Is Arizona Due For Its Worst Winter Since 1967?

When you think of Arizona, you're likely not thinking of snowboarding, hot chocolate, and white Christmases. It's a hot and barren desert for the most part, with most winter months hitting above 100 at least once.

That's not always the case, however, and Arizona's worst winter in history may be back to haunt us.

The Arizona Blizzard of '67

A few days before Christmas fell in 1967, the heavens seemed to favor northern Arizona. Soft snow began to fall, promising residents a whit Christmas to remember. The first day of snowfall delivered about a foot of snow to the high country, but much to everyone's dismay, the downpour didn't stop.

In fact, the snow fell for not one, not two, but eight straight days. By the time the dust (er... uh, Snow) cleared, it was chaos. Areas received anywhere from six to nine inches of snow, with Hawley Lake getting the worst of the snowfall at 102 inches.

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What's Arizona's Favorite Season?

Will Arizona See Snow in 2024?

While snow is not an impossibility in Arizona (Flagstaff sees it regularly!), snowstorms to the level of the one in '67 are an extreme rarity. A similar storm struck in 2010, but with much tamer results. 2024 offers little in the way of answers.

La Niña conditions have been forming in the Pacific, which usually predates dry, warm weather, meaning that this could be a much warmer winter than we're expecting. To add onto that, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted Arizona to get well below the expected snowfall this year.

While not as scientific as the other two sources, the Old Farmer's Almanac actually predicts higher rates of snow across the state, with cities like Flagstaff, Bisbee, and Pinetop to get the worst of it.

[Only in Arizona][AZ Central][The Hill]