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Subscribe to RSSWhile record high temperatures are set in some areas, a major snowstorm is hitting the Southwest. TODAY's Al Roker reports.
Just a day before spring, snow continued to fall across parts of California, Arizona and New Mexico on Monday, causing traffic problems and school closures.
Much of northern Arizona, including Flagstaff, was covered in up to two feet of snow after a big dump on Sunday. Highways in the Flagstaff area were briefly shut down as well, the Arizona Republic reported.
Dozens of travelers were stuck in Flagstaff hotels. Some who tried to leave returned after being stuck in traffic for hours, one hotel clerk told the Arizona Republic.
Joshua Lott / Reuters
The driver of this pickup truck lost control in snow on Interstate 17 in Yavapai County, Ariz., on Sunday.
In California, snow and ice on Monday caused several cars to flip on Interstate 8 in the mountains east of San Diego. The danger led police to shut down a 55-mile stretch of the highway.
Dubbed the "March Miracle," more than a foot of snow at local ski areas over the weekend helped salvage an otherwise mild season, NBCLosAngeles.com reported.
New Mexico was also getting a buildup of snow and ice, forcing school closures in some towns.
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I am starting to wish this global warming bullsh*t were true......I am tired of cold weather.
Because global warming is clearly defined by singular events in one small area and not global averages.
I don't know about the global warming part but I do know it's still snowing here in Rim Country.
Azranch, if you were smarter you'd know the difference between "climate" and "weather".
But alas... you're not.
So wait... You see weather getting more extreme with more frequency... And you think that's proof that we AREN'T screwing up the planet's climate?
You gotta walk me through that logic, dude...
Global warming is alive and well on Omaha, yesterday it was like 80.
GO GLOBAL WARMING
And Obama did this--better go back to FB for some more dreaming!
Not for nothing, but I though Azrancher was being sarcastic or... follow me on this one, making a joke.
Heaven forbid someone make a funny on MSNBC!
Snow in Arizona and mid 70's in northern Minnesota. Good luck down there folks. It should'nt stay on the ground for long!
The best name for it is global climate change. Climate change will make more extremes of of ALL types of weather. While the planet IS warming up, the amount of heat will be slightly noticeable. The amount of energy the atmosphere will hold and release is the real problem. You will see more of this type of weather, just like the amount of tornado spawning storms seems to be increasing as well. Especially the big boys F4's and F5's 1/4 - 1.5 miles wide. Can wipe entire cities of the map, and have!
Anyways back to your "global warming is a scam rants"...
I certainly hope you really do understand global warming.. it is not a joke nor is it bulls%%%.
Ya,the earth should have stable predictable weather everywhere,Better pay me some more taxs and ill write some new laws to control your lives.Now click your heels and salute with your hand up high.
75 degrees in North Dakota. That is unheard of for this time of year.
AZrancher, how 'bout we reinterpret the letters BS as Basic Science... And I promise to not bring in any formulas or even an X or Y.
It may seem contradictory but in places that are normally very cold in winter, like Flagstaff (one of my fave places in your state) warmer temperatures can actually result in more snow. The warmer the air is the more moisture it can hold. It's related to the reasons more sugar can be dissolved in hot coffee than in iced tea. The warmer it is the more water vapor is available to make precipitation. So long as the temperature is below freezing, it's gonna come down as snow. The closer the temperature is to freezing, the more snow there's gonna be.
Of course that only holds up to a point - the freezing point. In 2100 when the average winter temperature in Flagstaff is above 0C / 32F, forget snow shovels and get out your umbrella.
I drove through there yesterday, multiple car crashes and pile ups! There were a few Bozos out there trying to force the traffic and blazing past 45 mph! Ree-dik-u-lus! People just need to slow down, be conservative drivers, and stop following so damn close!
They have been told they are safe with all those 4 wheel drives!
"be conservative drivers"...are saying you shouldn't drive on snow unless you are a Republican?
must have been those California drivers.
Damn liberal drivers and them all giving me "handouts"!
Rain & snow are always wonderful in Arizona...we always need the precip...the deserts will be even more beautiful in April & May
We're having April & May in February & March here in Indiana
I'll trade you a week of June for some April
We had about 18 inches of snow over the weekend in the mountains of S. California. Beautiful to look at, indeed, and we also need the moisture. Now digging ourselves out is a whole other story. Let the fun begin!
I saw snow on the ground in Banning and Beaumont.
But in AZ their gas is under $4.00 a gallon!
Great news for ARIZONA. Worth all the minor problems with traffic. That region can always use more snow and rain. Praise GOD and his mercy on us.
Global warming...yeah right...just ask 100 scientists and get 100 opinions...you know about opinions.
