What) A major winter storm hit our state on Wednesday (February 20, 2013), leaving snow, rain and serious dark clouds in its wake. But, it didn't save all the white stuff for the high country. Photos from central Phoenix showed graupel (A form of frozen precipitation consisting of snowflakes or ice crystals and supercooled water droplets frozen together), also known as "soft hail", lining the streets and blanketing cars.
An ABC15
viewer photo from 7th Street and Maryland showed the graupel
falling as thick clouds covered the sky. Another image showed
cars in a lot at 16th Street and Northern covered with the
rarely-seen "snow". The chilly conditions have been helped by
a nearly-20-degree drop in temperatures. (1)
We don't get much snow in Phoenix. Although you may have heard about snowball fights taking place, and snowmen being erected around town on March 11, 2006, the official weather for Phoenix happens at Sky Harbor International Airport, and there was no measurable snow there. In the higher elevations surrounding the Phoenix metro area, at around 2,000 of elevation and higher, there was snow.
We had snow
in the Greater Phoenix area on December 6, 1998. I know,
because I had a holiday staff party at my house that evening!
The snow was in the northeast part of the Valley. Then, on
February 20, 2013 there were many snow sightings in Scottsdale
and North Phoenix. It still didn't officially count because
there was no snow at Sky Harbor Airport. The last time there
was officially measurable snow in Phoenix was in 1937. (2)
Where) Somewhere on the 5 mile drive between AZ Bridgeworks at #2 - 7540 East 6th Avenue in Scottsdale and the La Quinta at 4727 East Thomas Road in Phoenix.
Why)
Although I didn't know the historical significance at the
time, I knew there was something unusual about these cloud
photographs when I took them. 
