Heavy Snow in New Mexico, February 10, 2009

Name: Heavy Snow in New Mexico, February 10, 2009
Start: 2009-02-10T05:00
End: 2009-02-10T18:00
Location: New Mexico

February 10, 2009 · NWS ABQ · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

|Snow amounts were mostly in the two to seven inch range, although the ski areas of the northern mountains received between 16 and 22 inches.

The toll

Deaths: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.

The second storm in three days crossed New Mexico on the 10th, bringing decent snowfall to the higher terrain of western and central New Mexico.|Snow amounts were mostly in the two to seven inch range, although the ski areas of the northern mountains received between 16 and 22 inches.

What forecasters said that day

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 10, 3:28 AM MST, 1 hour 32 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 10, 3:28 AM MST, 1 hour 32 minutes before

<!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, Feb 9, 4:07 PM MST, 12 hours 53 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
407 PM MST MON FEB 9 2009

NMZ001>021-026-101300-
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-
407 PM MST MON FEB 9 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL
NEW MEXICO.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A WINTER STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF WESTERN AND NORTH
CENTRAL NEW MEXICO FOR TONIGHT AND TUESDAY. PLEASE REFER TO THE
LATEST WINTER STORM WARNING MESSAGE FOR DETAILS.

A WIND ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 PM MONDAY FOR AREAS ALONG
AND EAST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN WHERE SUSTAINED WINDS OF 25
TO 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED. OCCASIONAL GUSTS UP TO 50 AND 55 MPH ARE
ALSO POSSIBLE IN THIS AREA.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

THE WINTER STORM WARNING WILL CONTINUE FOR MUCH OF WESTERN AND
NORTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. ALSO...A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN
EFFECT FOR MUCH OF CENTRAL NEW MEXICO AND THE UPPER RIO GRANDE
VALLEY ON TUESDAY AND TUESDAY EVENING. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST
WINTER STORM WARNING MESSAGE FOR DETAILS.

WINDY CONTIIONS ARE POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY OVER EASTERN NEW MEXICO
ALONG WITH SNOWY CONDITIONS OVER NORTHERN NEW MEXICO AS ANOTHER
PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM MOVES ACROSS THE STATE.

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.

Event by event

5 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northwest Plateau

When: February 10, 5:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where: Northwest Plateau forecast zone
Reported by: Public

Snowfall amounts ranged from four to 7 inches around Bloomfield, Farmington and Aztec.

Heavy Snow, Northwest Mountains Including Jemez

When: February 10, 5:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where: Northwest Mountains Including Jemez forecast zone
Deaths: 0 direct, 1 indirect
Reported by: COOP Observer

Between two and six inches of snow accumulated across the zone.

Heavy Snow, Westcentral Mountains

When: February 10, 5:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where: Westcentral Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: Public

Two to six inches of snow was common over the West Central Mountains.

Heavy Snow, Southwest Mountains/Upper Gila Region

When: February 10, 5:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where: Southwest Mountains/Upper Gila Region forecast zone
Reported by: Public

Two to four inches of snow accumulated over the lower elevations of the Upper Gila Region of the Southwest Mountains.

Heavy Snow, Sangre de Cristo Mountains

When: February 10, 6:00 AM MST to 6:00 PM MST
Where: Sangre de Cristo Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer

Between four and eight inches of snow was common over the lower terrain, with over 16 inches of snow in many of the ski areas.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Heavy Snow, Northwest Mountains Including Jemez	2009-02-10	48	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Indirect

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in New Mexico in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in New Mexico, February 2009

Sources

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 145303, 145304, 145306, 145307, 145305.