A tap of tropical moisture provided central and eastern New Mexico with some of the state's most beneficial rain and snow in many months. Eastern slopes of the central mountains between Mountainair and Las Vegas saw heavy snow of 10 to 14 inches.
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.
A tap of tropical moisture provided central and eastern New Mexico with some of the state's most beneficial rain and snow in many months. Eastern slopes of the central mountains between Mountainair and Las Vegas saw heavy snow of 10 to 14 inches. Some favored areas such as Gascon northwest of Las Vegas into western Mora County and also the areas adjacent to the northeast part of the Sandia Mountains had 36 hour totals of 20 to 24 inches of wet snow. Heavy snow extended eastward from the central mountains out into the eastern plains with amounts of 8 to 12 inches over western Union County then southwest to Corona which recorded 12 to 14 inches. Snow levels remained high over the middle Rio Grande Valley, but the Albuquerque metro area enjoyed 24 hour rain totals of 0.75 to 1.50 inch.
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 Feb 23, 3:00 AM MST, 3 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 300 AM MST MON FEB 23 2004 .DISCUSSION...ETA/MESOETA DON/T DEVELOP AS MUCH OF AN EASTERLY LOW LEVEL GRADIENT AS GFS/NGM TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY. PRESSURE RISES LAST 3 HR BEST OVER NRN PLNS AND SFC OBS AREN/T REALLY MUCH COLDER IMMEDIATELY TO OUR N AND E. DWPTS HAVE INCREASED OVER NM PLNS WITH 30S FROM KTCC SWD AND 40S FAR SE NM NEWD INTO TX. IF SFC LOW SETS UP OVER SERN NM...WOULD XPC THE HIER DWPT VALUES TO CONT TO ADVECT INTO ERN NM...AND THEREFORE LIKELY TO MAKE ACCUM SNOW DIFFICULT AT LEAST OVR THE ERN BDR COUNTIES DURING THE DAY TODAY. MOS GUIDANCE IS SUDDENLY QUITE A FEW DEGREES WARMER AS WELL FOR HIGH TEMPS OVER THE EAST...SPCLY TUESDAY. UPSHOT THOUGH...IS THAT ENOUGH DIFFERENCES IN MDLS TO NOT MESS WITH GOING FORECAST/HIGHLIGHTS. OTRW...SYSTEM SLOWER TO EXIT TUESDAY AND AGREE WITH THE EVENING SHIFT CHANGES TO WX/POP GRIDS FOR TUESDAY NIGHT. UPPER RIDGE BUILDS LATER WEDNESDAY...AHEAD OF THE DEVELOPING GREAT BASIN TROUGH...WHICH WILL LIKELY BRING A FEW SHOWERS TO NW NM AND BREEZES TO ERN NM THURSDAY...AND MORE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND WINDY CONDITIONS FRI/SAT. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FARMINGTON................ 045/032 043/026 049 48566 GALLUP.................... 044/027 041/018 049 48777 GRANTS.................... 044/025 042/020 049 48788 GLENWOOD.................. 050/030 049/027 056 48877 CHAMA..................... 035/017 034/009 035 48799 LOS ALAMOS................ 038/022 035/018 038 48799 RED RIVER................. 028/017 026/006 030 48799 TAOS...................... 038/020 033/011 037 48788 SANTA FE.................. 040/025 035/019 041 48799 SANTA FE AIRPORT.......... 045/029 040/022 044 48788 ESPANOLA.................. 047/029 042/021 047 48688 ALBUQUERQUE HEIGHTS....... 048/033 045/030 049 48677 ALBUQUERQUE VALLEY........ 048/033 044/029 050 48677 ALBUQUERQUE FOOTHILLS..... 044/029 040/026 045 48788 ALBUQUERQUE WEST MESA..... 048/033 046/028 049 48688 SOCORRO................... 052/032 049/029 055 48777 SANDIA PARK/CEDAR CREST... 038/023 034/023 040 48799 MORIARTY/ESTANCIA......... 040/022 032/018 042 48799 CARRIZOZO................. 048/029 042/025 050 48678 RUIDOSO................... 043/027 035/024 037 48789 RATON..................... 040/023 030/017 035 48799 LAS VEGAS................. 038/022 030/015 034 48799 ROY....................... 038/025 033/016 037 48799 CLAYTON................... 041/028 037/022 036 48799 SANTA ROSA................ 046/027 035/024 039 48799 TUCUMCARI................. 048/032 039/025 037 48799 FORT SUMNER............... 049/030 037/022 037 48689 CLOVIS.................... 048/031 038/028 038 48689 PORTALES.................. 051/032 037/029 042 48689 ROSWELL................... 058/038 046/032 048 48479 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY AND TONIGHT NMZ008-014 WINTER STORM WARNING TODAY THRU TUE AFTN NMZ002-004-005-010-011 WINTER STORM WARNING THIS AFTN THRU TUE AFTN NMZ003-006-007-012-013-016-017 WINTER STORM WARNING TONIGHT AND TUE NMZ018-020-021 SNOW ADVY TONIGHT NMZ001. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 600 AM MST MON FEB 23 2004 NMZ001>021-026-241300- CAPITAN/NORTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS- CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS/ESTANCIA VALLEY-CHAVES COUNTY PLAINS- CONCHAS LAKE/GUADALUPE COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY-DE BACA COUNTY- FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF CHAVES COUNTY- 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 MST MON FEB 23 2004 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY A SLOW MOVING AREA OF LOW PRESSURE ALOFT...COMBINED WITH A COLD FRONT SCHEDULED TO PRESS INTO NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO LATER TODAY...IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE SIGNIFICANT SNOWS ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND NORTHEAST QUARTER THROUGH TONIGHT. WINTER STORM WARNINGS HAVE BEEN ISSUED...WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOWS EXPECTED TONIGHT. FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION SEE THE WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE ISSUED AT 408 AM MST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... SNOW WILL CONTINUE OVER THE MOUNTAINS AND EASTERN NEW MEXICO TUESDAY WHERE WINTER STORM WARNINGS WILL REMAIN IN EFFECT...BEFORE TAPERING OFF TO ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWERS LATE IN THE DAY. ANOTHER STORM SYSTEM IS SCHEDULED TO DEVELOP IN THE GREAT BASIN THURSDAY...BEFORE SWINGING ACROSS NEW MEXICO FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. WHILE THE END OF THE WEEK STORM DOES NOT LOOK TO BE AS SIGNIFICANT AS TODAYS SYSTEM...LOWLAND RAIN AND SNOW AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS WILL SPREAD OVER MOST OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO...AND BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL BE COMMON BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. HOWEVER...SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO CALL 1-888-386-7637 TO REPORT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS.
10 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, February 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: 5386646, 5386647, 5386648, 5386649, 5386650, 5386651, 5386652, 5386653, 5386654, 5386655.