By Peter Corbett / ADOT Communications

As this National Park Service photo from 1941 shows, winters can be fierce at the Grand Canyon's North Rim. That's why park facilities close for the winter season – and why we close State Route 67 along with them.

Winter Closure Map

As of Tuesday, Dec. 5, we've shut a gate across SR 67 south of US 89A at Jacob Lake, and we don't plan to plow the highway again until spring. The 43-mile SR 67 usually reopens in mid-May with North Rim lodges, campgrounds and other amenities.

At an elevation close to 8,300 feet, the North Rim averages 9½ feet of snow annually. A record 24 feet buried park lodges in 1979.

State Route 64 remains open all year to the Grand Canyon’s South Rim, but temporary road closures aren't uncommon in the park after snowstorms.

When a highway is closed in snow country, be careful not to follow suggestions from a GPS or smartphone navigation app that would take you down an unpaved, unplowed road. That can lead to you getting stranded in a remote area.

Other tips for winter travel:

• Pack an emergency kit, a fully charged cellphone, extra clothing, water and snacks.
• Check weather and road conditions before you travel. Let someone know your route.
• Make sure your vehicle has plenty of fuel.

Get more tips at azdot.gov/KnowSnow. Our Arizona Traveler Information site at az511.gov has the latest conditions and lists other high-country highways that are closed for the winter season.

By Ryan Harding / ADOT Communications

While desert dwellers are still enjoying fairly balmy temps, ADOT crews in the high country know all too well that winter is right around the corner. That’s why they're readying snowplows and training snowplow drivers.

Earlier this year, 450 ADOT employees and snowplow operators attended an annual winter workshop in Phoenix. The training included instruction from industry experts and ADOT’s in-house experts on winter safety, environmental impacts, weather forecasts, policies, equipment and driving techniques.

Snowplow

With 375 snowplow operators ready to drive ADOT’s nearly 200 snowplows stationed all around the state, we will help keep the highways open and passable during winter storms this year.

With that said, it’s never a good idea to just go driving in the high country with snow in the forecast. Check ADOT’s Arizona Traveler Information website (az511.gov) and ADOT’s Twitter feed (@ArizonaDOT) regularly during winter storms to get the latest in road conditions. If possible, you should delay your travel up north if there’s a snowstorm coming in.

One more pro tip: Always carry an emergency roadside kit in your vehicle. You never know when you might happen upon a crash or if the highway gets snowed in. Having warm blankets, food and water, a fully charged cellphone and extra clothing can come in very handy when you need it.

For more tips on driving in winter weather, visit our Know Snow page.

By Ryan Harding / ADOT Communications

Winter is coming. No, that’s not a reference to the HBO series "Game of Thrones." Winter really is around the corner, particularly in Arizona’s higher elevations.

On Sunday, we tweeted about frost on Interstate 40 west of Flagstaff. As the temperatures continue to drop, especially at night, we thought this would be a good time to remind drivers what to do when approaching slippery road conditions.

First and foremost, slow down. Drive according to the road conditions, including driving at slower speeds and avoiding sudden braking or acceleration. If you skid, don’t panic and slam on the brakes or jerk the steering wheel. Stay calm, ease off the accelerator, brake very lightly and steer straight or slightly into the direction of the skid.

Leave extra room between your vehicle and the vehicle in front of you. Remember, the larger the vehicle, the longer the stopping distance.

Frost and ice will always form on bridge decks first and is hard to see, so be cautious approaching bridges and overpasses.

Also, pack an emergency kit in your vehicle. It should include blankets, a flashlight, ice scraper, small shovel, container of sand for traction and hazard warning lights or reflectors.

You can visit azdot.gov/KnowSnow for more tips on driving in winter conditions. It’s a good idea to brush up on them now because winter is approaching as assuredly as a Lannister always pays his debts.

Arizona Snowstorm

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications

Arizona highways look inviting when there's a plowed strip of pavement amid a blanket of snow (see the video above). ADOT has a fleet of nearly 200 snowplows and 400 certified snowplow drivers stationed around the state to get them that way.

