The storm front kicking up winds and dust here in the Valley is also bringing lower temperatures, and up north the thermometer is really going to drop. Flagstaff residents better have their ice scrapers and snow shovels ready when they get up Thursday morning. An early winter storm blowing across Arizona will bring unseasonable temperatures and snow to the northern part of the state. The National Weather Service is predicting three to five inches of snow will fall above the 6,500 foot level on Thursday. That could mean slippery roads for Flagstaff residents and those living north of the Mogollon Rim.
It also means sub freezing temperatures by Thursday evening said Dave Von der Heide from the weather service.
"What we’re expecting is the sky to go partly cloudy, and it’ll be cold. Temperatures will be cold, I mean once the clouds break it’s just going to cool naturally," Von der Heide said. "We’re looking temperatures to down into the 20s."
Von der Heide said the storm will pass quickly with temperatures back up into the 50s by Friday and warming up through the weekend.
"Once the cold front goes through, rain will change to snow. It will snow fairly hard in the early morning hours," Von der Heide said. "We are looking for something like three to five inches in the Flagstaff area. Up on the mountains obviously there is going to be some more."