Hard freeze in Arizona

[Mescalero]

But it's N.M.
It has to be GREEN chile cheeseburgers!

[Grizzly Adams]

But it's N.M.
It has to be GREEN chile cheeseburgers!

Roger that!

[gak]

Record official low for Az is -40 in '71 at Hawley Lake in the White Mts in the eastern part of the state--so we've got a ways to go! Year or two later while at school in Flagstaff we beat that by a large margin--actual, no wind. Don't know why it wasn't recorded as such. (Az Tourism Bureau and the Chambers of Commerce don't want you to know!) Anyway, a cold air mass moved in and temps plummeted. Folks in their mega down suits working in super slow motion on the Santa Fe tracks to keep them clear looked like the Michelin man and their breath vapors went into the air what looked to be fifty feet or more.
You Az old timers may recall Maverick, a half-horse town in the White Mts, had an official US Weather station which often competed with--and occasionlly beat--Gunnison CO for the low in the lower 48. Those two or three days in '73 (I think) we had super lows in Flagstaff, Maverick 100+ miles to the southeast also recorded lower yet. Frigid air mass there just moved into the valley and wouldn't move out.(I recall -48 and -52 for Flag and Maverick, repsectively, again apparently unofficial),

[piller]

Hope you all are alright when you wake up. It has been cool here on the South side of Dallas, but nothing like what you are having.

[92&94]

Wasn't too bad over night here, maybe mid teens or so. Snowing now. My wife's heading to Albuquerque in the truck, I hope she doesn't get stuck because my little car is not good in snow

[Mescalero]

Snowing,
looks like my 4 wheel drive ranger in N.M. will be getting some use.

[williamranks]

It was 12 at 5AM yesterday here and only got up to 45 in the afternoon.

[Bill in Oregon]

Oly, how did your plantings do in the cold snap? We've been in the teens here at night, and this morning, we lost our water. Forgot to turn on the lightbulb in the water heater room ...



It has been well below zero in eastern Oregon the past few nights.

[Mescalero]

Bill,
Hope this works out ok for you.

[stepmac]

To them,
that was cold.

That's my point.

[92&94]

Snowing,
looks like my 4 wheel drive ranger in N.M. will be getting some use.

Snow has been light but constant all morning, not really sticking much though. Just enough to stick to your boots really

[gak]

As of 1 PM Scottsdale (Phx area) was 37

[olyinaz]

Oly, how did your plantings do in the cold snap? We've been in the teens here at night, and this morning, we lost our water. Forgot to turn on the lightbulb in the water heater room ...



It has been well below zero in eastern Oregon the past few nights.

Darn, I hope there was no damage?

We've been losing more and more every night. I've never seen a multi-night cold snap this bad at low altitude in AZ (we're at 2700 ft). If it was just the typical one night hard freeze we'd have fared pretty well, but it's been going on for several nights now and it's supposed to get down into the teens tonight. If my palm trees and other decorative yard plantings survive I'll be stunned, but at these kind of temps the young Chilean mesquites and willows start dying also. The citrus crops up in Phoenix are hanging in there, but they suspect tonight may hammer them badly. The lettuce and other produce is already beat and they're saying it will start to show up in the market as low quality and high prices soon.

Beautiful sunny day today that I don't think got out of the 30s! Already below freezing in the low 20s by 10 PM. It's bizarre.

Thanks for the kind thoughts. I hope you guys fare well.

Oly

[Mescalero]

The oranges and the lemons are ok so far, is supposed to break in the morning,good things to come.

[olyinaz]

Long cold night. Record lows all across the SW, and it's still 25 deg at 9AM.

http://www.weather.com/news/weather-win ... e-20130115

I guess this is the new normal?

Oly

[Mescalero]

I hope not, I took advantage of the turn of events to get out of the mountains and the cold.

[gak]

Oly, last I checked (around 9) it hadn't climbed past 30 ("feels like 27") in Scottsdale. I think low 20s last night. Yes, it is supposed to start breaking today and by Thursday closer to "normal."

[J35]

Record official low for Az is -40 in '71 at Hawley Lake in the White Mts in the eastern part of the state--so we've got a ways to go! Year or two later while at school in Flagstaff we beat that by a large margin--actual, no wind. Don't know why it wasn't recorded as such. (Az Tourism Bureau and the Chambers of Commerce don't want you to know!) Anyway, a cold air mass moved in and temps plummeted. Folks in their mega down suits working in super slow motion on the Santa Fe tracks to keep them clear looked like the Michelin man and their breath vapors went into the air what looked to be fifty feet or more.
You Az old timers may recall Maverick, a half-horse town in the White Mts, had an official US Weather station which often competed with--and occasionlly beat--Gunnison CO for the low in the lower 48. Those two or three days in '73 (I think) we had super lows in Flagstaff, Maverick 100+ miles to the southeast also recorded lower yet. Frigid air mass there just moved into the valley and wouldn't move out.(I recall -48 and -52 for Flag and Maverick, repsectively, again apparently unofficial),

I remember Maverick well, Back in the 60's when SW Forest was active they would keep all those roads open in the winter time, my uncle and father would be out with road grader's clearing snow for 48 to 72 hrs straight, my aunt and mother would take them up hot meals from Lakeside, when it was time for the men to go they would be to tired to drive the grader's back to Lakeside so they would have me drive the grader's while they snored in the seat, two trips it was heaven for a eight year old kid, I can remember cruising thru Mcnary and Pinetop at 30 miles a hr, standing up the whole way.

