Wet week ahead for Williams

WILLIAMS – Wet weather is forecast through Saturday. Starting tomorrow, snow is forecast before 10 a.m. and then rain and snow. It is expected to clear up and be mostly sunny Monday.

Monday night the chance of rain runs 20%. Tuesday there is a 60% chance or rain or snow. There could be about 1/2″ of snow Tuesday. Tuesday night and Wednesday there is a 70% chance of rain. Thursday the chance of rain drops to 40% and continues to drop through Saturday.

Winds are expected to be moderate except for Wednesday and Friday when winds could gust up to around 20-MPH.

Winter weather advisory for northern Arizona

WILLIAMS — The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory to start at 5 p.m. today and run to 5 a.m. Saturday for elevations above 5000 feet. Travel should be restricted to necessary travel during the period. If you must travel to Flagstaff, stay well clear of snow plows. It is not safe to travel directly behind the plow.

Ash Fork is not included in the weather advisory, but could get up to 4-inches from the storm. Valle could get up to 5-inches of snow.

Starting today Williams will be partly sunny with a 30% chance of snow showers after 11 a.m. Less than 1/2″ is expected today with 2- to 4-inches of snow accumulation overnight. Winds of 7- to 13-mph today lessening to about 8-mph overnight are expected.

Friday an 80% chance of show might bring up to 3″ of snow with less than 1″ overnight.

Weather is expected to clear Saturday with temperatures reaching the 35-degree range during the day. Monday there is a 20% chance of snow with little accumulation clearing again Tuesday through New Year Day.

Snow forecast from 5 PM Today to 5 AM Saturday:
Doney Park 4 to 8 inches
Flagstaff 5 to 9 inches
Forest Lakes 8 to 12 inches
Heber-Overgaard 4 to 6 inches
Payson 2 to 4 inches
Pine-Strawberry 7 to 11 inches
Sedona 0 to 1 inches
Williams 4 to 8 inches

Winter Storm warning issued for weather through Saturday

WILLIAMS — NOAA has issued a weather storm warning through November 30 and a wind advisory for November 27. Heavy snow above 4500-feet through Saturday will make holiday travel difficult and possibly dangerous. Localized amounts up to 40 inches over the highest peaks are possible.

The main brunt of the storm is expected to hit Thanksgiving Day leaving a possible 21-inches overnight in Williams. Friday there is a possibility of an additonal 8-inches of snow. There is a slight chance of snow Saturday morning. Weather is expected to clear starting Saturday after 11 a.m.

Snow forecast from 6 AM Thursday to midnight Saturday:

Chino Valley 4 to 6 inches
Doney Park 13 to 19 inches
Flagstaff 21 to 27 inches
Forest Lakes 28 to 36 inches
Fredonia 4 to 6 inches
Grand Canyon 14 to 20 inches
Heber-Overgaard 9 to 15 inches
Jacob Lake 15 to 21 inches
North Rim 22 to 30 inches
Prescott 8 to 12 inches
Prescott Valley 4 to 8 inches
Sedona 4 to 6 inches
Seligman 5 to 9 inches
Valle 9 to 13 inches
Williams 20 to 26 inches

Moisture moving in may bring flash floods

WILLIAMS — A moist airmass over Arizona with the potential of heavy rain producing thunderstorm complexes caused the National Weather service to issue a flash flood watch in portions of east central and west central Arizona. The areas affected are northern Gila County, Oak Creek and Sycamore Canyons, Yavapai County Mountains, and Yavapai County Valleys and Basins. Rainfall rates can result in strong, rapidly rising water in area washes, which may create hazardous conditions at low water crossings. . Localized rainfall amounts could exceed 1 inch in less than an hour, with storm total rainfall possibly above 3 inches. The Flash Flood Watch runs from September 23 at 3:19AM MST until September 24 at 5:00AM MST.

NOAA warns against crossing flooded roads and low-laying areas. No matter how powerful your vehicle, it does not take much water flow to carry it downstream.

