A deep fetch of rich subtropical moisture surged northeast over New Mexico while a cold front moved south out of Colorado. Very warm temperatures at the beginning of the event forced snow levels above 9,000 feet through the day on the 19th.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 deep fetch of rich subtropical moisture surged northeast over New Mexico while a cold front moved south out of Colorado. Very warm temperatures at the beginning of the event forced snow levels above 9,000 feet through the day on the 19th. As the colder air filtered in from the north, snow levels fell and very heavy, wet snow accumulations occurred over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. SNOTEL and ski resort locations above 8,000 feet reported total snow accumulations on the order of 12 to 18 inches by the morning of the 20th. A few severe storms developed along the cold front during the early evening hours, dropping pea to quarter sized hail. No significant impacts to travel were noted due to the wetter nature of the snowfall.
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 Mar 19, 10:44 AM MST, 3 hours 16 minutes earlier.
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</html>HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 547 AM MDT THU MAR 19 2015 NMZ501>540-201200- 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- 547 AM MDT THU MAR 19 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT HEAVY WET SNOW WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE OVERNIGHT ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...FAVORING LOCALES ABOVE 8500 FEET. HIGH ELEVATION ROADS MAY BECOME SNOW PACKED AND ICY. WIDESPREAD WETTING RAINS AND PERHAPS A FEW THUNDERSTORMS WILL FAVOR LOWER ELEVATIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY SNOW WILL CONTINUE INTO EARLY FRIDAY MORNING ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. ADDITIONAL SHOWERS AND ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL DEVELOP IN THE AFTERNOON FAVORING THE HIGH TERRAIN OF WESTERN NEW MEXICO. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS...WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOW AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS THROUGH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/ABQ OR BY CALLING 1.888.386.7637. 34
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</html>The Cannon AFB radar (KFDX), 106 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:19 UTC.
3 heavy snow, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Ski sites and SNOTELs reported between 9 and 18 inches of wet snow. Intense snowfall rates occurred with this snow event.
Ski sites and SNOTELs reported between 9 and 19 inches of wet snow. Intense snowfall rates occurred with this snow event during the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 19th.
Eighteen inches of wet snow reported at Santa Barbara SNOTEL.
Storm chaser reported one to two inches of pea to quarter size hail on State Road 50.
Penny size hail.
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, March 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: 556352, 556353, 556351, 558120, 558121.