VIDEO: It’s been a record-breaking winter for many places across the high country.
Megan Taylor, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service Flagstaff, said Flagstaff saw one of the driest winters on record, and many places in Northern Arizona are also feeling the heat.
“It was many locations, the warmest if not the second warmest winter on record for most locations across Northern Arizona,” Taylor said.
She said when it comes to precipitation, we’re actually at a normal level, but the dangerous part is where our snowpack sits.
“We’re sitting at about the fifth lowest snowpack since records go back to 1899,” Taylor said. “The snowpack is the piece that’s really lacking. That’s the piece that’s really concerning for fire season.”
NWS is predicting above-average wildfire potential for May and June. Plus temperatures will be about 10 degrees above average next week.
Randi Shaffer, a spokesperson for the Coconino National Forest, said they are already reporting small human-caused fires.
