Southern Arizona begins stretch of cold weather

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) - Temperatures in Santa Cruz and Cochise counties dropped into the teens and below freezing in other parts of Southern Arizona, First News Meteorologist Cuyler Diggs said Saturday.

Diggs said overnight freezing temperatures will continue through Tuesday morning.

A four-day cold snap moved into the state Friday night, with Tucson falling to 25 degrees. A hard-freeze warning will be in effect from 11 p.m. Saturday until 8 a.m. Tuesday.

"As we have been emphasizing, this is a dangerously cold air mass. Be sure to continue to protect pipes and plants," Diggs said. "Make sure people you know, and your pets, are in a safe place from the cold.

"This cold air will remain in place for the next several days," he added. "Overnight lows will continue to drop below freezing through Wednesday morning. Slightly warmer weather returns by the end of next week."

Across Southern Arizona, temperatures ranged from 10 degrees in Elgin and Paradise to 17 in Amado and Nogales. It was 12 in Willcox and 22 in Sierra Vista, the National Weather Service said.

The low was 31 degrees at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix, the weather service reported.

In Flagstaff, the temperature was minus-9 degrees. That's 26 degrees below normal, the weather service said.

Temperatures likely will drop near zero on Mount Lemmon on Sunday and Monday nights.

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