In Williams there is an 40% chance of thunderstorms raising to 80% tonight. Thunderstorms are likely through Sunday.

Rain and cool weather moving in

WILLIAMS – The overcast skies and cooler temperatures late in the day are from moisture moving into the area. It will continue to cool off and bring thundershowers through Sunday.

Monday it is expected to be mostly sunny with a high of 64-degrees and an overnight low of about 36.

On Tuesday the high will drop 10-degrees to 54 with a 70% chance of rain and some lightning activity likely. The chance of showers drops to 20% overnight with a low of 37-degrees.

On Wednesday, there is an 80% chance of showers and thunderstorms after 11 a.m. with a high near 57. Wednesday night there is a 50% chance of thunderstorms before 11 p.m. dropping to 20% after that.

On Thursday there is a 60% chance of showers during the day dropping to 30% chance overnight. A high of 58 during the day dropping to 37 overnight.

The long-range forecast shows this pattern continuing through Sunday. Winds are expected to average about 15-mph during the period.

Wet day Monday, then back to 70s

WILLIAMS – Rain is moving into the area tonight which might produce some beautiful sunsets. Unfortunately it brings with it some relatively high winds through Tuesday.

There is a 20% chance of showers tonight after 11 p.m. with winds of 7 to 15-mph gusting to 22-mph. On Monday, showers are likely with thunderstorms possible after 11 a.m. Winds are expected to increase to 13 to 18 mph with gusts as high as 33-mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%.

On Tuesday there is a 20% chance of showers with southwest winds of 9 to 17-mph with gusts as high as 29.

It should clear Tuesday night with temperatures rising back up to the 70s by Friday.

Recent Snow Related Rescues – Reminder for Winter Recreation and Travel Preparedness

FLAGSTAFF – CCSO Photo

– On February 17 at approximately 2:00 pm the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an adult skier and an adult snowboarder, both from the Phoenix area, who were lost outside of the Arizona Snowbowl Ski Area boundary. An approximate location was determined from their 911 call which indicated that they were east of Viet Springs at the top of a cliff. Two deputy sheriffs and the Search and Rescue Unit responded to the call and hiked into the pair’s location. Once on scene the skier and snowboarder were provided with some water and snowshoes and then escorted out to the Viet Springs trail head on Snowbowl Road. Neither the skier nor the snowboarder was prepared for conditions outside of the ski area boundary. The area was under a winter storm warning at the time of the incident which made the conditions potentially more hazardous for both the subjects of the search mission and the rescuers. The pair was reunited with family members on Snowbowl Road.

Skiers and snowboarders who plan to exit the ski area and ski or ride in the backcountry are required to have a free Kachina Peaks Winter Backcountry Permit issued by the US Forest Service at their offices or at the Agassiz Lodge Bar on weekend days. Backcountry users need to be aware that the backcountry is not regularly patrolled, and no avalanche mitigation is conducted outside of the ski area boundary. All winter backcountry users should carry equipment for backcountry travel including food, water, navigation equipment, headlamp, emergency shelter material, extra warm clothing, first aid kit, knife or multitool, fire starting kit or backpacking stove, and whistle for signaling. If traveling in avalanche terrain an avalanche transceiver, a backcountry shovel, and an avalanche probe should be carried. A trip itinerary detailing the travel plans should be left with a trusted person.

With the upcoming winter storm, skiers and snowboarders will be tempted to exit the ski area boundary to ski or ride in the backcountry. A large amount of snow over a short period of time presents a potential avalanche hazard. It is best to wait at least a day or two after a heavy winter storm before entering the backcountry. Skiers and riders who plan to enter the backcountry should have avalanche education which can be obtained through the Kachina Peaks Avalanche Center (www.kachinapeaks.org). Additionally, the Kachina Peaks Avalanche Center publishes weekly Snowpack Summaries which discuss the snowpack on the peaks and potential hazards for backcountry travel.

