Temperatures are expected to plunge into the 30s and may even drop to or below 32 in the outlying metro region. (We’re looking at you, Coolidge, Casa Grande, Arizona City, and Buckeye.)
And this is just the beginning of a burst of abnormally cold weather, says meteorologist Keith Kincaid with the National Weather Service. In fact, we’re unlikely to see daytime highs above the mid-50s between now and Thursday, he says.
(To put that in perspective, New York City has a similar temperature forecast this week. Yeah, the same NYC that got 26.8 inches of snow last week.)
Meanwhile, the strong cold front that ripped across the state Sunday night is now wreaking havoc to the east of Arizona.
“There’s still a lingering chance of showers today, but after today, chances are nil for rain,” Kincaid says. “But the main story was the wind last night. There were some gusts up to 50, even up to 60 miles per hour, and the winds were sustained for a pretty long period of time.”
The winds took down power lines and tree branches and made for terrible driving conditions in some areas.
Kincaid says multiple residents near Apache Junction reported graupel last night, too. Graupel, he explains, “is not really hail but not really sleet. It’s something kind of between [the two]. It coats the ground and makes it look white.” While there might be a few more graupel spottings today, if you’re looking for real snow, head up north because Flagstaff got 4.5 inches last night.
And with 13 inches of snow on the ground in Northern Arizona, there's really only one question: Do you wanna build a snowman?
Hitting the road to eastern AZ today? Plan on snow in passes around Globe, and heavier near Show Low. #azwx pic.twitter.com/OTTk521GGD
— NWS Phoenix (@NWSPhoenix) February 1, 2016
