With the trace amount of snowfall that was recorded at our location and other locations within Apache Junction/Gold Canyon, we thought it would be a good idea to explain (at least in part) why it snowed, even though the surface temperature was roughly 8ºF above freezing. See diagram and description below.

In this example, we […]

With a trough and associated cold front moving through the area yesterday, very cold air was able to usher into the region. Also, skies cleared rapidly overnight along with calming winds, which allowed for a substantial amount of radiation cooling.
The low temperature this morning, at our location, was 29.4ºF, which occurred at 6:33am. […]

An area of rain/snow showers had been tracking across portions of northern/northeastern Maricopa County and extreme northern Pinal County this afternoon. This evening, one of those showers moved through portions of Apache Junction and Gold Canyon, producing snowfall. At approximately 7:15pm (December 26th) snowfall began at our location and continued for five to ten minutes. […]

At 7:15pm, snow began falling at our location, and was over by 7:20pm. Below are three photos of the snowfall. More details will follow tonight.

Rain chances will increase tonight through tomorrow as several weather systems move through the area. Temperatures will also fall dramatically Christmas night through Friday night as a deep trough ushers cold air into the region from the north.
The first system, currently located off the coast of central California, will continue to dig down off […]