An upper level trough shifted southeast through the Great Basin into New Mexico during the late afternoon hours of the 10th. A strong cold front had shifted southwest into the eastern plains of New Mexico prior to the arrival of the upper level wave.
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.
An upper level trough shifted southeast through the Great Basin into New Mexico during the late afternoon hours of the 10th. A strong cold front had shifted southwest into the eastern plains of New Mexico prior to the arrival of the upper level wave. Areas of freezing fog, light snow, and cold temperatures impacted eastern New Mexico behind the front. Meanwhile, another cold front in association with the upper level wave crossed into northwestern New Mexico and helped force a well-defined band of snow into the northern and western high terrain during the late evening hours of the 11th. The two fronts merged along the central mountain chain before shifting southward into southern New Mexico. The combination of cold temperatures and light snow along the Interstate 25 corridor produced severe travel conditions between Colmor and Las Vegas. Icy conditions along the Interstate 40 corridor near Gallup produced a motor vehicle accident that briefly shut down the highway. The east slope of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains benefited the most out of this system with snowfall amounts of six to nine inches.
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, 4:51 PM MST, 5 hours 9 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 451 PM MST Sat Feb 10 2018 .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE Cold upper level trough over eastern UT/western CO sliding s-sewd toward northern NM. West winds will continue to blow and gust to around 40-45kt over western and central NM but will shift to the northwest prior to 06Z and to the northeast aft 00Z as the cold front surges south and westward. Expect mt obscurations in areas of MVFR to IFR cigs/vsbys in shrasn to develop over nrn and northeastern NM with the -shra becoming all snow by 02Z or so. Potential for light snow and MVFR to IFR cigs/vsbys to shift south toward KSAF aft 09Z and persist thru 14Z. Upper trough and associated clouds, winds and precip shift east out of NM after 11/18Z. 33 && .PREV DISCUSSION...330 PM MST Sat Feb 10 2018... .SYNOPSIS... A fast moving upper disturbance combined with colder air over eastern New Mexico will bring a short period of accumulating snow to the north central and northeast tonight into early Sunday. By Sunday afternoon the precipitation and winds will have diminished leaving mostly sunny skies but cool and mostly below average temperatures. Monday through Tuesday may see a few showers in the northwest mountains but the remainder of the region will be dry and warmer. The middle to end of the week features unsettled weather but forecast models not at all in agreement where and when the best chances for precipitation will be. It does appear temperatures will remain above average Wednesday and Thursday before potential for a cooldown Friday or Saturday. && .DISCUSSION... Gusty winds will continue into the early evening before shifting to the northwest over the west and central, while the back door portion of the cold front in the eastern plains surges to the west and south. Went ahead and added the Upper Rio Grande Valley to the Winter Weather Advisory thinking the nwly upslope flow into the Sangre de Cristo mts could accumulate 2-3 inches along the foothills, impacting the Taos area. Also added Union County mainly thinking the nrn and wrn portions of the county. Can't rule out an inch or two around Espanola/Los Alamos/Santa Fe, but thinking was that the winds would not become sely for very long overnight, if they did at all. Timing for the exit of the upper trough appears similar to previous runs, so mostly sunny but cool weather expected Sunday afternoon. Monday through Tuesday may see a few showers over the northwest mountains but depends on the progression of the developing upper low to our west. Temperatures will warm to above average during this time. Models continue to show unsettled weather mid to late next week, but very different on the timing and location as the upper low exits. This makes precipitation amounts, locations and timing a low confidence deal. It does appear precipitation would be rain rather than snow for much of the lower/mid level terrain, with high mountain snow Wednesday/Thursday. The ECMWF is quite aggressive with a cold front next Friday into the eastern plains, and therefore much colder in the east but didn't really slant the forecast in that direction. && .FIRE WEATHER... ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FOR THE WEST CENTRAL HIGHLANDS...THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY...AND THE SANDIA...MANZANO...AND GALLINAS MOUNTAINS THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON... Well above normal temperatures, deep mixing, low humidity, strong winds, and dry, receptive fuels have generated critical fire weather over a large part of west central and central NM this afternoon. The Northwest Highlands zone will also see a lengthy duration of marginal critical conditions and perhaps a couple hours of critical values on the eastern periphery from near Grants to Laguna and Acoma Pueblos. Meanwhile, a sharp frontal boundary over eastern NM will continue to produce a drastic difference with much higher humidity and cold temperatures. It's still in the teens at Clayton with relative humidities in the 80s! A storm system will shift quickly south this evening from Colorado and force a strong cold front through the entire region tonight. A band of snow will develop near the Colorado border this evening and press south during the night and early Sunday morning, toward I-40. The northern mountains will pick up significant snow, with lesser amounts to the south and east. The I-25 corridor from Glorieta Pass to Raton Pass will receive a few inches of snow, while the I-40 corridor from Tijeras Canyon to the TX border could see light accumulations but icy conditions may develop. Santa Fe could pick up an inch or two while the Albuquerque Metro may see flurries in the foothills overnight. Humidity recoveries tonight will be mostly good to excellent. Sunday will be chilly with early morning snow ending by mid to late morning. Vent rates will be mostly fair to poor. Monday through Wednesday will be warmer. A storm system will take shape over CA early next week, move southwest offshore, then turn northeast later in the week. The storm will be close enough Monday for some precipitation in the northwest. The high peaks of the Tusas Mountains could see substantial snowfall Monday into Monday night. Tuesday into Wednesday will be dry. Breezy conditions in the northeast Wednesday could combine with marginally low humidities to produce near critical fire weather conditions for an hour or two. Rain showers could arrive late Wednesday over the West Central Mountains. The storm should bring a good deal of subtropical moisture into AZ and NM Thursday through Saturday. Temperatures will be above normal on the front side of this system so snow levels would be quite high. However, liquid totals are really impressive with widespread amounts of 0.25 to 1.00". Colder air moves in with the passage of the upper storm system and lowers snow levels late Friday through Saturday. && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until 6 PM MST this evening for the following zones... NMZ502-505>508-513>515-523-526. Red Flag Warning until 6 PM MST this evening for the following zones... NMZ106-107-109. Winter Weather Advisory until 8 AM MST Sunday for the following zones... NMZ510-512>516-527>530. && 99
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATE National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 345 PM MST Sat Feb 10 2018 NMZ501>540-111200- 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- 345 PM MST Sat Feb 10 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...This afternoon and Tonight West winds gusting to 45 or 50 mph will persist over portions of western and central New Mexico into the early evening before turning northwesterly and diminishing. Critical fire weather conditions this afternoon over portions of southern and central New Mexico will diminish this evening as well. Accumulating snow will begin this evening near the Colorado border then progress southward with the Northern Mountains potentially seeing 3 to 9 inches of snow and the Upper Rio Grande Valley, Northeast Highlands and Union County possibly measuring 1 to 4 inches by early Sunday morning. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday Snow will taper off early Sunday. Wednesday though Friday may see unsettled weather but forecast models are not at all in agreement on the location and timing of any resulting precipitation. However, snow levels do appear to be fairly high during this time so lower terrain rain and high mountain snow are featured. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report wind speeds and snow amounts through the National Weather Service Albuquerque web site at weather.gov/abq or by calling 1.888.386.7637. You can also submit storm reports and photos on our Facebook page or via Twitter using the hashtag nmwx.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
434 PM MST SAT FEB 10 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0353 PM HIGH SUST WINDS 1 SSE CLINES CORNERS 35.00N 105.66W
02/10/2018 M40 MPH TORRANCE NM ASOS
KCQC ASOS.
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ1800243
CA2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches combined with very cold temperatures created severe travel conditions for several hours along the I-25 corridor between Colmor and Las Vegas.
Snowfall amounts of 2 to 5 inches combined with cold temperatures produced hazardous travel conditions along the I-40 corridor between Gallup and Grants. A motor vehicle accident a few miles east of Gallup briefly shut down the highway.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, February 2018
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: 730474, 730475.