More than a foot of snow falls on Hualapais

KINGMAN – Kingman was spared snow on Thanksgiving, Thursday, Nov. 28, but there was plenty in sight when the sun rose on Friday.

The storm that closed parts of Interstate 40 and other roads left a blanket of snow on the Hualapai Mountains and the higher peaks of the Cerbats.

There was 14 inches and counting at Mohave County’s Hualapai Mountain Park late Friday morning.

While Kingman escaped measurable snow, there was no shortage of precipitation. A record 1.25 inches of rain was recorded on Thursday, Nov. 28 at Kingman Municipal Airport.

According to the National Weather Service, Kingman received 1.63 inches of precipitation between Wednesday, Nov. 27 and 8 a.m. Friday, Nov. 29.

The Weather Service wrote on its Facebook page that Kingman broke the daily rainfall record from Nov. 28, 1998, when .78 inches fell.

The rain was accompanied by windy conditions. Winds and gusts reached their peaks Thursday evening, when wind speeds registered at 37 mph and gusts at 54 mph.

Meanwhile, it was snowing on the mountain. “Here at Hualapai we have 14 inches and it is still snowing,” Hualapai Mountain Park Superintendent Jeremy Palmer said Friday morning.

Hualapai Mountain Road was closed from DW Ranch Road to the resort until early Friday afternoon, with the cabins at the Hualapais full.

“We have our own plows so we maintain the park roads,” Palmer said. “So the road from the ranger station to the cabins is open.”

Numerous Mohave County roads were closed on Thursday due to heavy rains, and four were still closed as of Friday afternoon. They were McNeal Road from Highway 68 to Chino Road; Shinarump Road from Aztec to Egar; County Route 1 from Golden Shores to Courtwright ; and Oatman Highway from mile marker 40 to mile marker 6.