Winter Storm in New Mexico, January 30 to 31, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in New Mexico, January 30 to 31, 2002
Start: 2002-01-30T18:00
End: 2002-01-31T06:00
Location: New Mexico

January 30 to 31, 2002 · NWS ABQ · 14 events in 14 counties and zones

The month's only winter storm swept over the northern and central mountains and out across the eastern plains producing widespread snow of 3 to 6 inches in the lower elevations and 8 to 12 inches in the mountains. Travel in many areas of the eastern plains from Raton south to Las Vegas and Vaughn and then eastward to Clayton, Tucumcari and Fort Sumner was hampered by road closures from around…

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 14

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.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Albuquerque, NM wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 30, 3:00 PM MST, 3 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 3:00 PM MST, 3 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
300 PM MST WED JAN 30 2002

MUCH NEEDED PRECIP UNDERWAY THANKS TO A VIGOROUS UPPER LOW OVER
THE AZ/MEXICO BORDER AND A COLD FRONT PUSHING DOWN THE EASTERN
PLAINS. SQUEEZE-PLAY BETWEEN AIRMASS OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS...COLD
FRONT PUSHING IN FROM THE WEST AND UPPER LOW MOVING OVER THE CWA
TONIGHT WILL BRING SNOW TO MUCH OF THE NORTHERN TWO-THIRDS OF NEW
MEXICO. TWO SPOTS THAT MAY NOT SEE MUCH ACCUMULATION: 1.) NORTHWEST
PLATEAU...GETS TOO FAR BEHIND THE COLD FRONT AND INTO SOME SUBSIDENCE
AND 2.) THE SOUTHCENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND SOUTHEAST PLAINS...GETS
DOWNSLOPED AS DRIER AIR WRAPS AROUND THE FRONT SIDE OF THE LOW. THE
SOUTHCENTRAL MOUNTAINS WILL SEE SOME SNOW...BUT WILL LIKELY BE
OROGRAPHICALLY INDUCED AND ACCUMULATIONS SHOULD BE CONFINED TO THE
HIGHEST TERRAIN. MOST SIGNIFICANT STORM TOTALS EXPECTED OVER THE
SANGRE DE CRISTO...JEMEZ AND SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS...WHERE 14 TO 18
INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGHEST TERRAIN. WILL MAKE SOME
CHANGES TO ADVISORIES AND WARNINGS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT (SEE BELOW).

VERY COLD TEMPERATURES FORECAST FOR TONIGHT AND THURSDAY NIGHT...WITH
THURSDAY NIGHT BEING THE COLDEST WITH SOME OF THE COLDEST MIN TEMPS
THIS WINTER SEASON FORECAST FOR THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY. DEPENDING ON
PRECIP AMOUNTS TONIGHT...FRIDAY NIGHT COULD SEE DENSE FOG...PERHAPS
EVEN IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY.

AVN SOLUTION BRINGS A SHORTWAVE ACROSS NORTHERN NEW MEXICO LATE
SATURDAY AND INCREASES MEAN RHS OVER THE NORTH. WILL ADD A SLIGHT
CHANCE FOR PRECIP TO THE SATURDAY FORECAST FOR THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS
AND INCREASE CLOUDS ACROSS THE NORTH.

WILL LUMP SUNDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AND TREND TOWARD SEASONAL TEMPS
WITH OCCASIONAL BREEZES BASED ON LATEST MRF. CA.

.ABQ...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT NMZ008-014...
    ...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THRU EARLY THURS MORN NMZ002-004-
       005..010...011...
    ...WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT THRU THURS MORN NMZ005-006-012-
       013...
    ...SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT NMZ003-009-015...
    ...CANCEL WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT NMZ018-020-021...
    ...CANCEL SNOW ADVISORY TONIGHT NMZ001-016-017-019-026...

Event by event

14 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

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: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 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, Central High Plains/Estancia Valley County / Se Santa Fe / W San Miguel / Torrance Except X W / E Socorro

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 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: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Conchas Lake/Guadalupe / E San Miguel / Guadalupe forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Curry

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Curry forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, De Baca

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 6:00 AM MST
Where: De Baca forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Far Northeast Plains / Union Except X Nw / X Se Colfax forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Harding

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Harding 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: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 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, Quay

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Quay forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

Winter Storm, Roosevelt

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Roosevelt forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

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

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 6:00 AM 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
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: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 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, Southwest Mountains/Upper Gila Region / Catron Except N / Part of W Socorro

When: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Southwest Mountains/Upper Gila Region / Catron Except N / Part of W Socorro 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: January 30, 6:00 PM MST to January 31, 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

Every storm in New Mexico in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in New Mexico, January 2002

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: 5280112, 5280113, 5280114, 5280115, 5280116, 5280117, 5280118, 5280119, 5280120, 5280121, 5280122, 5280123, 5280124, 5280125.