More than tripling the season鈥檚 snowfall total in the span of 10 days -- with 33.9 inches of snow coming in Flagstaff between March 6 and March 15 -- some desperately needed precipitation also brought numerous challenges to the northern Arizona region, including multiple fatal accidents.
Sitting at 12.9 inches of snowfall for the season as of March 5, the first round of storms on March 6 and 7 quickly doubled the snowfall totals while breaking a pair of daily records. After 3.0 inches of snow arrived on March 6, March 7鈥檚 15.9 inches of snow instantly doubled the season total while setting a daily record for snow as well as precipitation with 0.96 inches.
Landing ninth all-time for single-day snowfall in March, the 15.9 inches of snow also ranks 26th most for a day in Flagstaff dating back to 1893. Just 19 other days recorded more inches of snow since 1960, but eight of them have been since the year 2000.
Closures to Interstate 40 on Friday night extended into Saturday morning and afternoon, with Coconino County Public Works also working in partnership with the Coconino County Sheriff's Office and Yavapai County to close Stoneman Lake Road March 7-10. Flagstaff Unified School District and others closed Thursday and Friday, the final two days before spring break, with Coconino Community College closing on Friday, March 7, as well.
Though the snowfall subsided for a few days, another 15 inches of snow across five days led to additional lengthy freeway closures due to fatal accidents along the I-40.
Another 1.5 inches of snow was recorded on Tuesday, March 11, followed by 7.4 inches of snow on Thursday, March 13, for another daily record as a snow squall warning was issued by the National Weather Service (NWS) late in the afternoon. As another 2.9 inches of snow fell on Friday and 3.2 on Saturday, multiple other closures occurred as weather-related accidents began to stack up.
The I-40 closed Thursday afternoon, soon after the snow squall warning was issued by the NWS, while Lake Mary Road was restricted to local traffic on Friday. Stoneman Lake Road, between I-17 and Lake Mary Road, closed ahead of the incoming storms on Wednesday night, and Perkinsville Road closed early Thursday morning.
The closures did not, however, completely prevent collisions on the freeway, as an accident at 3:27 p.m. on Thursday near Williams led to two deaths and 16 injuries, requiring transportation for medical care among the 22 total vehicles involved. According to a release by the Arizona Department of Safety (DPS) on Sunday, a jackknifed tractor trailer completely obstructed the I-40 westbound, with numerous vehicles failing to brake properly as they collided with the vehicles blocking the freeway. Multiple passenger cars were rear-ended, pushing them into -- and in some cases underneath -- crashed tractor trailers.
The resulting crash led to a fire that burned for more than 20 hours.
Juan Beltran Sanchez of Chino Valley and Evelyn Davis of Ganado were announced as the victims of the fatal crash.
Additionally, the I-40 westbound closed east of Holbrook at milepost 294 due to a multi-vehicle fatal accident around 1:34 p.m. on Friday, March 14. According to DPS, the preliminary investigation noted that a commercial tractor trailer rear-ended a passenger vehicle, causing a chain reaction that added another tractor trailer and a second passenger vehicle. One person was unharmed, but two others sustained injuries and five victims died in the accident.聽
According to DPS, the victims were 34-year-old Heet Vikram, 17-year-old Andrew Mychajliw, 50-year-old Sarah Broyel-Case, 17-year-old Sophia Case and 51-year-old Samuel Case, who died in the hospital on March 18.
The I-40 eastbound remained closed from Thursday afternoon to 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, while the I-40 westbound reopened near Holbrook around noon on Saturday and near Williams around 1 p.m. on Saturday. Additionally, the I-17 northbound and State Route 89A also reopened on Saturday morning.
Lake Mary Road also opened over the weekend, with Stoneman Lake Road and Perkinsville Road reopening on Monday.
Thursday鈥檚 storms forced the City of Flagstaff to close its facilities early Thursday night, with Northern Arizona University closing its campus during spring break on Friday. Coconino County also closed the Willard Springs Green Waste Site on Friday and Saturday in anticipation of the snowfall.
Three people also died after being struck by trains in Flagstaff on Friday, with two deaths occurring around 8 a.m. east of the junction of Highway 89 and Route 66. Neither victim has been identified, with both pronounced dead at the scene with injuries 鈥渄escribed as catastrophic.鈥� The two individuals were reportedly waiting on the eastbound tracks waiting for a westbound train to pass, with evidence at the scene suggesting intoxication may have been a contributing factor.
The second collision leading to the third death occurred just before 10 p.m. on Friday west of the Beaver Street and Route 66 intersection. The victim, identified as 54-year-old Jason Dolk of Flagstaff, was also struck by an eastbound train. According to the department's release about the night incident, the train crew reported seeing Dolk lying down on the train tracks, facing away from the approaching train.
In total, the nearly 3 feet of snow through the first half of March has Flagstaff 32.3 inches below normal for the season after entering the month 57.2 inches below the normal total. Sitting at 35.6 inches of snow for the month, 2025 ranks 16th all-time for the most snowfall in March with 11 days remaining and is nearing 2023's 43.7 inches, which ranks as the eighth-most for the month in history. The 35.6 inches of snow through the first 15 days of March also ranks seventh all-time for the first half of the month, and was the most snow between March 1 and March 15 since 37.2 inches fell during the stretch of days in 2000.
There's no snow in the National Weather Service forecast for the next week, however, with temperatures rising into the upper 60s by Monday and Tuesday.