Rain cancels spring training game while Tempe Festival of the Arts continues, Flagstaff sees heavy snowfall

Yahoo

08-03-2025

The Brief
Rain in the Valley led to the cancelation of the Diamondbacks-Angels spring training game, while other events like the Festival of the Arts in downtown Tempe carried on.
NAU students enjoyed a snow day as more than one foot of snow fell at Arizona Snowbowl.
Parts of Interstate 17 were closed due to the heavy snowfall in the high country.
PHOENIX - It's event season in the Valley and the rain is not welcome for some outdoor festivities.
The other side
Luckily, vendors at the Festival of the Arts are able to set up under tents to keep their precious items dry.
The news was not so good for baseball fans in Tempe.
The Diamondbacks-Angels spring training matchup was canceled on March 7, shortly before first pitch.
There were some disappointed fans who showed up wearing their ponchos, willing to brave the rainy weather, but the tarp stayed on the field at Diablo Stadium.
Local perspective
In downtown Tempe, the Festival of the Arts continued through the rain.
This morning we spoke to some visitors from the Midwest who said they neglected to pack rain gear, but they are used to this kind of precipitation.
Artists, on the other hand, were crossing their fingers that things stayed calm and their artwork stayed protected.
What they're saying
"I was just hoping that it would turn out good. I mean, we set up in the wind yesterday, which is also scary. So I just thought 'oh, I hope that when I get there that it's gonna be okay and that my booth is gonna be standing,' so, yay?!" said Aileen Frick.
"I kinda gotta watch the rain because if anything gets wet, wood, you know, that's not preferred," said Jonah Ballard. "I'm keeping a close eye and making sure that everything's nice and dry for us."https://www.weather.gov/psr/
The Festival of the Arts is happening March 8 & 9 as well and both days will be sunny and warmer.
Why you should care
Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration put in a ground delay at Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport as a result of the storm.
The rain could end up being the most the Valley has seen in a year.
As of 3:30 p.m. the Phoenix-metro area had accumulated .35 inches of rain on the day.
Last year, the Phoenix-metro area saw 1.34 inches of rain in March, ranking in the 20th percentile of wettest months of March since record-keepers at the National Weather Service began tracking the data.
Dig deeper
In addition, snow graced many other parts of the high country and the eastern part of the state. Snow is expected to continue falling through the night, but as of 3 p.m., snowfall totals were approaching the one-foot mark in several areas.
Parts of Interstate 17 were closed due to the snow and students at Northern Arizona University were given the day off, waking up to a snow day.