The first winter storm to impact New Mexico since the widespread mid November event delivered a hard blow to the state. A relatively moisture starved, disorganized, and slow-moving upper level storm system over the Great Basin chugged eastward across Arizona on the 11th then bombed out over New Mexico on the 12th and 13th.
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.
The first winter storm to impact New Mexico since the widespread mid November event delivered a hard blow to the state. A relatively moisture starved, disorganized, and slow-moving upper level storm system over the Great Basin chugged eastward across Arizona on the 11th then bombed out over New Mexico on the 12th and 13th. Strong dynamics and a tap of subtropical moisture gathered with cold air moving into the state to produce widespread heavy snowfall. Hazardous travel conditions were reported across much of the area as snowfall persisted for several hours from the 12th through the 13th. This was a top-25 two day snowfall event at the Albuquerque Sunport where 5.4 inches of snow fell. As low pressure intensified over northeastern New Mexico early on the 13th, blizzard conditions were reported across Union County. Whiteout conditions developed at Clayton for nearly 6 hours straight. Snow drifts reached 2 feet and numerous roads were closed across the county.
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 11, 11:01 AM MST, 59 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 1101 AM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE ABUNDANT CLOUD COVER WILL PERSIST THE NEXT 24 HOURS AS A DEVELOPING LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES OVER N NM FROM THE NW. CEILINGS WILL GRADUALLY LOWER TODAY...THEN SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER TONIGHT AS PRECIPITATION MOVES OVER WESTERN THEN CENTRAL AREAS WITH MVFR AND IFR CONDITIONS. THE SNOW LEVEL SHOULD DROP TO AROUND 6000 FT W OF THE CENTRAL MT CHAIN BY LATE TONIGHT...THEN DROP FURTHER SATURDAY AS A PACIFIC COLD FRONT CROSSES FROM THE WEST. SW WINDS WILL BECOME GUSTY TODAY AND ESPECIALLY SATURDAY...BUT LOWER ELEVATION WINDS SHOULD DECOUPLE FROM THE STRONGER FLOW ALOFT TO AN EXTENT TONIGHT. 44 && .PREV DISCUSSION...347 AM MST FRI DEC 11 2015... .SYNOPSIS... ONE MORE DAY OF UNUSUALLY WARM TEMPERATURES AND THEN PAY BACK WILL BEGIN IN EARNEST ON SATURDAY. A DEEP PACIFIC TROUGH WILL USHER IN MUCH COOLER AIR AND RAIN/SNOW CHANCES TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. ACCUMULATING SNOW IS EXPECTED FAVORING THE HIGHER TERRAIN NEAR THE COLORADO BORDER WITH SECONDARY IMPACTS TO THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS. STRONG TO VERY STRONG WIND WILL AFFECT THE MOUNTAIN AREAS ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO TODAY. ANOTHER QUICK HITTING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL SPREAD EVEN COOLER AIR INTO THE AREA MONDAY/TUESDAY. SNOW ACCUMULATION CHANCES WILL INCREASE ONCE AGAIN. && .DISCUSSION... AFTER REVIEWING CURRENT AND FORECASTED DATA...DECIDED TO ADD THE SANDIA MTNS TO THE WIND HIGHLIGHTS. AREAS TO THE LEE OF THE SANDIAS ARE CURRENTLY EXPERIENCING MODERATE MOUNTAIN WAVE GUSTS. OTHERWISE THE WIND HIGHLIGHTS LOOK SOLID. VERY LITTLE OVERALL CHANGE TO THE SNOWFALL GRIDS SO DECIDED THERE WAS ENOUGH CONFIDENCE TO ISSUE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES FOR THE WESTERN/NORTHERN HIGHLANDS. WENT WITH THREE SEGMENTS TO DESCRIBE THE DIFFERENT START/END TIMES. DID GET 8 TO 10 INCHES SNOW AMOUNTS COME OUT FOR THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF ZONE 510 AND 513 BUT THINKING MAINLY AN ADVISORY EVENT OVERALL. WILL ALSO NEED TO WATCH THE NC MTNS...NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS AND CONTINENTAL