A cold upper level low pressure system over the Great Basin on December 14, 2019 moved slowly southeast into northern New Mexico through December 15, 2019. A frigid back door cold front sagged southwest into the eastern plains during this period and set the stage for snow across the northern high terrain and parts of the northeast plains.
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.
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 cold upper level low pressure system over the Great Basin on December 14, 2019 moved slowly southeast into northern New Mexico through December 15, 2019. A frigid back door cold front sagged southwest into the eastern plains during this period and set the stage for snow across the northern high terrain and parts of the northeast plains. The heaviest snowfall impacted area from near Chama to Red River and Angel Fire where six to 14 inches was reported. Parts of the Interstate 25 corridor around Raton eastward along U.S. 64 picked up two to five inches. Impacts were mostly relegated to the higher terrain where difficult travel conditions occurred. Very cold air moved into the entire region in the wake of this system with low temperatures in the single digits and teens. Angel Fire fell to a whopping 26 degrees below zero on the 17th.
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 14, 4:31 PM MST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.
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</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 10 inches from near Chama eastward into the higher terrain of eastern Rio Arriba County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, December 2019
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: 861375.