Wettest Christmas Eve in Phoenix in nearly 80 years
By
Alyssa Glenny, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Published Dec 25, 2021 7:31 AM EDT
|
Updated Dec 26, 2021 11:46 PM EDT
One fatality has been reported in this deadly pileup involving at least eight vehicles on Interstate 5 southbound in Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 24, in the midst of holiday travel.
Southwest residents will soon have some relief from the relentless rainfall that brought a city their wettest Christmas Eve since 1944.
Just prior to Christmas Day, multiple rounds of wet weather had soaked locations spanning from the California coast to Arizona.
Holiday travelers had to contest with hazards such as significant flooding, washed out roadways and debris flows, while also facing transportation threats across the higher elevations due to the heavy snow accumulation.
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By midday, Tuesday, Dec. 21, swaths of rainfall began shifting into the northern coast of California, with mountain snow spreading across the higher elevations. From Wednesday to Thursday, rainfall became more widespread across the region and continued to expand southeastward.
Locations across California's coastal range provided impressive 72-hour rainfall totals ending Thursday evening, with the highest report coming in from Mining Ridge, California, at 9.53 inches. Multiple other California locations reported 72-hour rainfall totals of around 8 inches, such as Three Peaks and Chalk Peak.
72-hour rainfall totals across California ending Thursday evening, Dec. 23, 2021.
Seventy-two-hour rainfall totals across Southern California ranged from 1-4 inches through Christmas Eve, with local amounts exceeding 5 inches. Across central Arizona, rainfall totals for the same time period ranged from 1-2 inches generally.
Two fatalities were reported on Thursday as a result of the flooding after an underpass flooded in Millbrae, California.
Late Thursday evening, there were multiple reports from Caltrans of washed-out roadways and missing guard rails north of San Bernardino, California, due to the heavy rainfall. Additionally, several vehicles were left stranded in the snow on SR-38 around an elevation of 8,000 feet near Big Bear, California. Motorists were warned that mountain routes should be avoided on Christmas Eve.
During the early morning hours of Christmas Eve, heavy rain persisted across Central and Southern California while also plowing into portions of Nevada and Arizona.
In Arizona, both Flagstaff and Phoenix recorded rainfall totals of at least an inch within the 24-hour period. For Phoenix, in particular, this broke a long-standing record for wettest Christmas Eve since 1944, busting the previous record by a margin of 0.07 of an inch. Additionally, this year's Christmas Eve rainfall report marked only the 11th time that the city has reached 1 inch or greater rainfall in December.
On Friday, the National Weather Service Office in Phoenix had issued a flood advisory for the city and surrounding regions ending 6:15 p.m. MST Friday, Dec. 24. Drivers were warned of low visibilities due to rainy conditions and minor flooding in low-lying areas.
The last time that Phoenix, Arizona, experienced a day as wet as this Christmas Eve was as far back as Feb. 22, 2020, when 1.04 inches of rain was reported. Taking a stretch of over 670 days to surpass this value!
Phoenix wasn't the only city to set a rainfall record prior to Christmas Day. On Thursday, Los Angeles International Airport recorded a new daily record rainfall with a report of 1.48 inches. On Friday morning, yet another period of moderate to heavy rain swept across the Los Angeles region.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a 9-vehicle crash on the 5 Freeway after a driver lost control Friday morning. Two tractor-trailers were involved in the crash, and one fatality was confirmed at the scene. It is not officially confirmed yet if weather or speed played a factor in the accident, however, authorities reminded motorists to slow down during times of rain as roadways can quickly become slick.
Farther south, Palm Springs, California, also broke the previous record for wettest Christmas Eve with a report of 0.56 of an inch. This surpassed the previous record set on Christmas Eve in 1959 of 0.44 of an inch of rainfall.
So far this season, portions of Northern California have overperformed in terms of overall precipitation, which includes both the liquid equivalent from snow and rainfall. Since Oct. 1, Northern California has totaled 24.5 inches of overall precipitation, surpassing the total for the previous 12 months combined.
Nearly three months into this year's season, both Central and Southern California are following along the same track. These regions fall just a few inches short of the overall precipitation accumulated the entire previous season.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that California residents are expected to catch a break from the active weather by the start of January and the pattern will begin to settle down.
