Homeless in Arizona

Feb 20 - Snow on the mountain tops!!!

Feb 20 - It was raining slush???

In the sky there were big, low, thick, blackish clouds that occur only when you have really, really cold weather out.

I started seeing what looked like rain drops hit the ground, but when I saw them up close they were weird rain drops that looked more like slush then rain or hail.

They were not frozen rock solid like hail is.

Nor were they soft little flakes that gently drift down to the earth from the sky like I have seen in the movies.

Then it started raining slush real heavy. I thought my coat was going to get soaking wet from the slush, but it didn't.

The slush drops just slid off of my coat and didn't make it wet.

I was barefoot like I usually am and the odd thing was these slush drops were colder then krap. It was like I was walking on ice.

Now that I am back from the store on the computer it is getting really weird and there is thunder outside.

Man this weather is really weird.

First it gets real cold, then it gets warm again, and now it is freezing cold again.

I am sure glad that summer is only 2 months away.

We have a week and a half left of February, a full month in March and then in April it should be hitting 100°F sometime soon.

I hate winter and I love summer.

Feb 20 - It was raining crushed ice???

I actually grabbed a bunch of it and that is what it looked like - crushed ice.

It wasn't soft flaky snow, but it was like crushed iced you get at that store and put in soft drinks.

I was walking around barefoot in the front yard and man the ice freezes your feet bad.

I don't think I could go barefoot in a place where is snows.

One guy I talked to said it was snowing in Scottsdale and the Pima Freeway was covered with snow! Wow!!! This is Arizona, not Cleavland!!!!

I took a bunch of pictures where I am at and I will put them on the web.

We scraped a handful of ice off of a chair by the pool which was covered with the crushed ice that it is raining.

And we have been getting more thunder. Wow this is weird weather.

Snow, hail and rain falls in Phoenix area

Snow, hail and rain falls in Phoenix area; snow falls around Arizona

By Megan Stewart The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team Wed Feb 20, 2013 5:53 PM

Snow, hail and rain left a blanket of white in part of the Valley on Wednesday afternoon as a frigid winter storm east, forcing the closure of U.S. 60 from Superior to Miami, according to the authorities.

Snow blanketed parts of north Scottsdale. Salt River Fields and the Loop 101 near Via de Ventura were covered in snow.

Some areas of Phoenix received periods of heavy hail, including downtown and Christown Spectrum Mall. The hail blanketed parts of Phoenix.

The storm has hit Globe as it rolls east toward Tucson , according to the National Weather Service. Winter storm warnings were issued for both Tucson.

Anyone traveling east on the U.S. 60 out of the Valley should be cautioned of the hazardous weather conditions and detours caused by the closure of the highway about an hour east outside of the Valley, from Superior to Miami, according to meteorologist Mark O’Malley.

The morning showers were reduced to scattered rain pockets in the Valley by the afternoon but there was still the possibility of near freezing temperatures overnight. Graupel, a bit like freezing rain, also should hit the area, creating slick conditions.

Parts of the northeast and East Valley, such as Apache Junction, Cave Creek, Carefree and Gold Canyon had a mix of rain and snow although but there was not any measurable accumulations of snow on the ground. This snow-rain mixture could last throughout the day in locations with elevations exceeding 2,500 feet. There were also reports of snow in Wickenburg and north Scottsdale, according O’Malley.

The Superstition Mountains were also covered with snow. The snow-capped peaks could be seen from about 20 miles away in Mesa.

Despite the storm exiting the Valley, temperatures will remain around 50 degrees, which is at least 20 degrees below the average temperature during this time.

The storm is expected to drop up to a foot of snow in the Flagstaff area, prompting a winter storm warning for the area and forcing the closure of Northern Arizona University as well as Flagstaff Unified School District schools.

The Show Low School District also closed its schools.

The snow showers in the Flagstaff area are expected to last a few more days, with 40 percent chances of snow lasting through Thursday night. The weather will remain below freezing until Saturday, when the high is expected to climb to 42 degrees, the Weather Service said.

