FORECAST: Weather Action Days ahead

PHOENIX — After a warm start to the week, our next storm is moving in, bringing a dose of cool air, gusty winds, and rain and snow to Arizona.

This storm will bring areas of heavy snow to Arizona’s high country, leading to difficult travel conditions. We will also see more showers and thunderstorms in the Valley, with potential impacts to our commutes and outdoor plans on Friday. So we are switching into ABC 15 Weather Action Mode on Friday as a reminder that you will need to take action and adjust your outdoor plans or give yourself extra travel time if you have to hit the road on Friday.

Scattered rain and snow showers will continue across northern Arizona through the day today, before picking up in intensity tonight and on Friday.

Here in the Valley, clouds will increase through the day with light showers possible by the late afternoon and evening today. Then we’ll see those rain chances go up overnight and we could see scattered showers and a few thunderstorms throughout the day on Friday.

While thunderstorms could bring some heavier showers, overall rainfall amounts look to end up at around a quarter of an inch in the Phoenix Metro.

Snow levels will drop to between 5,000 and 6,000 feet through the end of the week and we could see more significant snow accumulation in areas above 6,000 feet where Winter Weather Advisories are in effect from Thursday evening to Friday evening.

Areas above 6,000 feet, including Flagstaff, could end up with as much as four to eight inches of snow from Thursday to Friday, with areas above 7,500 feet picking up around a foot of snow.

Gusty winds will continue today across parts of northwest Arizona, where a Wind Advisory remains in effect through the morning. Then we’ll see the winds pick up across the Valley again on Friday, with gusts as high as 25 to 30 mph expected.

The area of low pressure that is bringing all of this unsettled weather will eventually dive further south and become cut off from the main jet stream. That means it will linger around our state for several days, through the weekend, before it finally clears out.

The chance for scattered rain and snow showers will stick around across northern Arizona through early next week, but at this point, it looks like the Valley will begin drying out this weekend.

We’ll get a big dose of cool air with this storm, too. Valley highs fall into the upper 60s to low 70s through the end of the week.

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2024 Rainfall totals:

Sky Harbor Official Rainfall: 2.30″ (+0.13″ from average)

Valley Average (Phoenix Rainfall Index): 2.42″

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2023 Rainfall totals:

Sky Harbor Official Rainfall: 4.21″ (-3.01″ from average)

Valley Average (Phoenix Rainfall Index): 5.47″

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Daily rainfall reports from all across the Valley can be found here.

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PHOENIX IS GETTING DRIER – LOWER RAINFALL AVERAGES NOW

Average Monsoon Rainfall in Phoenix (1981-2010): 2.71″ of rain

NEW Average Monsoon Rainfall in Phoenix (1991-2020): 2.43″ of rain

Average Yearly Rainfall in Phoenix (1981-2010): 8:03″ of rain

NEW Average Yearly Rainfall in Phoenix (1991-2020): 7.22″ of rain

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See the full 7-Day forecast

Interactive Arizona Radar