DIVIDE AREA FOR A FLASH FREEZE EVENT SATURDAY NIGHT. ONE INCH OF SLUSH ON THE ROADWAYS COULD FREEZE PRETTY HARD BY SUNDAY MORNING. THE SLUSH WOULD HAVE BEEN CREATED SATURDAY AFTERNOON ACROSS THOSE AREAS BY THE COMBO OF VERY COOL AIR ALOFT AND ANTECEDENT WARM GROUND/ROAD TEMPS. ALSO CONTINUED THE THUNDER MENTION FOR SATURDAY AFTERNOON WHICH MEANS SOME LOCALIZED POTENTIAL OF FAST SNOWFALL RATES THUS SLUSH CREATION. ZONE 526 HAS SOME POTENTIAL FOR SNOW ADVISORY AMOUNTS AND EVEN SOME FLASH FREEZING SATURDAY NIGHT SO THAT ZONE IS WORTH WATCHING. STILL SOME UNCERTAINTIES TO THE IMPACT OF THE FRONTAL CONVERGENCE ZONE WITH THE CLOSED UPPER LOW ACROSS THE NE HIGHLANDS/PLAINS LATE SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY. THE ECMWF/GEM REMAIN MORE BULLISH FOR LINGERING SNOW ACROSS THE NE VERSUS THE GFS/NAM. KEPT SOME POPS IN THE GRIDS TO ACCOUNT FOR THE MODEL DISAGREEMENT BUT HAVE VERY LITTLE IN THE WAY OF SNOW ACCUMULATION THEN. IF THE ECMWF/GEM WIN OUT...MAY NEED TO EXTEND THE ADVISORIES. THE FRONTAL PUSH ACROSS JOHNSON MESA AND THE NE PLAINS ALSO ADDS SOME ANGST. WILL NEED TO WATCH THOSE TRENDS CLOSELY FOR MAX/MIN TEMP FORECASTING. ADDED A LITTLE EXTRA QPF/SNOW TO ACCOUNT FOR THIS FRONT. BRIEF BREAK IS EXPECTED LATER SUNDAY INTO MONDAY MORNING BEFORE ANOTHER PACIFIC WAVE/STRONG JET AFFECTS THE AREA. THE MODELS REMAIN CONSISTENT WITH AN INITIAL WELL PUT TOGETHER JET STREAK BAND OF SNOW ACROSS WESTERN/NORTHERN AREAS MONDAY AFTERNOON BUT THEN BREAK UP THE BAND DURING THE OVERNIGHT HOURS AS THE JET DYNAMICS WEAKEN. RESIDUAL INSTABILITY/OROGRAPHIC SNOW SHOWERS SHOULD CONTINUE ON TUESDAY/TUESDAY NIGHT AS THE MAIN UPPER WAVE TRACKS OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES. THIS WILL BE A COOLER SYSTEM WITH MORE COOLING IMPACT TO SURFACE TEMPS. THE GFS/GEM/ECMWF APPEAR TO BE PRETTY SIMILAR ALTHOUGH THE GEM IS MOST PROGRESSIVE WITH THE SYSTEM. THE ECMWF APPEARS TO BE MORE OF AN OUTLIER FOR THE LATTER HALF OF NEXT WEEK. THE MODEL SHOWS A THIRD SYSTEM DIVING SOUTHWARD INTO THE AREA ON THURSDAY AND PROVIDING PRECIPITATION. THE GFS IS MUCH LESS BULLISH AND SEEMS TO MIMIC THE GEM. 50 && .FIRE WEATHER... VERY STRONG WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN WEATHER IMPACT TODAY...WITH THE CENTRAL MTN CHAIN LIKELY THE MOST IMPACTED AS WIND SPEEDS RANGE FROM 30 TO NEARLY 45 MPH...GUSTING AT TIMES FROM 50 TO PERHAPS A BIT ABOVE 60 MPH. FARTHER EAST INTO THE PLAINS...PARTICULARLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40...20 FT WIND SPEEDS WILL REACH 20 TO MORE LOCALLY NEARLY 30 MPH. GUSTS BETWEEN 30 AND NEARLY 40 MPH WILL NOT BE OUT OF THE QUESTION. MINIMUM RH WILL DROP TO NEAR OR JUST BELOW 15 PERCENT ACROSS MUCH OF THE PLAINS. THE LOWEST HUMIDITIES STILL LOOK TO BE FROM NEAR RATON AND LAS VEGAS EAST TO THE STATE LINE. IN A GOOD PORTION OF THIS AREA WE STILL EXPECT ABOUT 3 TO 5 HOURS OF CRITICAL OR NEAR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTN...BUT MINIMUM RH VALUES WILL BE MARGINAL...CLOUD COVER SHOULD REMAIN PRETTY WIDESPREAD THROUGH THIS PERIOD AND HAINES INDICES STILL SHOW A DOWNWARD TREND FROM NEAR 5 THIS MORN TO THE 2 TO 3 RANGE THIS AFTN WITH A SMALL AREA OF 4 VICINITY OF QUAY COUNTY. SO WE DECIDED TO STILL REFRAIN FROM A RED FLAG WARNING ISSUANCE AT THIS TIME. STILL THOUGH...FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE ELEVATED FOR THIS AREA. TEMPS WILL REMAIN WELL ABOVE NORMAL AREAWIDE...THOUGH SOME COOLING SHOULD BE THE RULE ACROSS WEST HALF OF THE STATE. AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT ARE STILL ON TRACK TO CROSS THE STATE TONIGHT AND SAT. AN INCH OR TWO...LOCALLY 3...OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE AT MANY WESTERN AND NORTHEAST NM LOCALES... ESPECIALLY ABOVE