Heavy Snow, Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County
- When
- December 20, 4:00 AM MST to 12:00 PM MST
- Where
- Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 32.472, -104.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 20, 1997
The first of three upper level storms to hit New Mexico within one week started snowing in Eddy County before dawn. By the end of the storm the northern 2/3 of Eddy County had four inches or more of snow.
Where it happened
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 3
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.
What happened
The episode as NWS MAF wrote it up.
The first of three upper level storms to hit New Mexico within one week started snowing in Eddy County before dawn. By the end of the storm the northern 2/3 of Eddy County had four inches or more of snow. The extreme northern portions of the county were hit hardest with Hope receiving nine inches. In Lea County the heavy snows were mainly confined to the northern third of the county. In southeastern Lea County the precipitation was intense, but was mainly in the form of rain.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy Snow, Eddy County Plains
- When
- December 20, 5:00 AM MST to 2:00 PM MST
- Where
- Eddy County Plains forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 32.472, -104.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Heavy Snow, Lea
- When
- December 20, 9:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
- Where
- Lea forecast zone
- Coordinates
- 32.792, -103.412 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
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
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, December 20, 1997
- Heavy Snow in Idaho, December 20, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Heavy Rain in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20, 1997
- Flash Flood in Texas, December 20, 1997
- Ice Storm in Oklahoma, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Ice Storm and Heavy Snow in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20, 1997
- Flash Flooding in Texas, December 20 to 21, 1997
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5626226, 5626225, 5626227.