According to the Arizona Weatherman, this upcoming week will experience a change in the monotony from warmer and dry conditions to windy and snowy. Will the entire state be impacted? No, but it will be a welcome change and feel a bit more like winter.
The longwave pattern at 300mb will see the upper-level ridging give way to troughing, causing a pronounced change to the state’s overall weather pattern. By the end of the week, a cut-off low will also develop to the southwest of the state. The impact of this feature is still developing. What it is looking like is strong gusty surface winds for Saturday, 4 Jan 2025, and by Tuesday and Wednesday, 7-8 Jan 2025, increasing chances for snow on the Mogollon Rim.
For this upcoming Saturday, expect 35-45 mph wind gusts on the Mogollon Rim, particularly from Flagstaff eastward in the northern part of the state. This is where the surface gradient will be the strongest and also impacted by the terrain. Furthermore, this will impact travel on I-40 during the day, especially for high-clearance vehicles and RVs moving along the roadway. For the Southeastern part of the state, expect 25-35 mph winds on Saturday.