But as Christmas weekend showed, especially on Interstate 40 from Flagstaff west to Ash Fork and on Interstate 17 south of Flagstaff, a snowstorm can be so intense that travel becomes unsafe quickly. This is why we urge drivers to monitor conditions before they leave and be prepared to delay travel until our plows can do their work. A few inches of snow fell per hour at the height of this storm, causing many vehicles to slide off and resulting in long closures (the photo at upper right is from I-40) because of the time required to get vehicles cleared and lanes open again.

Because snowstorms can result in sudden closures sometimes lasting for hours, we offer tips at azdot.gov/KnowSnow that include packing an emergency kit with blankets, warm clothing, snacks and water, having a charged cellphone and keeping your gas tank half to three-quarters full at all times. But the safest option when significant snow is in the forecast is not being on road unless it's absolutely necessary.

In addition to watching National Weather Service forecasts for the area where you're planning to travel, be sure to check az511.gov or call 511 for the latest road conditions. ADOT's Twitter account (@ArizonaDOT) is a good source of information and interaction.

With another storm forecast for New Year's weekend, we hope recent experience reinforces the value of waiting out a big storm until roads are plowed and ready for traffic. If there's any question about whether it's safe to go, you'd probably do well not to.

By Peter Corbett / ADOT Communications

Grand Canyon National Park attracts 5.5 million visitors annually, but only about a tenth of them tour the North Rim. And none of those visit the North Rim in the winter.

With tourist amenities at and near the North Rim closed for the season, ADOT closes State Route 67, the 40-plus-mile route south from US 89A at Jacob Lake. This year's closure is scheduled to begin Thursday, Dec. 1. Note that State Route 64 to the park's South Rim remains open all year.

Snow being cleared.

With the North Rim hibernating for the winter, ADOT locks a gate on SR 67 a half mile south of Jacob Lake. Then the snow piles up and up.

The North Rim averages 9½ feet of snow annually, nearly 2 feet more than Buffalo, New York, according to the National Weather Service. A record 24 feet fell in 1979. The heaviest single-day snowfall hit Feb. 18, 1932, when 4 feet piled up on the North Rim.

“Some storms we’ll get 12 inches of snow, and with drifting we can’t get it off the highway with a plow truck,” said Tammie Zaccaria, ADOT highway operations supervisor in Fredonia.

SR 67 is a National Scenic Byway that passes through alpine meadows and the national forest with stands of ponderosa pine, fir, spruce and aspen trees. There is no commercial development along the route except for one lodge and a nearby store.

Reopening SR 67 in the spring is a heavy lift that starts in mid-April. ADOT uses a bulldozer and a six-wheel-drive grader with a V-plow and wing-plow to clear the snow and trees that blow down over the winter, said Zaccaria, who has been with ADOT for 25 years.

The highway is scheduled to reopen in mid-May along with the North Rim lodges, campgrounds and other amenities.

By Caroline Carpenter / ADOT Communications

With the forecast calling for a chance of snow Sunday in Arizona's high country, ADOT's fleet of snowplows and its snowplow operators are ready after months of planning and training.

Before you drive in winter weather, be sure to review our safety tips at azdot.gov/KnowSnow.

And test our Know Snow knowledge in the quiz below.

By Ray Greely / ADOT Meteorology Intern

Now that the monsoon has come and gone and fall-like weather is upon us, we look toward the winter season and the outlook for severe weather.

Last winter, a powerhouse El Nino pattern was expected to bring well-above-normal precipitation but instead brought mostly drier conditions to the state. The Pacific Northwest wound up receiving much of the precipitation as a persistent ridge of high pressure over the Southwest kept the storm track north of us.

We are currently in a mild La Nina pattern, but this may shift into what forecasters call a neutral phase.

Let’s review the winter outlook from the following sources: NOAA Climate Prediction Center, Old Farmer’s Almanac and The Farmer’s Almanac.