Like I said to Azranch, above:
justred, if you were smarter you'd know the difference between "climate" and "weather".
But alas... you're not.
And it's science, not opinion. Don't worry about it. Go watch TV.
Nothing to see here, people. Everyone knows that climate change was just a hoax invented by 97% of the scientific community to turn us all into godless communists. This climate change we're seeing is nothing more than Al Gore with a refrigerator making it LOOK like we're disrupting Earth's climate. Continue to blindly oppose all legislation that might harm Big Oil's profit margins.
Well, you can come to IL. Chicago's high temp yesterday was 81. Its beautiful, but whack-a-doodle weather, considering its still officially winter! We went to the zoo - which was busy, made busier by the lack of seasonal hiring, so they were not fully staffed!
Arizona should be an arid desert now getting snow mabe it's time to flock to Arizona.
Hey folks - no need to worry - Klone and Ruken and Toasty got it all figgered out. They're happy to disagree with you AND call you a DUMBA$$ all in the same sentence. You can't beat that one stop shopping.
That's because, after all these years of discussing and studying it, it's the dumba$$es who still haven't learned the difference between climate and weather, and they still think it's an "opinion".
They're just too comfortable in their ignorance to admit there might be a problem. That's what MAKES them dumba$$es.
The man on Fox News told me global warming was a lie.
I trust him more than the thousands of meteorologists, climatologists, and astronomers that think this 'myth' is real. It's just one giant liberal conspiracy!
If only there was a connection between the climate and it's weather? Good thing there isn't right, klone? People are saying this weather is possibly caused by the climate change. It's not ignorance, it's your lack of reading skills.
Ruken- Shocking bringing politics in. Obviously if one person from a group says it, everyone in that group is the same way, right? If that were true, then you just doomed liberals by your lack of anything important to say.
GW equals taxs and controlling people. Its a scam for dumb people.
I was merely speaking in a language you would understand.
I wouldn't dare burden you with scientific fact.
If you really thought that way you would have tried to impress everyone with you scientific knowledge. Read any of my comments on Microbiology/Pathology and you would know what it is like to talk science. So try and fail again, but go ahead with all your facts. I'm sure they are astounding. Also, bringing in politics has nothing to do with science as you say, so why don't you rethink the politics and try some important facts, not your own bias.
And this is applicable to astronomy, meteorology, and climatology how?
Just letting you know what some science was. I guess like you said, 'speaking in a language you would understand'. Since those are more science than politics that you said you could burden me with.
Well if you were so scientifically inclined on meteorology / climatology, you'd know this statement is false.
While it's true that one day, one week, or even one year's weather makes or breaks a climate, the changing weather patterns of the past thirty years does. The global average temperature is increasing. While we cannot label any single event to be 'caused by climate change', we cannot dismiss it. The truth is that weather patterns are becoming more extreme: more/longer droughts and heatwaves, more violent storms and longer hurricane and tornado seasons, etc. This is already having an effect on climate and species' habitats.
The fact is, I just can't treat a person who intentionally remains ignorant of basic scientific principles with any respect. It's just an impossibility for me to respect someone who chooses to not inform themselves.
You just wrote what I was telling klone. Weather is becoming more extreme, like blanketing snow if that is rare for a certain area. There have been unusual snow storms all over that can coincide with the changing climate. The pattern of our extremes are changing, just as the climate is. So yes there is a connection. Thank you for finally putting appropriate information about this article, but you wrote was what I was trying to explain to klone in a few sentences.
Toasty, you nailed it in 10.10. The scary part is how many people not only don't understand scientific fundamentals, they're actually proud of it.
Southern Arizona got snow too. Really warm here in southern Indiana this morning, my son called from St David AZ, they have an inch & a half of snow on the ground- Go figure
My brother, who has a house in Prescott, called from his hot tub overlooking Granite Mountain, telling me how beautiful the snow is. I told him how I was sweating my butt off here in Florida. Like you said...go figure.
A couple of years back i drove from Phoenix to Nogales,blanket of snow on the ground the whole way.
We live 120 mi. South East of Tucson, snowing here but not sticking as temp is up to 39. Love to watch it snow, would like for it to snow enough to build a snowman.
The headline is ridiculous because:
1. It suggests that it's not "supposed" to snow in the spring, or even a day before spring - when it's still technically winter.
2. Analyzing individual weather events according to astronomical seasons is silly.
3. Yes, it does sometimes snow in the "spring". Get over it.
A beautiful and unseasonal warm March day in Minnesota is maybe 65 and sunny. Saturday and Sunday were almost 80 and humid. I even got a mosquito bite.... IN MARCH!
I got sunburned while out cycling on Saturday.
