Arizona weather forecast: Warm Wednesday, but big changes ahead

4PM Weather Forecast - 4/16/25

Clouds in the morning give way to cool temperatures on Thursday with a high of 82°.

PHOENIX - After a spell of above-average temperatures, the pattern will finally change beginning tomorrow!

What To Expect:

Wednesday afternoon is forecast to reach the low 90s in the Valley. We reached a high of 93° at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport. The average high is 86 degrees for the date. It will be sunny to mostly sunny around the state with breezy conditions expected in the Valley and windy weather for northern Arizona.

In fact, in southeastern Arizona, a red flag warning is in place for fire weather conditions with gusts 40-50 mph Wednesday and Thursday.
An area of low pressure will move off the Pacific and over the West Coast beginning Wednesday into Thursday. At the same time, a trough and associated storm will drop in from the north. The two will combine by Friday.

As this process occurs, windy weather is expected around the state on Thursday and Friday. Fire weather concerns will persist along eastern Arizona through Thursday, before moisture arrives.

On Thursday night, scattered showers may begin in far northwestern Arizona. By Friday morning, the showers will spread across northern Arizona with a mix of rain and snow possible at the higher elevations above 7,000 feet. The snow elevation may drop closer to 6,000 to 6,500 feet later in the day and into Friday evening. The showers, rain or snow, will be scattered.

Eventually, they may fall far enough south to clip parts of the Valley on Friday evening and overnight. The chance sits at around 20% in Phoenix. The system will spin off to the east on Saturday morning and finally clear the state on Saturday afternoon. Low snow totals of around 1-2" are possible in spots like Pinetop and Flagstaff, but some melting is likely to occur as it falls. Higher amounts are possible atop the San Francisco Peaks and White Mountains.

Temperatures will fall quickly thanks to the pattern change. Highs in the low 80s are forecast for Thursday with the mid to upper 70s Friday and Saturday in Phoenix. Easter Sunday will begin cool-ish in the mid to upper 50s Sunday morning. Easter will warm to the low to middle 80s in the afternoon with plenty of sunshine and weakened winds.

You can always check the latest weather conditions by visiting the FOX 10 Phoenix weather page, or download the Free FOX 10 Weather app, which is available on Apple iOS and Android.

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