PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) – The relatively quiet weather of the past week or so will change quite rapidly beginning tomorrow afternoon into Thursday.
It will be the first big weather storm of the season with up to 12″ of snow possible in the highest elevations, with the Flagstaff area potentially getting 6″ or more. The Valley will see scattered showers as well on Thursday but not super heavy. Rainfall amounts of .25″ of an inch or less are expected. Temperatures will drop nearly 20 degrees in 24 hours.
The high clouds around the state today are not really associated with the incoming storm but are being pulled into Arizona out in front of the strong cold front. That front will be entering the state tomorrow night in northwest Arizona. In northern Arizona, the precipitation will start as rain Wednesday night and switch over to snow by the early morning hours on Thursday. Showers in the Valley are expected to start after sunrise Thursday morning and continue off and on for much of the day.
Watch the temperatures, too. Our forecast high for Wednesday, which will also be a breezy day, are in the low 80s. By Thursday afternoon, we’ll be lucky to be in the low-60s. That’s a 20-degree drop–the result of a big time cold front. Our First Alert is out because of the huge weather pattern change. Let’s be clear–we don’t expect severe weather or flooding in the Valley, but in the mountains, travel is going to be hazardous at best and possible non-existent for awhile on Thursday. Luckily, since the ground is still fairly warm, the snow will melt fairly quickly over the following days.
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