The "Great Blizzard" Of 2024: Snowfall Hits Cochise County, AZ

Cochise County welcomed the first snowfall of 2024
Snow fell throughout the county
Arctic Blast Responsible for the snowstorm

The view from my front window as the snow began falling. // Photo courtesy Val Davidson/TSM.

The Great Blizzard of 2024

How do you know it's snowing in Southeastern Arizona? There are three ways to find out:

You see your friends posting "It's SNOWING!!!!" statuses and photos on social media.
Your friends text you with photos of snow and "It's SNOWING!!!!" texts.
You walk outside and see snow falling from the sky.

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Incidentally, that's also how you know it's raining in Cochise County, but I digress. The above list of items all happened last night as the sun and temperatures were falling. My phone started blowing up as I was cooking dinner.

It wasn't a lot of snow, but it's a big deal to us in Arizona. // Photo courtesy Val Davidson/TSM.

Naturally, I had to drop everything and head outside to see for myself. My dogs followed and as a group, we quickly realized a few things.

It was REALLY cold.
Bare feet are a bad idea in the snow, even two steps onto the porch. (Yes, the dogs agreed with this).
It was, in fact, snowing.

That was when my dogs and I remembered that we're not fans of cold weather and even though snow falling from the Arizona sky is a novelty, it's hardly out of the ordinary for this time of year.

A light dusting sticking to the ground is enough to close schools in Arizona. // Photo courtesy Val Davidson/TSM.

How Much Snow Did We Get?

I don't have any type of scientific measure to share with you about this recent Arctic Blast, as all the meteorologists were calling it.

For example, I can't tell you Bisbee got three inches, while Hereford got less than an inch. I honestly don't know. Here are the unscientific measures for snowfall protocols in Arizona.

Level 1: Late start to Cochise County Schools
Level 2: Level 1, plus late start for Fort Huachuca & Government Personnel
Level 3: Schools/Fort Shuts Down "until further notice" [read: 11am when the snow melts]
Level 4: Only Law Enforcement and Radio Station Personnel Go to Work
Level 5: SNOWMAGGEDON. Nobody move!! [Until about 2:30pm when the snow melts]

How much is too much snow? // Photo courtesy Val Davidson/TSM.

I've experienced all levels of Southeastern Arizona Snow Daze over the years. In fact, we had a Level 5 Snow Event that lasted for two days a few years back.

Are We Weak When It Snows in Arizona...Or is There Another Explanation?

I know, I know, everyone who recently arrived here from Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, the Dakotas...you're all looking at us like we're weak.

"Why, I learned to drive in the snow. Barefoot. Uphill. Both Ways!!!", the Midwestern Transplants collectively chime in. "What's wrong with youse Arizonans, eh?" (Do they say 'eh' in Minnesota the way they do in Canada? Asking for a friend.)

We're tough here in the 'Zone. However, we lack one thing you folks from East of the Mississippi have in droves: snow removal equipment and salt trucks.

Arizona snow people are only 1 foot tall. Photo courtesy Val Davidson/TSM.

Yep. Does it really make sense to have snowplows when you get three days of snow a year? Nahh. It's just better to keep the kids home and turn them loose in the two inches of snow we get every year. Those tumbleweed-infused snow people ain't gonna build themselves!

The Huachuca Mountains are so pretty under a blanket of snow! // Photo courtesy Val Davidson/TSM.

LOOK: The most extreme temperatures in the history of every state

Stacker consulted 2021 data from the NOAA's State Climate Extremes Committee (SCEC) to illustrate the hottest and coldest temperatures ever recorded in each state. Each slide also reveals the all-time highest 24-hour precipitation record and all-time highest 24-hour snowfall.

Keep reading to find out individual state records in alphabetical order.

Gallery Credit: Anuradha Varanasi