After completing the mission near the Snowbowl, Search and Rescue responded to the Skinner Ridge area east of Tusayan to rescue two stranded motorists and a dog. The motorists, from Minnesota, had been following their vehicle GPS from the Tusayan area to Cameron and the GPS indicated that they should take Forest Road 302 and Forest Road 301A. The forest roads were snow covered and snow removal is not conducted on those roads. As they traveled they slid off of the road and became stuck and unable to free the vehicle. Due to the winter storm affecting the area, conventional vehicles could not access the area. Search and Rescue responded to the location using two tracked vehicles. The motorists and their dog were provided with transportation to Tusayan where they obtained a hotel room.

The Search and Rescue Unit would like to remind motorists to not blindly trust vehicle GPS or smartphone mapping tools when traveling. It is important to pay attention to road signs and road conditions to determine if the route suggested is a practical one. In many cases, especially in the winter, the GPS and smartphone apps do not take into account the weather or road maintenance and many motorists following those apps become lost or stranded due to the conditions.

Big storm Thursday

WILLIAMS – A winter storm watch has been issued by the NOAA starting Wednesday night and running through Friday during the day. There is a possibility of 17″ to 28″ through Friday night. High winds are expected through out the period.

2″ to 4″ is expected to fall overnight Wednesday. 9″ to 13″ is expected Thursday during the day with 5″ to 9″ overnight. Friday during the day 1″ to 2″ more is possible clearing over Friday night. Flagstaff is predicted to have a few inches less than Williams over the same period.

8.5″ of snow from the last storm.

That, of course, is not the end of the story. The snow may be heavy at times so city crews may not be able to start snow removal until Friday at the earliest.

Starting now, it is time to get extra water and food for your family and animals. By Sunday travel should be getting back to normal. If you have no where to go, however, it might be a good idea to stay home.

The last storm left a beautiful blanket of snow, but made forest roads bad.

If you have extra power packs to recharge phones and pads, you may want to charge them up. Charge any batteries you have for alternate forms of communications. Get extra batteries for flashlights and radios. Anticipate power and cell phone outages.

More than leaves come down this fall in Williams

Some houses barely escape damage from breaking branches.

This picture taken the day after the storm shows a house that escaped damage from breaking branches.

WILLIAMS — More than leaves fell this fall in Williams due to the thunderstorm overnight October 6th. Residents are still cleaning up branches today; some as large as 4″ in diameter.

Some houses barely escaped damage from falling and broken branches.

The storm came in overnight October 6 due to Hurricane Rosa. The storm developed into a severe thunderstorm and left a blanket of snow the following day. Last night Williams temperatures dropped to freezing. Effectively Williams and the surrounding area went from Summer to Winter.

The good news is Williams will get a slight reprieve from the wet weather today and tomorrow with temperatures around 55-degrees. Temperatures will remain in the high fifties through Saturday with slight chances of rain and thunderstorms throughout the period. Winds on Wednesday and Thursday could be about 10-mph with gusts up to 20-mph.

More than leaves fell this fall in Williams. Williams residents clean up since the storm October 6.

Continuing rains will probably affect the efforts of the Kaibab National Forest to continue prescribed burns.

These images were taken in about a four block area.

Some cars were struck by branches as a result of the storm.

First snow hits Williams

Good morning, Williams. First snow of the year.

Storm leave broken branches behind.

WILLIAMS – Williams was hit, last night, with a furious thunderstorm that left behind broken branches and the first blanket of snow for the year.

The storm began about 8:50 last night dousing Williams in rain and producing a light show of lightning. In the morning Williams was left with a thin blanket of snow in the streets. Heavy winds broke branches off of trees across the City.

There is a 70% chance of more snow turning to thunderstorms and rain today. Thunderstorms are likely overnight and into the day Monday. It is expected to clear over Monday night and become clear and sunny through Wednesday. Thursday more showers are expected to move in.

The Polar Express car gets a hint of Christmas.