Locally heavy snow of 5 to 11 inches was reported over western Colfax County from near Vermejo Ranch, Ute Park and Angel Fire east towards Cimarron and Philmont Scout Ranch.
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.
The episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.
Locally heavy snow of 5 to 11 inches was reported over western Colfax County from near Vermejo Ranch, Ute Park and Angel Fire east towards Cimarron and Philmont Scout Ranch.
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 Apr 23, 10:07 AM MST, 53 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 1107 AM MDT FRI APR 23 2004 .UPDATE...WILL GO AHEAD AND UPGRADE THE SNOW ADVISORY IN ZONES 4 AND 5 TO A WINTER STORM WARNING AS INCOMING REPORTS HAVE INDICATED 6 TO 12 INCHES ACROSS SEVERAL LOCATIONS ALONG THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE SANGRES AND NEAR THE COLORADO BORDER AND RADAR CONTINUING TO SHOW WIDESPREAD SNOW. WILL KEEP ADVISORY CRITERIA ACROSS ZONES 6 AND 7 WITH TEMPS REMAINING JUST ABOVE FREEZING A KCAO...THUS MELTING OF THE SNOW IS ANTICIPATED IN BETWEEN OCCASIONAL BURST. WILL ALSO EXTEND THE WARNING AND ADVISORY THROUGH 900 PM THIS EVENING WITH THE LATEST MODELS SHOWING A LITTLE SLOWER MOVEMENT OF THE SYSTEM. ELSEWHERE INCREASED AND EXPANDED POPS TO SCATTERED FARTHER WEST INCLUDING THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY THIS AFTERNOON WITH THE UPPER LOW EVOLVING INTO A TWO CENTER SYSTEM. ONE OVER SE COLORADO AND THE OTHER OVER NE ARIZONA. THIS WESTERN LOW LOOKS TO TRACK FARTHER SOUTH AND PASS OVER THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY THIS EVENING. EAST WINDS SHOULD INCREASE ACROSS AND PUSH WEST OF THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY CREATING A CONVERGENCE AREA NEAR THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. ADD IN COLD AIR ALOFT AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD BREAK OUT THIS AFTERNOON. THE EAST CANYON WINDS LOOK TO PEAK BETWEEN 6 AND MIDNIGHT AND THEN RELAX OVERNIGHT. .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WINTER STORM WARNING THROUGH 900 PM MDT NMZ004-005. ...SNOW ADVISORY THROUGH 900 PM MDT NMZ006-007. && 49
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 600 AM MDT FRI APR 23 2004 NMZ001>021-241200- CAPITAN/NORTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS- CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS/ESTANCIA VALLEY-CHAVES COUNTY PLAINS- CONCHAS LAKE/GUADALUPE COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY-DE BACA COUNTY- FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS-HARDING COUNTY- LINCOLN COUNTY HIGH PLAINS/HONDO VALLEY-LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY- MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY/ALBUQUERQUE METRO AREA-NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS- NORTHWEST MOUNTAINS INCLUDING JEMEZ-NORTHWEST PLATEAU-QUAY COUNTY- ROOSEVELT COUNTY-SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS-SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS- SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS/UPPER GILA REGION-UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY- WESTCENTRAL MOUNTAINS- 600 AM MDT FRI APR 23 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AN UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OVER THE FOUR CORNERS AND COLD AIR BEHIND THE COLD FRONT THAT PASSED YESTERDAY WILL RESULT IN ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND NORTHEAST. PLEASE REVIEW THE LATEST SNOW ADVISORY FOR ADDITIONAL DETAILS. LOW TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO DROP TO AROUND FREEZING TONIGHT IN SEVERAL CENTRAL AND NORTHERN AREAS WHERE THE GROWING SEASON ALREADY BEGAN. SEE THE LATEST SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT FOR SPECIFICS. RIO GRANDE VALLEY EAST WINDS WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE TODAY...CLIMAXING AT SPEEDS FROM 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS AROUND 50 MPH DURING THE EVENING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... LATEST MODEL RUNS INDICATE A STRONG UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL CROSS NEW MEXICO TOWARD THE END OF NEXT WEEK WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR STRONG THUNDERSTORMS AND SIGNIFICANT HIGH ELEVATION SNOWS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. HOWEVER...WEATHER CAN CHANGE RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECAST FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. 44
2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2004
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: 5387262, 5387263.