First snow of the season falls across Flagstaff, higher elevations

The first significant snowfall in Flagstaff this season could bring up to 10 inches of snow throughout various parts of the city and surrounding areas, according to the National Weather Service.

What started as rain Wednesday evening eventually transitioned into a more wintry mix overnight and by Thursday morning, a light snow accumulation had already begun in some areas, said weather service meteorologist Cynthia Kobold.

This storm comes a few weeks earlier than when the area typically expects to see its first serious snowfall of the season, she said, and it stretches across almost all of Yavapai County, southern Coconino County and even areas on the western Mogollon Rim, particularly in the higher elevations.

By the end of the day, Flagstaff's east side could see 3 to 6 inches of snow compared to an estimated 4 to 8 inches on the city's west side and more than 10 inches just 15 miles north at Arizona Snowbowl.

Because of the warmer ground temperature in the lower elevations, any flurries that fall there today aren't likely to last long, she said. Instead, the most significant accumulation in Yavapai County will be concentrated at the higher elevations, she said, so "once everything clears out, people that live in Prescott should be able to see snow around them on the mountains."

Rather than one sustained hard snowfall, this storm is more spotty, stopping and restarting throughout the day, she said.

These scattered storms are likely to continue at least into the afternoon for the western portions of the storm and potentially overnight closer to the New Mexico border with the White Mountains and eastern Mogollon Rim, she said.

While the storm may drop a decent amount of snow today, "By Friday morning, it should all be over with," Kobold said.

Contact northern Arizona reporter Lacey Latch at llatch@gannett.com or on social media @laceylatch. Coverage of northern Arizona on azcentral.com and in The Arizona Republic is funded by the nonprofit Report for America and a grant from the Vitalyst Health Foundation in association with The Arizona Republic.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: First snow of the season falls across Flagstaff, higher elevations