New Mexico, 2013

Heavy Snow in New Mexico, December 21, 2013

December 21, 2013 · NWS EPZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

A slow moving upper level trough which tapped some Baja moisture crossed the Rockies and brought over a foot of snow to parts of the Sacramento Mountains.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

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 EPZ wrote it up.

A slow moving upper level trough which tapped some Baja moisture crossed the Rockies and brought over a foot of snow to parts of the Sacramento Mountains.

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 El Paso, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 20, 2:08 PM MST, 9 hours 52 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 20, 2:08 PM MST, 9 hours 52 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 20, 4:06 PM MST, 7 hours 54 minutes before
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The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet

When
December 21, 12:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
Where
Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
32.613, -105.742 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A total of 12.5 inches of snow was reported by a trained spotter in Cloudcroft. The Cloudcroft fire department reported 11.5 inches at the station. A CoCoRaHS observer reported 8.7 inches in Sunspot.

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 489011.