think there might be some wildflowers sprouting in March.

There have been some impressive snow totals in northern AZ over the last few days:

[ image ]

@DixieFlyer
Interesting that Pinetop got far less. But then again, it is not in northern Arizona. (It's south of the midline.)

@azbackpackr There were comments on that post from people living in the area that received much more. But the dynamics of this storm seemed to result in very narrow snow bands that created strikingly variable results across a relatively short distance. A webcam in Forest Lakes is showing a depth of only 2-feet right now, while two remote snow stations, 4 miles away and 12 miles away, are showing 37 and 41 inches respectively. That's a pretty big disparity over just a few miles despite all being similar elevation and terrain.

@chumley
I think in the desert too, there were bands of rain, but not everywhere.

It remains unseasonably warm in the greater NYC area. If January ended today, it would be the warmest on record. Central Park is in its fourth longest stretch without snow (316 days) since recordkeeping started and it could end up in at least second place. The current record was set in 2020.

Needless to say, I haven't done any XC skiing this year.

It's the winter that just keeps on giving.

Not sure if the .12" from yesterday pushed PHX past the line, but as of Saturday, the airport was actually below normal for precip in February.

Lack of soaking desert rains notwithstanding, the high country is in exceptional shape. Snow depths are remarkable, and have been holding since December. Flagstaff is moving up their list of most consecutive days with 1" of snow on the ground and might reach the top 5. Snowbowl is reporting a season total of 275" and over 100" base. The inner basin is reporting over 80". Most remote snow sites are showing 3-4 feet on the ground, with more on the way. It appears that March might come in like a lion ... will it go out like a lamb?

Pretty with light snow this morning, patchy accumulation. Watching some videos at Donner Pass in cal. Wow.