ROUGHLY 6000 FEET. THE NORTHERN MTNS AND POSSIBLY THE RATON RIDGE AND JOHNSON MESA VICINITIES SHOULD SEE A FEW MORE INCHES THAN THAT. PRECIP WILL BEGIN LATER TONIGHT ACROSS NW AND W CENTRAL NM...SPREADING SOUTH AND EAST SAT. STRONG WINDS MAY ALSO ACCOMPANY THE PACIFIC FRONT...CREATING BLOWING SNOW CONDITIONS IN SOME AREAS. TEMPS WILL TREND 13 TO JUST OVER TO 20 DEGREES BELOW MAX READINGS TODAY. BACK DOOR COLD FRONT SAT NIGHT IN THE NORTHEAST MAY ADD JUST ENOUGH ADDITIONAL LIFT TO BRING THAT ADDITIONAL SNOW AND STRONG WINDS ACROSS THE AFOREMENTIONED FAR NE NM LOCALES. AS THE SYSTEM PULLS OUT ON SUNDAY...WHAT PRECIP THAT MAY LINGER IN THE MORN ACROSS THE EAST WILL COME TO AN END...BUT TEMPS WILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL AT MOST LOCATIONS. ANOTHER UPPER LEVEL TROUGH WILL ARRIVE MON. THE NW THIRD TO POSS HALF OF THE FCST AREA SHOULD SEE ANOTHER ROUND OF RAIN AND SNOW... PERHAPS A FEW INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION FOR THE NW AND N CENTRAL HIGH TERRAIN. WINDS TO LIKELY INCREASE AGAIN...PERHAPS IN SOME CASES APPROACHING TODAYS LVLS. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING IN EVEN CHILLIER WX AS THE ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT SURGES ACROSS THE AREA MON NIGHT. TUE HIGHS WILL BE WELL BELOW NORMAL WITH LITTLE OR NO WARMING WED. WITH THE INCREASED WINDS VENTILATION WILL IMPROVE TODAY FOR MAJORITY OF THE AREA...THOUGH THE CENTRAL VALLEYS AND PORTIONS OF THE E CENTRAL PLAINS WILL SEE NO TO ONLY MODEST IMPROVEMENT. VENTILATION SAT WILL BE VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT NEARLY AREAWIDE AS MIXING HEIGHTS IMPROVE. RATES WILL TREND DOWN ON SUNDAY...BUT BACK UP MOST LOCALES MON WHEN MOST WESTERN AND CENTRAL AREAS WILL SEE GOOD OR BETTER RATES. GOOD OR BETTER VENT RATES EXPECTED TUE EXCEPT FOR AREAS NEAR CO AND PERHAPS AZ BORDER. VENT RATES WILL TREND SHARPLY BACK DOWN WED AND THU. 43 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 11 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 PM MST SATURDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ506-508. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ502-505-506-508-521-528-529. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ512>515-527. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 AM SATURDAY TO 5 AM MST SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ515-527. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 5 AM MST SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ503-504-510>514-516. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 9 AM MST SATURDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ526. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 603 AM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 NMZ501>540-121300- 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 CRISTOS ABOVE 9500 FEET/RED RIVER- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTOS ABOVE 9500 FEET- EAST SLOPES SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS-UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY- LOWER CHAMA RIVER VALLEY-SANTA FE METRO AREA- MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY/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- 603 AM MST FRI DEC 11 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HIGH WIND WARNING AND WIND ADVISORIES ISSUED FOR PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY INTO TONIGHT. THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT EAST SLOPES WILL BE MOST AFFECTED. THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE WESTERN HIGHLANDS WILL ALSO SEE STRONG WIND FLOWS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN ISSUED FOR THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN HIGHLANDS FROM TONIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING. SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW IS THE MAIN THREAT. A FLASH FREEZE EVENT IS ALSO POSSIBLE LATER SATURDAY INTO SATURDAY NIGHT DUE TO SIGNIFICANTLY COOLER TEMPERATURES AND RESIDUAL SNOWFALL/WET/SLUSHY ROADWAYS. ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL IMPACT THE AREA MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY. MODEST SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE ANTICIPATED AT THIS TIME. WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS... WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. 50
11 heavy snow, 2 blizzard. Local standard time, as filed.
Public, SNOTEL, and ski sites reported between 4 and 13 inches of snow with blowing snow. Difficult travel was reported across the entire area, especially mountain passes.
Public, SNOTEL, and ski sites reported between 5 and 12 inches of snow with blowing snow. Difficult travel was reported across the entire area, especially mountain passes.
Public, SNOTEL, and ski sites reported between 3 and 9 inches of snow with blowing snow. Difficult travel was reported across the entire area, especially mountain passes.
Public, SNOTEL, and ski sites reported between 4 and 8 inches of snow with blowing snow. Difficult travel was reported across the entire area, especially mountain passes.
Trained spotters, COOP observers, highway department, and the public reported around 8 to 10 inches of snowfall around Union County, with drifts as high as 3 feet in whiteout conditions. The Clayton ASOS reported one-quarter mile visibility between 8am and 3pm with winds as high as 50 mph. U.S. Highway 64/84 and U.S. Highway 54 were closed for several hours. The webcam at Clayton showed near zero visibility.
Trained spotters, COOP observers, highway department, and the public reported around 4 to 10 inches of snowfall around northeast Colfax County near the Colorado border. Drifts as high as 2 to 3 feet covered roadways with whiteout conditions. Highway 64/84 was closed for several hours.
Four to 5 inches of snow with blowing snow and some drifting were reported from Raton south to Wagon Mound. Difficult driving conditions impacted Interstate 25. The Raton airport reported a peak wind of 60 mph with this event.
Three to 7 inches of snow and blowing snow were reported from Las Vegas to Ribera. Difficult driving conditions impacted Interstate 25.
Two to four inches of snow with blowing snow, drifts, and very low visibilities were reported from Roy to Bueyeros. Difficult driving conditions impacted nearly every roadway across Harding County.
Up to 10 inches of snow with blowing snow, drifts, and very low visibilities were reported around Bell Ranch. Difficult driving conditions impacted nearly every roadway across eastern San Miguel County.
Countywide snowfall ranged from about 8 to 10 inches of snow with the heaviest amounts falling on the caprock north of Interstate 40 from Dilia eastward. Difficult driving conditions impacted nearly every roadway across the county.
Numerous sources from across the Albuquerque Metro area reported between 2 and 7 inches with the heaviest amounts falling east of the Interstate 25 corridor. Travel conditions were difficult mainly above 5,500 feet. The 5.4 inches reported at the Sunport was a top-25 two day snowfall event.
Numerous sources from across Santa Fe south to Eldorado and Lamy reported between 3 and 9 inches. Travel conditions were difficult across the entire area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, December 2015
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: 604542, 604543, 604541, 604544, 604529, 604530, 604532, 604533, 604534, 604535, 604537, 604547, 604548.