I don't like heat and humidity, nor do I care much for mosquitoes. Make it go away! We have camped out in March, I never would have thought we could ever get away with our summer bags.
Look on the bright side New Mexico. With all that white stuff on the ground, you should be able to see the illegals coming across your boarder fairly easy!
A bunch of chuckles today:
Bundgaard mistaking Omaha, Nebraska for Obama.
Klone and his obsession with climate versus weather.
Toasty simply being Toasty with his "I hate the world" attitude.
And the ever present mistaking boarder, which is someone paying rent, with a line seperating two things which is border.
Many people think Arizona is all one big flat desert that is always scorching hot. In reality, snow is dependant on altitude. Flagstaff happens to be 7000' and most of the northern part of the state has all four seasons. Some of the southern portion has mountains which also get snow in the upper ranges. We'll take all we can get of any moisture since we've been in a drought for about 15 years.
Lastly, if you simply cannot keep from showing emotion on a forum with complete strangers I suggest you seek help.
Thanks AZDave. Most people come to the Grand Canyon and expect it to be as warm as Phoenix, never realizing that it's at 6900'. But you're right, we need all we can get. Really not looking forward to the fire season this year.
Wait, my what attitude?
You bet. I was hunting Turkey on the north rim last April and was walking through knee deep drifts at times. One of the best things about Arizona is I can walk around in shorts and tee shirt in November. If I want to I can get in my truck and drive two hours and be in snow then drive back home. We have desert, mountains, plains and alpine forests. Most don't know we have more boats per capita than any state. I enjoy visiting Kentucky and seeing family but I'll stay where I am in Phoenix.
Global warming may or may not be happening, but the real argument isn't if it's happening, but why. I don't have the answer and I doubt anybody else does either.
In Minnesota, the weather has been in the 70's and 80's for the past week or so, and continues to break records almost everyday. By far the warmest March I have ever experienced. But, last winter we broke all kinds of snowfall records, so go figure.
Last winter, we also did not have that many sub-zero, freeze your eyeballs if you don't squint days. OK, I don't miss any of that. It's hard to be alarmed with the kind of winter we have had this year because it was so enjoyable. I was in Vegas in February, 2 years ago, where it was unseasonably warm and wet. It did not get above 75. This is Minnesota in March! It's 80 degrees and humid right now. That is early July weather. My air conditioner is running!
High today supposed to be 49. When will that hit? It's like 30 out there! And I'm down by the border bet. AZ and Mexico!
Flagstaff is a great college town that gets over 90 inches of snow at their Snowbowl ski resort from December through March every year.The large amount they received isnt that much of a story. It snows regularly through March....and its still March. Man, I miss that place!!
People, people, people (and headline writers): what a silly stupid moronic headline. The four season overlap! That's why summer weather continues into Fall. That's why crappy spring weather can ruin the early summer months. Spring is the most volatile, dynamic and dangerous season (that's why all the Midwest tornadoes happen then). It's not even remarkable that snow falls on the first day of Spring. Where do people get this wildly incorrect notion that weather changes dramatically just because we flip over one day on the calendar???? MSNBC has a duty to educate... putting forth such wrong-headed notions about weather is a disservice to their readers!
just watch The Day After Tomorrow, that will tell you!
Jeff, so is that why it is 30 degrees on the Az/Mex border and 80 degrees in the upper Midwest? No. weather patterns are shifting. Whether we caused any of it or not is moot.
I'm from Arizona but I moved to Canada a few years ago. So I've seen more snow than I care to. My sex life is better here, but the snow and cold sucks.
Sex life?the snow keeps you in the sack?
No ..lol just a better group of friends.
So what part of Canada are the good people at?
The sex crazed ones? ..lol. In Toronto.
Normal stuff,it can still snow here for the next two months.It was a good amount of snown though.
I live in Az, northern arizona to be specific, and there is nothing abnormal about it snowing in march or april. As a matter of fact it happens almost every year. So to all those people that blame global warming, i could also use the conspiracy of weather control to place the blame. Since there is proof for neither, I will just say it was mother nature doing what she does best.
Its unusual for southern az to get snow this time of year. But I love it!
i hope it melts quickly,we wouldn't want the illegals to get frostbite...
For all you climate change deniers, warm moist air at the tail end of winter was the main cause of the tornados that struck Michigan.
Thanks, Bob. I really wish everyone had to take at least one introductory class in each of chemistry and physics, even if it were just descriptive rather than needing algebra II. Maybe some of it would stick and a few more people would understand how the world fits together. Unfortunately it'll never happen. I can just hear the screaming that it would be too hard, violated religious freedom, or some other reason to stay uninformed.