"While there may be a few storms to impact the West during this time period, they are not likely to contain as much moisture," stated AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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News / Weather News
Wettest Christmas Eve in Phoenix in nearly 80 years
By Alyssa Glenny, AccuWeather Meteorologist
Published Dec 25, 2021 7:31 AM EDT | Updated Dec 26, 2021 11:46 PM EDT
One fatality has been reported in this deadly pileup involving at least eight vehicles on Interstate 5 southbound in Los Angeles, California, on Dec. 24, in the midst of holiday travel.
Southwest residents will soon have some relief from the relentless rainfall that brought a city their wettest Christmas Eve since 1944.
Just prior to Christmas Day, multiple rounds of wet weather had soaked locations spanning from the California coast to Arizona.
Holiday travelers had to contest with hazards such as significant flooding, washed out roadways and debris flows, while also facing transportation threats across the higher elevations due to the heavy snow accumulation.
CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP
By midday, Tuesday, Dec. 21, swaths of rainfall began shifting into the northern coast of California, with mountain snow spreading across the higher elevations. From Wednesday to Thursday, rainfall became more widespread across the region and continued to expand southeastward.
Locations across California's coastal range provided impressive 72-hour rainfall totals ending Thursday evening, with the highest report coming in from Mining Ridge, California, at 9.53 inches. Multiple other California locations reported 72-hour rainfall totals of around 8 inches, such as Three Peaks and Chalk Peak.
72-hour rainfall totals across California ending Thursday evening, Dec. 23, 2021.
Seventy-two-hour rainfall totals across Southern California ranged from 1-4 inches through Christmas Eve, with local amounts exceeding 5 inches. Across central Arizona, rainfall totals for the same time period ranged from 1-2 inches generally.
Two fatalities were reported on Thursday as a result of the flooding after an underpass flooded in Millbrae, California.
Late Thursday evening, there were multiple reports from Caltrans of washed-out roadways and missing guard rails north of San Bernardino, California, due to the heavy rainfall. Additionally, several vehicles were left stranded in the snow on SR-38 around an elevation of 8,000 feet near Big Bear, California. Motorists were warned that mountain routes should be avoided on Christmas Eve.
During the early morning hours of Christmas Eve, heavy rain persisted across Central and Southern California while also plowing into portions of Nevada and Arizona.
In Arizona, both Flagstaff and Phoenix recorded rainfall totals of at least an inch within the 24-hour period. For Phoenix, in particular, this broke a long-standing record for wettest Christmas Eve since 1944, busting the previous record by a margin of 0.07 of an inch. Additionally, this year's Christmas Eve rainfall report marked only the 11th time that the city has reached 1 inch or greater rainfall in December.
On Friday, the National Weather Service Office in Phoenix had issued a flood advisory for the city and surrounding regions ending 6:15 p.m. MST Friday, Dec. 24. Drivers were warned of low visibilities due to rainy conditions and minor flooding in low-lying areas.
The last time that Phoenix, Arizona, experienced a day as wet as this Christmas Eve was as far back as Feb. 22, 2020, when 1.04 inches of rain was reported. Taking a stretch of over 670 days to surpass this value!
Phoenix wasn't the only city to set a rainfall record prior to Christmas Day. On Thursday, Los Angeles International Airport recorded a new daily record rainfall with a report of 1.48 inches. On Friday morning, yet another period of moderate to heavy rain swept across the Los Angeles region.
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to a 9-vehicle crash on the 5 Freeway after a driver lost control Friday morning. Two tractor-trailers were involved in the crash, and one fatality was confirmed at the scene. It is not officially confirmed yet if weather or speed played a factor in the accident, however, authorities reminded motorists to slow down during times of rain as roadways can quickly become slick.
Farther south, Palm Springs, California, also broke the previous record for wettest Christmas Eve with a report of 0.56 of an inch. This surpassed the previous record set on Christmas Eve in 1959 of 0.44 of an inch of rainfall.
So far this season, portions of Northern California have overperformed in terms of overall precipitation, which includes both the liquid equivalent from snow and rainfall. Since Oct. 1, Northern California has totaled 24.5 inches of overall precipitation, surpassing the total for the previous 12 months combined.
Nearly three months into this year's season, both Central and Southern California are following along the same track. These regions fall just a few inches short of the overall precipitation accumulated the entire previous season.
AccuWeather meteorologists say that California residents are expected to catch a break from the active weather by the start of January and the pattern will begin to settle down.
"While there may be a few storms to impact the West during this time period, they are not likely to contain as much moisture," stated AccuWeather Lead Long-Range Meteorologist Paul Pastelok.
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For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform.
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