Storm brings soft hail to Phoenix, snow to north, south
Feb 20, 2013, 1:03 PM | Updated: Feb 21, 2013, 3:34 pm
PHOENIX — Grab a dictionary and look up “graupel.”
That’s what fell from the skies in the Valley Wednesday — soft hail — while other parts of Arizona experienced
so much snow that schools were closed and rain brought a golf tournament to a screeching halt.
Flagstaff public schools and Northern Arizona
University were closed because of snow. In metro Phoenix, graupel covered cars and bounced off the sidewalk mid- afternoon, catching drivers by surprise.
A National Weather Service forecast predicted up to 6 inches of snow in
Flagstaff and Prescott and up to 9 inches of snow in Payson on Wednesday.
The weather service said the winter storm warning for the Flagstaff region will
be in effect from until 8 p.m.
US 60 was closed between Superior and Miami because of heavy snowfall. It was reopened about 3:30 p.m. Drivers are required to use chains or four-wheel drive vehicles to travel north of Payson.
In Marana, just outside of Tucson, play in the PGA Tour’s Match Play Championship was
suspended because of snow and rain.
There was a blizzard warning set for Bisbee, Ariz.
It was also reported that at least three flights were diverted from Tucson to Phoenix.
Associated Press contributed to this report.
