Rough Weather Week for AZ

This has been a near-record weather breaking week for a majority of the Great State of Arizona with rain and snow wreaking havoc north to south. In Phoenix, the famed Russo and Steele Collector Automobile Auction sustained heavy damage Thursday (Jan 21) when high winds blew an 800-foot long tent onto the nearby freeway. The 10th annual event was temporarily closed Friday and Saturday and loss is estimated at a whopping $1.5 million. A deluge of rain and winds affected the City and surrounding environs including Black Canyon City, located north of Phoenix on the main I-17 thoroughfare where the Aqua Fria River flooded homes. Nearby Arcosanti, founded by Paolo Solari, had their agricultural area flooded when the river wash turned into a lake. "It was pretty wicked," admitted a spokeswoman.
Prescott and Flagstaff residents found themselves seeking snow shovels as the biggest weather system to hit AZ in two decades brought near-record snowfalls. Snowbowl Ski Resort in Flagstaff measured 67 to 92 inches of snow in the past week. 13 - 16 in the past 24-hours. City measurements estimated a record 84.6 inches (for one period of snow storms), the second largest since 1967! The Navajo Nation declared a state of emergency with livestock at risk as hay trucks were stuck elsewhere. Three Flag (shorthand term) residents were rescued after they tried to summit Mount Humphreys Peak during the Thursday storm. This after the entire Kachina Peaks Wilderness had been closed by Coconino National Forest officers.
So bad was the weather that I-17 northbound and southbound was closed for a period, as was I-40 between Winslow and Kingman.
The Village of Summerhaven, nestled near the top of the 9,157 foot Mount Lemmon - the highest peak in the Santa Catalina Mountains northeast of Tucson, gathered residents into their lovely Community Center as electricity and phone service failed. This 'Sky Island' felt the fury of the winds with a 170 MPH gust recorded atop Kitt Peak. Reports say the Kitt Peak Observatory suffered 'significant damage'. Mount Lemmon's Ski Valley, the southernmost ski resort in the U.S., was closed Friday (Jan 22) with doubts as to the weekend www.skithelemmon.com
Friends in San Diego say the beach areas are "a mess", the high, pounding Pacific waves washing away sand from the already-threatened coast. In Imperial Beach, more than a dozen 35 to 50 pound bluefin tuna washed ashore, most alive. Beachcombers took home their suppers.
Yep, messy all around. But if one is indoors, fireplace blazing and good tunes playing, its rather pretty. Its just not what you want to be driving around in. Weather folks call for more storms midweek.