I guess this makes me a Old Timer

I have walked over RR boxcars at Mcnary the snow was drifted that deep, in Lakeside I have walked over a five foot fence many times.

I have seen Big lake still froze over in late April early May

Have fun--J

[handirifle]

Wellll i gotta say, lived all over the country, grew up in Ohio, lived in South Carolina, Kentucky, Florida, Texas,Oklahoma, Washington state, and California high desert. Much like the Tuson area. Very dry at 2500ft elevation, closer to 3000 where i last lived. I have seen temps there hovering at zero o rare ocassions, and it is very cold, but whenI took a drive to the mountains where I hunte and lived for 15 months in the Army, and tems were below zero, with blowing snow, that was frigid, but the coldest I have EVER been in my life was during an ice storm in Ohio, and I was dressed for the weather.

I have never ever seen it when I had ice forming on my face as fast as I could break it off. I nearly died that day. Was running my trapline and the storm hit. I can tell you first hand that the southwest (lived there from 72 to 2009, has never gotten that cold. Yea dry cold is bitter, but like the northern guys say, its realative. Yea I ve been where it didnt feelbad at 25 but you cannot say one visit is representative of how cold it can be. When tems never gat above feeezing for weeks on end, day or night, then you know cold.

Sorry folks bust pipes, saw it in the high desert a lot, had my pool pipes pop once too, but being prepared helps.

[gak]

Coldest I've ever felt was around 1976 walking across "the mall" in DC in January. It was about 15, clear as a bell with wind chill of 10 below -- and being underdressed for it, like a true Arizonan. Absolutely penetrating. This was after years in Flagstaff regularly much colder (empirically) than that. It can feel as cold in DC as any place in the lower 48--despite all the hot air blowing around there! Something about the lay of the land there...cold just moves in and sits.

[gak]

I have walked over RR boxcars at Mcnary the snow was drifted that deep, in Lakeside I have walked over a five foot fence many times.

I have seen Big lake still froze over in late April early May

The good old days I remember McNary like that. Three out of the four years I was at school in Flagstaff we regularly had snow up to the eaves. One year, 72/73 I think, it started snowing October 15 and didn't quit 'til May 15, a new system rolling in every three or four days. Now, when I talk with folk up there--especially students--it's like I'm talking a different language, telling Abe Lincoln "walked knee deep in snow for miles to school" with weeks of subzero nights studying by candleight in the log cabin - tall (but actualy true!) tales to my disbelieving audience. Winter to them is a three inch snowfall that sticks around for three days.

[samb]

We warmed up here in Calgary today,a warm Chinook wind blew in and we had a good melt. It was a welcome relief for many. I was in Newfoundland Sunday morning and they had been without power for 36 hours while being pounded by a blizzard that dropped about 20 inches of snow. When we landed it had turned to rain, but the family's with little kids that boarded looked pretty worn out, it is a rough time of year. Stay safe and warm,
Sam

[olyinaz]

We warmed up here in Calgary today,a warm Chinook wind blew in and we had a good melt. It was a welcome relief for many. I was in Newfoundland Sunday morning and they had been without power for 36 hours while being pounded by a blizzard that dropped about 20 inches of snow. When we landed it had turned to rain, but the family's with little kids that boarded looked pretty worn out, it is a rough time of year. Stay safe and warm,
Sam

That DOES sound rough! Yeesh.

Oly

[handirifle]

We warmed up here in Calgary today,a warm Chinook wind blew in and we had a good melt. It was a welcome relief for many. I was in Newfoundland Sunday morning and they had been without power for 36 hours while being pounded by a blizzard that dropped about 20 inches of snow. When we landed it had turned to rain, but the family's with little kids that boarded looked pretty worn out, it is a rough time of year. Stay safe and warm,
Sam

I remember days almost that bad growing up in Ohio, in the 50-60's and can tell you people have no idea of the hardships cold weather causes, and the fact is most folks that live in it, take it in stride. Hardy people, those.

[2571]

". Already 29 (-2C)"

T-shirt weather here.

[Blaine]

". Already 29 (-2C)"

T-shirt weather here.

As long as you have your kevlar on underneath.

[Grizzly Adams]

Been chasing frozen pipes down most of the day in my rent house.......Plumbers are busy all over town!

[Mescalero]

Yep Grizz,
If I was in N.M.;
the local plumber would be calling me every morning to come help, talked to his wife yesterday; could hear him cussing me for running off to Az.
People never learn, same thing every winter

[Grizzly Adams]

Yep Grizz,
If I was in N.M.;
the local plumber would be calling me every morning to come help, talked to his wife yesterday; could hear him cussing me for running off to Az.
People never learn, same thing every winter

[Panzercat]

Buying a house out here. Fully expect some of the bushes the previous owners just planted to be frost victims by the time we move in :p