Do you need a snowblower in Flagstaff, AZ?
The machine for a Flagstaff driveway
Two-stage snowblower
A storm of 10 inches or more hits Flagstaff about 1.6 times a winter. That is deeper than a single-stage intake can swallow.
Before you buy, measure the garage door and the storage spot: these machines are wide and heavy.
What a Flagstaff winter brings
- Snow a year
- 90 in
- Storms of 5 in or more
- 6.3 a winter
- Storms of 10 in or more
- about 1.6 times a winter
- Days with snow on the ground
- 62
Extreme, among the snowiest towns in the country. That is about 2.5 times what a typical snowy US city gets. It tends to stay, so each storm lands on the last one.
On a two car driveway that is about 11.7 tons of snow to move in a season, and a 10 inch storm weighs 2,600 pounds.
When the snow comes in Flagstaff
- Oct1.5
- Nov8.2
- Dec18.5
- Jan20.9
- Feb19.3
- Mar15.6
- Apr5.0
- May1.1
Snow worth clearing runs from October to May, heaviest in January. Start and service a machine in September.
Towns near Flagstaff
Flagstaff is the snowiest Arizona town here for snowfall.
| Town | Miles | Snow | Two car, paved |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cottonwood, AZ | 36 | 1 in | No snowblower |
| Camp Verde, AZ | 45 | 0 in | No snowblower |
| Chino Valley, AZ | 54 | 10 in | A shovel is enough |
| Prescott Valley, AZ | 57 | 10 in | A shovel is enough |
| Prescott, AZ | 62 | 10 in | A shovel is enough |
| Payson, AZ | 67 | 19 in | A shovel is enough |
Where these numbers come from
Read next: Single-stage or two-stage and Why storm depth matters more than snowfall.
NOAA 1991 to 2020 climate normals from Flagstaff Pulliam Airport, 3.8 miles from Flagstaff. A normal winter, not this winter's forecast. Snow is weighed at 6.24 pounds a cubic foot, fresh and fairly dry; wet spring snow can weigh three times that.