Sea surface temperature anomalies

Figure 1 (Top) - Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies for October 1st 2015. Notice the strong El Nino area within the encircled region. Last winter, arizona was drier than expected despite the presence of a strong El Nino. Source: NOAA-National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Services

 

Figure 2 (bottom) - pacific sea surface temperature anomalies for October 3rd 2016. Notice the weak La Nina area within the encircled region. Source: NOAA-National Environmental Satellite Data and Information Services

NOAA Climate Prediction Center

The Climate Prediction Center’s forecast is based on climatology trends, oceanography and computer model output from October 2016 through March 2017. This time period is broken into two three-month forecasts, the first running from October through December and the second from January through March.

At present, there is a 73-83 percent chance that temperatures will average above normal for fall and winter. Precipitation is expected to remain near the norm from October through December and then slide to below normal from January through March.

The probability of below-normal precipitation is between 66-73 percent, with the driest conditions expected in southeastern Arizona. This suggests that once winter settles in, high pressure will dominate our weather and keep the storm track to our north.

Temperature Forcasts

Old Farmer’s Almanac

The Old Farmer’s Almanac doesn't share the sources of its forecasts, but the results are nonetheless entertaining. Last year, its forecast for Arizona called for a drier-than-normal winter. With the exception of January, that was a fair assessment for most of the state. The almanac forecasts mild, dry conditions for Arizona this year.

Farmer’s Almanac

A competitor to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Farmer’s Almanac, places Arizona in a "balmy and wet" zone this winter, which seems strange when nearly the same weather is forecast for the Pacific Northwest. Typically, if we experience a wet winter then the Pacific Northwest will see normal to drier conditions. But anything is possible.

So two out of three sources are calling for above-normal temperatures and mostly below-normal precipitation. Keep in mind that these are outlooks take an average over an entire season, and while these long range outlooks can give us a general idea of what the winter conditions may be, they don't account for any short-term anomalies. For instance, a forecast of a mild and dry winter doesn't mean that the entire winter will be this way. Extreme weather can still occur and could wind up being more dangerous if people aren't prepared for it.

Whatever the weather brings this winter, make sure you're prepared by following our winter travel tips. 

Editor's Note: ASU’s School of Geographical Sciences & Urban Planning has partnered with ADOT to place graduate-level meteorology students in the ADOT Traffic Operations Center. This allows ADOT to have better information about weather conditions and more quickly determine how to deploy crews and communicate with the public.

If you’ve been following this blog over the past two winters, you know that ADOT annually shuts down a handful of state routes during the snowy winter months…

The closures are necessary because these roads are located in spots that get a significant amount of snowfall. ADOT closes the routes so it can best use its resources to keep more heavily traveled highways open all winter.

So, if your plans call for travel this winter, you’ll want to check out this year's closure list:

• State Route 67 between Jacob Lake (US 89A) and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon National Park closed earlier this month.
• State Route 473 to Hawley Lake was the first of three highways in the White Mountains to shut down this winter. It was closed on Dec. 2.
• State Route 261 between Big Lake and the State Route 260 junction is scheduled to close on Tuesday, Dec. 31.
• State Route 273 between Sunrise Park Resort and Big Lake will close Dec. 31. The four-mile-long portion of SR 273 between SR 260 and Sunrise Park Resort will remain open to provide access to the ski area.
• A portion of State Route 366 that leads to Mount Graham near Safford was closed for the winter on Nov. 15. ADOT may need to close the scenic highway, also known as “Swift Trail,” at lower elevations as necessary to allow for snow removal.

Of course, these are just planned closures. Before heading out on the roads, drivers are encouraged to call 511 or visit www.az511.gov for the latest highway conditions around the state.

You should also know that these routes are subject to close earlier if heavy snowfall in the area occurs prior to the scheduled closure date – another reason to check out az511.gov, before you head out.

Most of these routes will reopen in the early spring … we’ll be sure to keep you updated! Find additional information about winter driving on ADOT’s Know Snow Web page or by reading these previous posts.