In Tucson, snow could potentially fall, although no accumulation is expected on roadways, according to the National Weather Service.

The weather system is expected to subside statewide by night.

Winter storm brings rain, snow, hail to Phoenix

Winter storm brings rain, snow, hail to Arizona

By Michael Clancy The Republic | azcentral.com Wed Feb 20, 2013 11:29 PM

A massive winter storm that blew through Arizona on Wednesday briefly turned the Valley into a winter wonderland, with rain, snow and hail forcing road closures, canceling sporting events and bringing kids and adults alike out of their homes, schools and offices for impromptu snowball fights.

The storm, which started overnight, continued throughout the day. Snow fell in the desert outside Tucson, forcing postponement of the Accenture Match Play Golf Championship, and covered the diamonds at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick near Scottsdale.

Snow, hail and sleet fell randomly throughout the rest of the Valley during the day. Salt River Fields and the surrounding area in Scottsdale was covered in snow.

Bob Boze Bell, publisher of True West magazine in Cave Creek, found the day’s weather remarkable.

“I’ve lived here for 55 years, and I’ve never seen anything like this,” he said. “Just crazy. Families stopped in washes, with the kids playing in the snow. Just amazing.”

Much of the snow melted quickly, but mountains surrounding the Valley remained snow-covered, promising spectacular views this morning.

U.S. 60 between Superior and Miami was closed because of snow. So was Arizona 80 near Bisbee.

U.S. 89 was closed south of Page after the road gave way near Echo Cliffs. But officials said the incident, which caused two accidents, was not directly related to the weather. Most of the precipitation was south of Flagstaff.

Intense winter weather continued into the night in southeastern Arizona. Blizzard warnings were posted for mountainous areas near Tucson and elsewhere, and winter-storm warnings were in place elsewhere, extending north into the White Mountains and into the high country north of Phoenix.

Winter-weather advisories were issued for the Mogollon Rim, from Show Low to Flagstaff, and in parts of northeastern Arizona.

Widespread snowfall was expected to continue in northern Arizona as well. The National Weather Service said scattered snow showers would occur today for areas along Interstate 40 and north of there.

Forecasters expected the storm front to pass through the state by midnight, but another weather disturbance is expected by this afternoon, moving from north to south, with more snow likely in northern Arizona.

Yet another cold front is expected to hit the state by Saturday, forecasters said, but it is likely to be much drier than Wednesday’s weather.

Valerie Meyers of the National Weather Service said the Phoenix area will not be directly affected by subsequent weather disturbances.

Wednesday’s storm, however, passed directly over Phoenix. She said accumulations of rain, snow and hail reached as high as 2 inches in higher locations on the edges of the Phoenix area.

“It was a nice, perfect storm for this time of the year,” Meyers said.

To many, it seemed somewhat late for snow to fall. Meyers said she could not be sure whether the snow was especially late in the season.

The greatest amount of snow ever recorded at the official reporting station in Phoenix was 1 inch on Jan. 20, 1933, and on Jan. 21 and 22, 1937, according to the Weather Service.

The 1937 storm saw accumulations of as much as 4 inches, and it didn’t all melt until several days later, reports from the time said.

The most recent snow of significance before Wednesday was on Dec. 6, 1998. Snow fell over roughly the northwestern part of the Valley, and some accumulation was reported. Sky Harbor Airport recorded 0.22 inch of precipitation that day, but only a trace of snow, the Weather Service reported.

Meyers could not give specific precipitation amounts for Wednesday. The Maricopa County Flood Control District reported just under an inch of precipitation for a reporting station near Arizona 51 and Glendale Avenue. More than three-quarters of an inch fell at Shea Boulevard near Indian Bend Wash and at Dreamy Draw Dam along Arizona 51. Those were the heaviest accumulations in the Valley.

Those readings were up to date through 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Low temperatures in the 30s are expected to continue through Friday and will climb only to the low 40s through Wednesday, about 10 degrees below normal. Highs will return to the 60s on Friday and continue for the next several days, slightly below the average of about 71 degrees.

Sunny weather is expected to return today.