While the Flagstaff area made progress on catching up to the regular annual snowfall and precipitation during March, a dry second half to the month cut into the gains.
Flagstaff finished the month with 2.47 inches of precipitation, ahead of the normal value of 1.88, to go with 35.6 inches of snow, surpassing the average of 15.6 inches, according to the National Weather Service. With just a trace amount for both categories falling on March 18, however, all measurable precipitation and snowfall occurred by March 15.
Sitting at 30.9 inches below normal following the snowfall on March 15, Flagstaff was back to 37.2 inches below normal to end the month before the first days of April added a few inches as well. Similarly, precipitation came to 2.79 inches below normal on March 15, but concluded March at 3.59 inches below normal dating back to Oct. 1. In total, just eight days in March recorded measurable precipitation, with seven measuring any snowfall, as much of the month鈥檚 totals came on a record-breaking March 7.
The 15.9 inches of snow on the March 7 accounted for 44.7% of the month鈥檚 snowfall, with the day ranking 26th all-time for single day of snowfall, and the 0.96 inches of precipitation ranked 33rd all-time for a single day in March and accounted for 38.9% of the precipitation for the month.
Though the 35.6 inches of snow ended up as a significant total in recent history -- the ninth-most for any single month since 2010 and the second-highest March snowfall since 2007 -- the NWS office in Bellemont still listed no measurable snow depth to end March.
Similarly, snowpack measured at 0% of the median in Fort Valley, White Horse Lake, Mormon Mountain, and at the measurement location south of Camp Navajo and southwest of Flagstaff.
Even with the significant storm in early March and the early April storms, Justin Johndrow, a meteorologist for the NWS office in Bellemont, said the warmer temperatures are keeping much of it from sticking around longer than a few days.
In addition to Flagstaff鈥檚 below-average precipitation for the season, the first three months of 2025 tied for the 14th-highest average temperature and ranks as the 11th-highest average maximum temperature.
Averaging 34.9 degrees for the first three months of the year, Flagstaff is ahead of last year鈥檚 average of 33.5 degrees.
Tying with 2016 for the 14th-highest average temperature to this point in the year, 2025 still ranks behind four other years since 2014, with 2015鈥檚 38.5 degrees holding the record for warmest average temperature through three months.
The average daily maximum was 49.4 degrees from Jan. 1 to March 31, putting the first quarter of the year for Flagstaff 4.4 degrees ahead of 2024鈥檚 45.0 degrees. A three-year stretch from 2014 to 2016 all rank above 2025, with 2015鈥檚 average high of 53.1 degrees ranking second all-time for that span.
A three-day run in March contributed to the high average maximum so far this year, as March 24 set a daily record with a high of 71 degrees and March 25 tied the daily high of 72 degrees. Both days ranked among the top 12 highest temperatures recorded in the month of March, nearing the month鈥檚 all-time high of 73 degrees that occurred in 1966, 1988 and 2007. Additionally, the final eight days of March averaged a high of 63.6 degrees and ranked as the fourth-warmest end to the month ever.
Though April opened with snow showers totaling 4.3 inches from Wednesday, April 2, and Thursday, April 3, combined, the month鈥檚 outlook for the region calls for continued higher-than-normal temperatures and lower-than-normal precipitation, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center.
Though Johndrow cautioned that the climate predictions are a bit less certain after 10 days or so of the month, there's a chance most of April's precipitation will have already fallen by the start of next week.
For April alone, a 50% to 60% chance of higher-than-normal temperatures in Coconino County was reported on March 31, along with a 40% to 50% chance of lower-than-normal precipitation for almost all of Arizona. Extending into May and June, the Climate Prediction Center forecast a 50% to 70% chance of higher-than-normal temperatures and a 40% to 60% chance of lower-than-normal precipitation.
Recent Aprils have brought little snow accumulation to Flagstaff, with just trace amounts recorded in three of the past seven years.
Last year, April鈥檚 total of 4.5 inches of snow was the highest since 9.1 inches in 2014. It has been more than a decade since Flagstaff recorded double-digit inches of snowfall in April, as 10.4 inches fell in 2012.
The 4.3 inches of snow that have fallen through the first three days of April are the most since 27.5 inches of snow accumulated between April 1 and April 3 in 1999. As of Thursday, Flagstaff was at 0.27 inches of precipitation for the month, 0.24 ahead of normal, and 3.5 inches ahead of normal for snowfall.聽
Though scattered snowstorms remained in the forecast for Friday and Saturday, rising temperatures are expected next week. Climbing back into the high 50s on Sunday, the daily high steadily climbs up into the low 70s for Wednesday and Thursday. With Wednesday's high currently expected to be around 72 degrees and Thursday at 74, both days would approach daily records.