An upper level low and associated strong subtropical jet brought heavy rain, high elevation snow, severe thunderstorms and high winds to western and central New Mexico during the predawn hours of December 1st. Flooding was observed in the Gila region while severe thunderstorms produced wind damage in the Rio Grande and Estancia Valleys.
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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.
An upper level low and associated strong subtropical jet brought heavy rain, high elevation snow, severe thunderstorms and high winds to western and central New Mexico during the predawn hours of December 1st. Flooding was observed in the Gila region while severe thunderstorms produced wind damage in the Rio Grande and Estancia Valleys. Strong winds blew across much of the high terrain and just east of the central mountain chain but were the strongest during the daylight hours of the 1st. The winds were occasionally accompanied by snow, which created near blizzard conditions in the higher mountainous terrain. As the trough opened up and moved east across New Mexico and Colorado, snow levels lowered overnight across the northwest. However, the most significant snow accumulations were confined to elevations above 8500 feet in the Chuska, Southern San Juan and Sangre De Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico. Through dawn of the 2nd, storm total snow accumulations of 5 to 10 inches were common with 1 to 2 feet likely on west facing slopes above 9500 feet.
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 1, 3:00 AM MST, 1 hour earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 300 AM MST SAT DEC 1 2007 .UPDATE... UPGRADED TO A HIGH WIND WARNING IN THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...AS WELL AS THE ADJACENT HIGH PLAINS OF LINCOLN AND SOUTHWEST CHAVES COUNTIES. ALSO ADDED A WIND ADVISORY TO THE NORTHWEST PLATEAU...WESTERN MOUNTAINS...SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS...MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY AND LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY. SATELLITE IMAGERY SHOWS CLEARING BEHIND THE LINE OF STRONG SHOWERS THAT CROSSED CENTRAL AND WESTERN AREAS LAST NIGHT AND EARLY THIS MORNING. FURTHER...LATEST MODEL RUNS DEPICT 10K FT WIND SPEEDS IN THE 45 TO 55 KNOT RANGE...AND BOTH TEMPERATURES AND MIXING HEIGHTS WILL BE HIGHER THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED TODAY. THUS...STRONGER SURFACE WINDS SHOULD RESULT. LEFT THE UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY OUT OF THE WIND ADVISORY BECAUSE GREATER CLOUD COVER IS EXPECTED NORTH OF ALBUQUERQUE. CLOUD COVER SHOULD ALSO PREVENT NORTHERN SAN JUAN COUNTY FROM REACHING WIND ADVISORY CRITERIA...BUT THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CHUSKA MOUNTAINS ACROSS SOUTHERN SAN JUAN COUNTY SHOULD SEE MORE SUN...BETTER MIXING AND STRONGER WINDS. MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE FOR THE AFTERNOON FORECAST PACKAGE WILL BE WHETHER OR NOT TO EXTEND THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH TONIGHT. CHECK THE NEXT FORECAST UPDATE AT 4 PM MST TODAY FOR OUR DECISION. 44 && .PREV DISCUSSION... 300 AM MST SAT DEC 1 2007...DRY AIR ALREADY PUNCHING INTO SOUTHWEST ARIZONA...SO TAP OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE SHOULD BE SHIFTING EASTWARD DURING THE DAY TODAY. RUC INDICATES A FASTER TRANSITION TO COLDER TEMPS ALOFT THIS MORNING...CLOSER TO THE GFS...WHILE THE NAM HOLDS OFF WITH THE COLDER AIR UNTIL AFTER SUNSET TONIGHT. AS A NOTE...EARLIER RAIN HAD TRANSITIONED TO SNOW AT KGCN AS OF 09Z. ROUGHLY NORTHWEST THIRD TO HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA...NORTHWEST PLATEAU...WESTERN AND NORTHERN MOUNTAINS MAY EXPERIENCE ISOLATED THUNDER DURING THE DAY TODAY AS A MORE UNSTABLE PROFILE COULD RESULT. A 12 TO 16 MB SURFACE GRADIENT IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP ACROSS EASTERN NEW MEXICO THIS MORNING. WITH 50 KT WINDS SHOWING UP ON KTCC AND WSMR WIND PROFILERS TONIGHT...ENOUGH EVIDENCE FOR TODAY/S WIND HIGHLIGHTS TO REMAIN IN PLACE. CONCERNED LINCOLN COUNTY MAY TO BE UPGRADED...AS THEY MAY EXPERIENCE THE BETTER CLEARING TODAY. AREAS OUR WEST MAY ALSO BLOW CLOSE TO WIND ADVISORY TODAY. ENOUGH LINGERING MOISTURE MAY EXIST TO TURN ANY REMAINING RAIN TO SNOW OVER MUCH OF THE W...AS WELL AS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS AND NE HIGHLANDS TONIGHT ONCE THE COLDER AIR ARRIVES. AN EXTENSION OR EXPANSION OF SOME SORT OF WINTER WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS MAY NEED TO BE ISSUED FOR SOME OF THESE AREAS ON LATER SHIFTS. THE WINDS AND PRECIPITATION WILL DIMINISH SUNDAY WITH ANY LINGERING PRECIPITATION CONFINED TO THE CENTRAL AND WEST. THE REST OF THE WEEK IS NOW LOOKING AS IF IT WILL BE DRY...WITH NO STORMS ON THE HORIZON UNTIL NEXT WEEKEND. && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES ABOVE 7500 FEET...NMZ002-004. