A bleak snow season wraps up in Arizona’s high country as warm spring-like weather blankets the region. And with it, brings the year’s first and very early fire restrictions.
The meteorological winter, the coldest three months of the year, has come to an end and there was very little snow. The National weather Service in Flagstaff tallied just 8.5 inches. In a normal year, the area receives 58.7 inches. For those keeping tab, in 2023, Flagstaff received 163 inches of snow.
Warm temperatures reaching the low sixties are anticipated this weekend. In the meantime, parts of Coconino County within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests along the Mogollon Rim have entered Stage 1 fire restrictions preventing campfires and other human blazes. So have Apache and Navajo counties.
-
In the Sonoran Sky Islands region, one organization is working to bring back native species. But it’s running up against a lengthening border wall.
-
The U.S. Embassy in Mexico restricted the movement of U.S. government activities in Nogales, Sonora due to “threat information.”
-
The park remains open despite some trail and campground closures, but park staff are issuing conservation efforts after Transcanyon water pipeline was damaged.
-
A decision from the United Nations’ cultural preservation body, UNESCO, calls for a mission to the Sonora desert nature reserve to assess the impacts of the border wall.
-
Tucson residents were clear in their concerns about Project Blue's potential to impact the environment and public health. Now, health officials in Pima County, where the project is moving forward, have published a study that backs some of that up.