Winter storm scatters rain, snow across Arizona

FLAGSTAFF, AZ - A storm that scattered rain and snow across Arizona will move out of the state Wednesday, giving residents a brief break before the chance of more precipitation this weekend.

Some areas along the eastern Mogollon Rim already had more than a foot of snow Tuesday from the storm that hit the state a day earlier. Forest Lakes reported 26 inches just before noon, while Alpine, Strawberry and Pine measured a foot of snow. Forecasters said rainfall totals could hit 1.5 inches in the Phoenix area with even more in the mountains and foothills.

Flagstaff logged more than a foot of snow and was expecting several more inches through Wednesday morning, sending the mountain city above its normal for this time of year. Flagstaff typically gets 17.9 inches of snow in December, but it has had more than 2 feet this month, said Chris Outler of the National Weather Service in Flagstaff.

According to an Arizona Public Service spokesperson, 1500 customers were without power as of 4 p.m. This included 1100 in Forest Lakes, 200 in Payson, and the remainder were in Happy Jack and Blue Ridge. Crews planned to work through the night to restore power to everybody.

Residents in northern and central Arizona broke out their snow shovels for a second day, as trees shook off snow that had been weighing them down. The winter weather forced some school delays and closures , but the state's major roadways were open. State Department of Transportation officials, however, urged residents to be cautious when encountering patches of snow and ice.

"It seems as though Flagstaff has seen the bulk of it already, but it could be pretty heavy on the rooftops for areas that got over a foot," Outler said of the storm.

A huge black cloud loomed over central Phoenix on Tuesday afternoon, giving the appearance of dusk. Puddles of water lingered on the sidewalks as forecasters called for a quarter-inch or more of rain on Tuesday.

Chris Kuhlman of the weather bureau in Phoenix said that should put the city over its December average for rainfall, which is 0.88 inches. But Phoenix still will be well below its yearly to-date average of 7.5 inches, he said.

"It seems like it's a nice rainfall maker since the area technically still is in a drought," he said. "We've had half the rainfall this year in the Phoenix area that we normally would have."

Southeastern Arizona was dealing with a rare bout of prolonged rain, while the mountains saw heavy snow. The storm was expected to give Tucson more rain Tuesday than it typically gets all month, said meteorologist Craig Shoemaker.

"You don't see as many people outside walking around as you normally would," he said. "As far as the travel goes, there's a lot more water on the roadways, (so) exercise some caution driving. It doesn't take a whole lot of water here to get a lot of ponding on our roads."

Up to 30 inches of snow were expected on mountaintops in southeastern and eastern Arizona.

Clear skies are in the forecast for the state Thursday, with a slight chance of rain or snow over the weekend.