Prepare for some cold overnight temperatures as a winter storm that brought rain and snow to the Tucson area Monday moves out.
A freeze watch will be in place late Tuesday through Wednesday morning, according to the Tucson office of the National Weather Service. Temperatures in the Tucson area by Wednesday morning will be in the upper 20s to low 30s. The weather service said take steps to protect sensitive outdoor plants, wrap or drain outdoor pipes and provide shelter to pets during the next few nights.
Tuesday’s high is expected to be around 50 degrees in Tucson, but the skies will begin to clear, the NWS says.
Expect widespread frost for the next several mornings as the cold settles in for a few nights. Overnight lows will remain around 30 degrees through Saturday.
A winter storm came through Southern Arizona on Monday bringing valley rain and snow to higher elevations. A winter weather advisory was to remain in effect until Tuesday morning above 4,000 feet elevation. Precipitation totals by mid-day Monday showed many areas in the Tucson metro area receiving at least a half-inch or more of rain.
The weather service said snow was reported in Oracle north of Tucson, the Catalina Mountains and in Vail southeast of the city. Mount Lemmon online cameras show the ground in Summerhaven with a fresh blanket of snow.
Monday’s storm brought heavy snowfall to the higher elevations of Arizona, with up to a foot of snow expected in some areas above 7,000 feet by Monday night. Mid-day readings showed about 12 inches of snow had fallen at Arizona Snowbowl and about 8 inches of the white stuff at Munds Park near Flagstaff.
There were some highway closures due to snow and ice, but mainly in Northern Arizona. You can check az511.gov for the latest closures.
It was a wet morning in Tucson, with snow reported in Oracle and on Mount Lemmon. This time lapse shows the rain clouds coming in over the Catalina Mountains. Courtesy University of Arizona Department of Hydrology and Atmospheric Sciences.
