New Mexico, 1997

Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 2 to 3, 1997

December 2 to 3, 1997 · NWS ABQ · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

5 heavy snow, as filed by the National Weather Service.

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northwest Mountains Including Jemez / Rio Arriba Except X Se / Sanduval Except Se and X Sw / Los Alamos / Ne McKinley / Se San Juan / X Nw Santa Fe

When
December 2, 6:00 AM MST to December 3, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Northwest Mountains Including Jemez / Rio Arriba Except X Se / Sanduval Except Se and X Sw / Los Alamos / Ne McKinley / Se San Juan / X Nw Santa Fe forecast zone

Heavy snows developed across the mountains of central and northern New Mexico with ski areas in Lincoln, Santa Fe and Taos counties reporting 12 to 16 inches of fresh powder. Los Alamos set a new daily record with 10 inches.

Heavy Snow, Capitan/Northern Sacramento Mountains / Sc Lincoln

When
December 2, 6:00 AM MST to December 3, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Capitan/Northern Sacramento Mountains / Sc Lincoln forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Northwest Mountains Including Jemez / Rio Arriba Except X Se / Sanduval Except Se and X Sw / Los Alamos / Ne McKinley / Se San Juan / X Nw Santa Fe

When
December 2, 6:00 AM MST to December 3, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Northwest Mountains Including Jemez / Rio Arriba Except X Se / Sanduval Except Se and X Sw / Los Alamos / Ne McKinley / Se San Juan / X Nw Santa Fe forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Sandia/Manzano Mountains / Most of W Santa Fe / E Bernalillo / X Se Sanduval / X W Torrance / E Valencia / Part of E Socorro

When
December 2, 6:00 AM MST to December 3, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Sandia/Manzano Mountains / Most of W Santa Fe / E Bernalillo / X Se Sanduval / X W Torrance / E Valencia / Part of E Socorro forecast zone

Heavy Snow, Sangre de Cristo Mountains / Taos / X W Mora / X Se Rio Arriba / Ne Santa Fe / X W Colfax / X Nw San Miguel

When
December 2, 6:00 AM MST to December 3, 9:00 PM MST
Where
Sangre de Cristo Mountains / Taos / X W Mora / X Se Rio Arriba / Ne Santa Fe / X W Colfax / X Nw San Miguel forecast zone

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Mexico in 1997Every state in 1997This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, December 1997

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5625076, 5625077, 5625078, 5625079, 5625080.