Snow There, Not Here, Mingus Mountain, not Prescott Valley

This is a photo of Mingus Mountain taken from Prescott Valley, Arizona, elevation 5,300 ft. Notice that there is snow on Mingus Mountain, all the way down to it's base. Notice that there is almost no snow in the foreground, even though the elevation change is quite small. The small hill in the distant foreground is in Prescott Ridge, a neighborhood of upscale homes on large lots. That hill, less than 200 feet tall above the valley floor has a snow cap.

Here in the high desert, our snow predictions usually indicate elevation levels rather than indicating which town will get snow and which ones will not. Sometimes the prediction may say 5,600 feet, which is only 300 feet above th level of the town. The mountains may be only a few hundred feet above town level will have snow when we have no snow in town.