New Mexico, 2013

Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 13, 2013

December 13, 2013 · NWS ABQ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An upper level trough and associated cold front moved across the state from the west, and combined with ample moisture to produce numerous snow bands across northwest and central locations of the state. Snow bands were present through much of the overnight into early morning hours with locations reporting anywhere from 1 to 3 inches.

The toll

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

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.

An upper level trough and associated cold front moved across the state from the west, and combined with ample moisture to produce numerous snow bands across northwest and central locations of the state. Snow bands were present through much of the overnight into early morning hours with locations reporting anywhere from 1 to 3 inches. Locally up to 8 inches of snow was reported beneath the heaviest bands of snow.

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 Dec 12, 10:38 PM MST, 3 hours 22 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 12, 10:38 PM MST, 3 hours 22 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 12, 5:33 AM MST, 20 hours 27 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
533 AM MST THU DEC 12 2013

NMZ501>540-131300-
NORTHWEST PLATEAU-CHUSKA MOUNTAINS-FAR NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS-
NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS-WEST CENTRAL PLATEAU-WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-
WEST CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS-
SAN FRANCISCO RIVER VALLEY-SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-JEMEZ MOUNTAINS-
WEST SLOPES SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS-
NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9500 FEET/RED RIVER-
SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9500 FEET-
EAST SLOPES SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS-UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY-
LOWER CHAMA RIVER VALLEY-SANTA FE METRO AREA-ALBUQUERQUE METRO AREA-
LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY-SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS-ESTANCIA VALLEY-
CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-UPPER TULAROSA VALLEY-
SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-RATON RIDGE/JOHNSON MESA-
FAR NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS-NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS-UNION COUNTY-
HARDING COUNTY-EASTERN SAN MIGUEL COUNTY-GUADALUPE COUNTY-
QUAY COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY-ROOSEVELT COUNTY-DE BACA COUNTY-
CHAVES COUNTY PLAINS-EASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHWEST CHAVES COUNTY-
533 AM MST THU DEC 12 2013

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

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

AN AREA OF RAIN AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOW WILL MOVE NORTH OVER CATRON
AND LINCOLN COUNTIES TODAY. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE
ABOVE 9000 FEET. PRECIPITATION WILL THEN DEVELOP OVER WESTERN NEW
MEXICO TONIGHT AND INTERACT WITH COLDER AIR APPROACHING FROM THE
WEST. RAIN WILL CHANGE TO SNOW FROM WEST TO EAST WITH THE POTENTIAL
FOR 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW ALONG THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE...INCLUDING
THE INTERSTATE 40 CORRIDOR BETWEEN GALLUP AND GRANTS AND HIGHWAY
550 FROM CUBA TO BLOOMFIELD. SNOW MAY DEVELOP ALONG THE INTERSTATE
25 CORRIDOR AS WELL FROM ALBUQUERQUE SOUTH TO SOCORRO COUNTY BEFORE
SUNRISE FRIDAY.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY

AN AREA OF SNOW WILL TAPER OFF OVER THE MIDDLE/LOWER RIO GRANDE
VALLEY AND NEARBY SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS FRIDAY MORNING...WHERE
LIGHT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE FAVORING THE HIGHER
TERRAIN. NORTHWEST WINDS OF 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH
ARE POSSIBLE FRIDAY AFTERNOON ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL
MOUNTAIN CHAIN FROM NEAR CLINES CORNERS SOUTH TO VAUGHN.

WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS...
WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Dec 12, 11:43 PM MST, 2 hours 17 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
1143 PM MST THU DEC 12 2013

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

1100 PM     SNOW             5 SW BONITO LAKE        33.40N 105.78W
12/12/2013  E3.0 INCH        LINCOLN            NM   OTHER FEDERAL

            SIERRA BLANCA SNOTEL.

&&

EVENT NUMBER ABQ1302311

SHY

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Northwest Highlands

When
December 13, 2:00 AM MST to 8:00 AM MST
Where
Northwest Highlands forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer

Coop observer reported 8 inches of snow during the morning hours of Friday December 13, 2013.

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

More

Every storm in New Mexico in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, December 2013

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 480925.