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ005>007-010>013-016>017-026. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ001-008>009-014>015-018>021. && 44
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 600 AM MST FRI NOV 30 2007 NMZ001>021-026-011300- NORTHWEST PLATEAU-NORTHWEST MOUNTAINS INCLUDING JEMEZ- UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY-SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS- NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS-HARDING COUNTY-FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS- WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS- MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY/ALBUQUERQUE METRO AREA- SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS-CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS/ESTANCIA VALLEY- CONCHAS LAKE/GUADALUPE COUNTY-QUAY COUNTY- SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS/UPPER GILA REGION-LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY- LINCOLN COUNTY HIGH PLAINS/HONDO VALLEY- CAPITAN/NORTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS-DE BACA COUNTY- CHAVES COUNTY PLAINS-ROOSEVELT COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY- GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF CHAVES COUNTY- 600 AM MST FRI NOV 30 2007 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE STARTING TONIGHT FOR ELEVATIONS ABOVE 7500 FEET OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS WHERE A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO SATURDAY NIGHT WITH SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS POSSIBLE ABOVE 7500 FEET IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS WHERE A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT. IN ADDITION...STRONG AND GUSTY SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST WINDS ARE POSSIBLE OVER NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL NEW MEXICO SATURDAY...WHERE A HIGH WIND WATCH IS IN EFFECT. TRAVEL ALONG INTERSTATE 40 THROUGH EASTERN NEW MEXICO SATURDAY COULD BE DIFFICULT FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. REMEMBER...WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS...WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOWFALL AMOUNTS THROUGH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE WEB SITE OR BY CALLING 1.888.386.7637.
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 8 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 11:12 UTC.
9 high wind, 3 thunderstorm wind, 2 heavy snow, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snow of 8 to 16 inches was common at elevations above 8500 feet.
Heavy snow of 8 to 16 inches was common at elevations above 8500 feet.
A gust to 53 knots was recorded at Double Eagle Airport.
A squall line moved through Corrales causing tree and structural damage. Several homes suffered roof, window or gutter damage. Roofs were blown off sheds and one metal shed was blown over completely. Several small evergreen trees were blown over and uprooted while a few cottonwood trees had large limbs broken.
Horse stalls, trailers and bleachers were blown over near Rodeo Rd and Richards Ave. A light tower was completely bent over. Truck windows were broken out and a chain link fence was ripped from its posts.
Heavy rain of 2 to 2.5 inches caused Whitewater Creek to leave its banks and flow across Highway 174, resulting in its closure.
Outbuildings were damaged in Edgewood.
Sustained winds reached 51 mph with a gust to 66 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2007Every state in 2007This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, December 2007
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: 62157, 62159, 61828, 61830, 61890, 62155, 61892, 61896, 61891, 61897, 61898, 61893, 61894, 61895, 62156.