PHOENIX — A major winter storm is moving through Arizona!
There are significant travel impacts due to high winds, rain and snow, so Wednesday is an ABC15 Weather Action Day.
Adjust any travel plans you have for Wednesday across the high country. Slick, icy roads and low visibility from blowing snow are making travel hazardous in many areas.
High winds will be the biggest concern across Arizona.
Much of the state is under either Wind Advisories (for gusts near 50 mph) or High Wind Warnings (for gusts topping 60 mph). That includes the entire Phoenix metro area.
Those high winds could cause damage, power outages and lead to dangerous driving conditions, especially for semi-trucks.
Low visibility from blowing snow will be another big concern as the snow level drops as low as 2,500 feet by Wednesday night.
Winter Storm Warnings are in effect through Wednesday night for areas above 5,000 feet in elevation across northern Arizona and along the Mogollon Rim.
Six to 12 inches of snow is possible in places like Flagstaff, Williams and Pinetop-Lakeside. Six to eight inches of snow is possible in Heber and Show Low. In Payson and Prescott, we're expecting three to four inches, and we could get two to three inches of snow in Sedona.
Here in the Valley, rain showers and high winds will impact your morning commute on Wednesday. We're expecting a tenth to two-tenths of an inch of rain in parts of the Phoenix metro area.
The core of this storm will move east on Thursday, but we could see some lingering snow showers Thursday, Friday and Saturday up north.
Then, the next storm system moves in from the west late Saturday and Sunday bringing more rain and snow to our state.
Stay tuned for updates on this next storm as we get closer.
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2023 Rainfall totals:
Sky Harbor Official Rainfall: 1.21" (-0.27" from average)
Valley Average (Phoenix Rainfall Index): 1.62"
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2022 Rainfall totals:
Sky Harbor Official Rainfall: 5.78" (-1.44" from average)
Valley Average (Phoenix Rainfall Index): 7.02"
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Daily rainfall reports from all across the Valley can be found here.
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PHOENIX IS GETTING DRIER - LOWER RAINFALL AVERAGES NOW
Average Monsoon Rainfall in Phoenix (1981-2010): 2.71" of rain
NEW Average Monsoon Rainfall in Phoenix (1991-2020): 2.43" of rain
Average Yearly Rainfall in Phoenix (1981-2010): 8:03" of rain
NEW Average Yearly Rainfall in Phoenix (1991-2020): 7.22" of rain
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