A storm off the California coast on the 4th and 5th finally moved inland on the 6th and reached the four corners area early on the 7th. This allowed for plenty of moisture to surge into New Mexico ahead of the storm.
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 storm off the California coast on the 4th and 5th finally moved inland on the 6th and reached the four corners area early on the 7th. This allowed for plenty of moisture to surge into New Mexico ahead of the storm. A long duration snow event occurred over the southern San Juan and Sangre De Cristo mountains with around two feet of snow. Six to 12 inches of snow was common over the western and central mountains, while 3 to 6 inches fell in the western valleys.
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 5, 2:58 PM MST, 9 hours 2 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 600 AM MST SAT JAN 5 2008 NMZ001>021-026-061300- 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 SAT JAN 5 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT RAIN SHOWERS AND HIGHER ELEVATION SNOWS WILL MOVE INTO THE NORTHWEST THIRD OF THE STATE BETWEEN THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT...STARTING OUT SCATTERED THIS AFTERNOON THEN BECOMING MORE WIDESPREAD TONIGHT. SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE A GOOD BET ACROSS AREAS ABOVE...ON AVERAGE...8000 FEET THROUGH TONIGHT ACROSS THIS AREA. STRONG SURFACE WINDS WILL BUFFET THE AREA FROM THE SANGRE DE CRISTO AND SANDIA AND MANZANO MOUNTAINS EASTWARD TO THE TEXAS LINE TODAY...PEAKING THIS AFTERNOON IN MOST OF THIS AREA. SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL REACH 25 TO 35 MPH WITH PEAK GUSTS BETWEEN 40 AND 55 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY THE STORMY WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS MOST OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO SUNDAY THROUGH MONDAY. PERIODS OF SNOW AND RAIN WILL SPREAD ACROSS MOST OF THE REST OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO DURING THIS PERIOD WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 1 TO 3 FEET LIKELY TO BE ON THE HIGHER WEST AND SOUTHWEST FACING SLOPES OF THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS IN RIO ARRIBA COUNTY. STRONG WINDS WILL COMBINE WITH THE HEAVY SNOW TO PRODUCE LOW VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING SNOW ALONG WITH CONSIDERABLE DRIFTING SNOW THROUGH MOUNTAIN PASSES. SNOW LEVELS WILL DROP ENOUGH SUNDAY NIGHT TO RESULT IN LIGHT OR MODERATE SNOW ACCUMULATIONS IN WESTERN AND CENTRAL VALLEYS INCLUDING THE ANIMAS AND SAN JUAN VALLEYS AND PERHAPS EVEN PORTIONS OF THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY BY MONDAY MORNING. WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS... WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED...BUT SNOW REPORTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED. 43
6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
One to 2 feet of snow fell above 7500 feet with 2 to 10 inches below 7500 feet. There were areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Generally 3 to 6 inches of snow fell with some blowing and drifting snow.
One to 2 feet of snow fell above 7500 feet, while 2 to 12 inches were common below 7500 feet. There were areas of blowing and drifting snow.
Six to 22 inches of snow fell above 7500 feet, with generally under 6 inches below 7500 feet, along with some blowing and drifting snow.
Three to 9 inches of snow fell in the Sandia and Manzano mountains along with areas of blowing and drifting snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, January 2008
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: 65383, 65381, 65384, 65386, 65388, 65387.