about noon
Each and every Arizonan predicted clearing . `` Why , it almost never rains in Arizona , '' said Jed Parker . `` And when it does it quits before it begins . '' Nevertheless , about noon a thick cloud gathered about the tops of the Galiuros above us . Almost immediately it was dissipated by the wind , but when the peaks again showed , we stared with astonishment to see that they were white with snow . It was as though a magician had passed a sheet before them the brief instant necessary to work his great transformation . Shortly the sky thickened again , and it began to rain .