Brief periods with heavy snow of 5 to 7 inches were reported over north central New Mexico between Chama and Questa.
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.
Brief periods with heavy snow of 5 to 7 inches were reported over north central New Mexico between Chama and Questa.
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 Dec 2, 2:40 PM MST, 16 hours 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 240 PM MST FRI DEC 2 2005 .DISCUSSION...STRONG WESTERLY WINDS ALOFT TODAY TRANSLATING TO THE SFC ESPECIALLY OVER THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL MTNS. GRADIENT WILL REMAIN TIGHT THROUGH TOM NIGHT AS THE MAIN TROF AXIS MOVES EAST AND SKIRTS NORTHERN NM. WINDS WILL ONCE AGAIN BLOW OVER THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL MTNS AND EAST CENTRAL PLAINS SO A WIND ADV FOR SAT WILL BE RAISED. PACIFIC FLOW SOUTH OF THE MAIN TROF IS FAIRLY MOIST AND WARM. A COUPLE EMBEDDED S/WS WILL TRACK OVER NORTHERN NM TONIGHT AND EARLY SAT. BEST CHANCES FOR ACCUM SNOW WILL BE OVER THE HIGH ELEVATIONS OF THE SAN JUAN AND NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MTNS ALONG AND NEAR THE CO BORDER. THE WESTERLIES WILL LEAD TO FAVORED WEST FACING SLOPES GETTING THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS. LESSER AMOUNTS WILL FALL IN THE JEMEZ AND SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MTNS. SAF MAY SEE A FEW RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS WITH A LIGHT ACCUM POSSIBLE IN THE EXTREME EASTERN FOOTHILLS DUE TO THIS SYSTEMS WARMTH. THE SAME GOES FOR THE WESTERN MTNS WITH SNOW ACCUMS GENERALLY BEING OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40. PRECIP DECREASES SAT NIGHT AND MORE ON SUN AS THE MAIN TROF AXIS SLIDES EAST LATER SUN. A SFC FRONT WILL DROP SOUTH LATE SAT HELPING TO COOL MAX TEMPS ON SUN. FLOW WILL REMAIN NORTHWESTERLY FOR THE BEGINNING OF THE WORK WEEK WITH A DRY AIRMASS. THE NEXT UPPER LEVEL SYSTEM WILL PRODUCE A FEW S/WS THAT WILL MOVE OVER NM TUE INTO WED. COLD SFC AIR WILL PUSH SOUTH OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS WITH A DRAMATIC REDUCTION IN MAX TEMPS ESPECIALLY ON WED. MAIN PRECIP FOCUS WITH THIS NEXT SYSTEM WILL AGAIN BE NORTH OF NM WITH STRONG WINDS BEING PREDOMINANT. ALMOST FEELS LIKE EARLY SPRING. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FARMINGTON...................... 36 48 19 40 / 50 50 5 5 GALLUP.......................... 35 49 15 39 / 30 30 5 0 GRANTS.......................... 34 53 19 39 / 20 30 5 0 GLENWOOD........................ 34 60 25 56 / 0 10 5 0 CHAMA........................... 26 34 8 33 / 80 80 10 20 LOS ALAMOS...................... 33 47 19 36 / 40 40 5 5 RED RIVER....................... 25 30 9 29 / 70 80 20 10 TAOS............................ 28 43 18 34 / 40 50 5 10 SANTA FE........................ 35 48 22 38 / 30 40 5 5 SANTA FE AIRPORT................ 35 51 23 42 / 20 30 5 5 ESPANOLA........................ 30 53 20 42 / 40 40 5 10 ALBUQUERQUE HEIGHTS............. 41 60 33 47 / 10 20 5 0 ALBUQUERQUE VALLEY.............. 39 62 32 50 / 10 20 5 0 ALBUQUERQUE FOOTHILLS........... 38 58 28 45 / 10 20 5 0 ALBUQUERQUE WEST MESA........... 38 61 28 52 / 10 20 5 0 SOCORRO......................... 36 66 29 52 / 5 10 0 0 SANDIA PARK/CEDAR CREST......... 36 53 24 39 / 20 30 20 10 MORIARTY/ESTANCIA............... 32 54 24 40 / 10 20 5 5 CARRIZOZO....................... 38 65 32 46 / 0 5 0 0 RUIDOSO......................... 40 58 32 47 / 0 5 0 0 RATON........................... 29 46 17 35 / 10 30 10 20 LAS VEGAS....................... 38 50 22 37 / 10 20 5 5 ROY............................. 36 54 25 40 / 10 20 5 10 CLAYTON......................... 34 48 22 35 / 0 10 10 20 SANTA ROSA...................... 43 62 26 52 / 5 10 5 5 TUCUMCARI....................... 43 62 25 45 / 0 5 5 10 FORT SUMNER..................... 41 67 27 51 / 5 5 5 5 CLOVIS.......................... 42 66 30 47 / 0 5 5 0 PORTALES........................ 40 69 27 56 / 0 5 5 0 ROSWELL......................... 41 73 37 57 / 0 5 5 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM SATURDAY TO 5 PM SATURDAY FOR NMZ005- NMZ010-NMZ011-NMZ012-NMZ013-NMZ016-NMZ017-NMZ018-NMZ020-NMZ021- NMZ026. WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 6 PM FRIDAY TO 11 AM SATURDAY FOR NMZ002- NMZ004. SNOW ADVISORY FROM 6 PM FRIDAY TO 11 AM SATURDAY FOR NMZ008. && 23
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, December 2005
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5484007, 5484008.