New Mexico, 1999

Winter Storm in New Mexico, March 17 to 19, 1999

March 17 to 19, 1999 · NWS ABQ · 16 events in 16 counties and zones

A slow moving winter storm dumped heavy snow across much of eastern New Mexico closing both Interstate Highways leading north and east from Albuquerque for up to 16 hours and causing travel gridlock throughout the eastern counties and the along the east slopes of the central mountains stretching from Ruidoso and Cloudcroft north to the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque and continuing along…

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$200,000
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
16

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 ABQ wrote it up.

A slow moving winter storm dumped heavy snow across much of eastern New Mexico closing both Interstate Highways leading north and east from Albuquerque for up to 16 hours and causing travel gridlock throughout the eastern counties and the along the east slopes of the central mountains stretching from Ruidoso and Cloudcroft north to the Sandia Mountains east of Albuquerque and continuing along the Sangre de Cristo mountains from Santa Fe to Las Vegas and to Raton. Snow ranged from 10 to 16 inches in the high terrain of the central and northeast areas. Amounts averaged 6 inches on the eastern plains with up to 8 to 10 inches from Santa Rosa and Tucumcari south to Clovis and then southeast over De Baca County into Lincoln County. Heavy wet snow in De Baca County downed 120 utility poles.

Event by event

16 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Sandia/Manzano Mountains

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Sandia/Manzano Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Winter Storm, Capitan/Northern Sacramento Mountains / Sc Lincoln

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Capitan/Northern Sacramento Mountains / Sc Lincoln forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Winter Storm, Central High Plains/Estancia Valley County / Se Santa Fe / W San Miguel / Torrance Except X W / E Socorro

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Central High Plains/Estancia Valley County / Se Santa Fe / W San Miguel / Torrance Except X W / E Socorro forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Winter Storm, Conchas Lake/Guadalupe / E San Miguel / Guadalupe

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Conchas Lake/Guadalupe / E San Miguel / Guadalupe forecast zone
Reported by
OTHER FEDERAL AGENCY

Winter Storm, Curry

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Curry forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, De Baca

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
De Baca forecast zone
Property damage
$200,000
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Far Northeast Plains / Union Except X Nw / X Se Colfax

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Far Northeast Plains / Union Except X Nw / X Se Colfax forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Guadalupe Mountains of Chaves County / X Sw Chaves

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Guadalupe Mountains of Chaves County / X Sw Chaves forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Harding

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Harding forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Middle Rio Grande Valley / X Sc Sanduval / Valencia Except X E / X E Cibola / Bernalillo Except E and X Nw

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Middle Rio Grande Valley / X Sc Sanduval / Valencia Except X E / X E Cibola / Bernalillo Except E and X Nw forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Northeast Highlands / All But X W and X Se Colfax / All But X W Mora / C San Miguel / X Nw Union

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Northeast Highlands / All But X W and X Se Colfax / All But X W Mora / C San Miguel / X Nw Union forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, 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
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM 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
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Quay

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Quay forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Roosevelt

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Roosevelt forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM 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
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Westcentral Mountains / McKinley Except Nc and Ne / Cibola Except X E / N Catron / X Sw Sanduval / X Nw Bernalillo / X Nw Socorro

When
March 17, 10:00 PM MST to March 19, 6:00 AM MST
Where
Westcentral Mountains / McKinley Except Nc and Ne / Cibola Except X E / N Catron / X Sw Sanduval / X Nw Bernalillo / X Nw Socorro forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Mexico in 1999Every state in 1999This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, March 1999

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: 5692036, 5692037, 5692038, 5692039, 5692040, 5692041, 5692042, 5692043, 5692044, 5692045, 5692046, 5692047, 5692048, 5692049, 5692050, 5692051.