A winter storm system impacted northern New Mexico with heavy mountain snow on December 28-29, 2020. Snow was largely confined to the northern high terrain which picked up several inches of snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 winter storm system impacted northern New Mexico with heavy mountain snow on December 28-29, 2020. Snow was largely confined to the northern high terrain which picked up several inches of snow. The Tusas and northern Sangre de Cristo mountains picked up about 10 to 12 inches of snow. Additionally, a brief period of freezing rain was observed across the northeast during the morning hours of December 29th. This led to localized icy and slick spots along portions of U.S. Highway 64 between Clayton and Raton as well as Interstate 25 near Las Vegas.
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 27, 5:06 PM MST, 2 hours 54 minutes earlier.
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 330 PM MST Sun Dec 27 2020 NMZ201>241-281200- Northwest Plateau-Chuska Mountains-Far Northwest Highlands- Northwest Highlands-West Central Plateau-West Central Mountains- West Central Highlands-Southwest Mountains- San Francisco River Valley-Tusas Mountains Including Chama- Jemez Mountains-Glorieta Mesa Including Glorieta Pass- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains- East Slopes Sangre de Cristo Mountains-Upper Rio Grande Valley- Espanola Valley-Santa Fe Metro Area- Middle Rio Grande Valley/Albuquerque Metro Area- Lower Rio Grande Valley-Sandia/Manzano Mountains Including Edgewood- Estancia Valley-Central Highlands-South Central Highlands- Upper Tularosa Valley-South Central Mountains- Johnson and Bartlett Mesas Including Raton Pass- 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- San Agustin Plains and Adjacent Lowlands- 330 PM MST Sun Dec 27 2020 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight A Pacific storm system will begin impacting the region tonight, with accumulating snow likely across the northern high terrain near the Colorado border. Travel impacts may start to impact roads within the Tusas Mountains, including the Chama area, after midnight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Monday through Saturday The Pacific storm system will approach Monday night and pass over on Tuesday, bringing a round of accumulating snow and travel impacts to much of the western and northern high terrain. In addition, strong winds will develop across far western New Mexico on Monday, and may also impact the Upper Gila and Sacramento Mountains Monday night and Tuesday. Strong northerly winds are also possible Tuesday night into Wednesday behind a front in the far eastern plains. A quick-hitting disturbance will bring another round of snow Thursday night into Friday. A Winter Weather Advisory may become necessary. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report snowfall amounts through the National Weather Service Albuquerque web site at weather.gov/abq or by calling 1.888.386.7637. 11/46
<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
<meta charset="utf-8">
<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
<title>Service Notice</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
<main class="wrap">
<section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
<div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
<h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
<p id="message1">
The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
</p>
<p id="message2">
Please try again in a few minutes.
</p>
<p class="small" id="detail">
If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
</p>
</section>
</main>
<script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Various locations reported 8 to 10 inches of snow in the area. A CoCoRaHS observer northeast of Ensenada measured 9.5 inches of snow on the morning of December 29th while the Chamita SNOTEL had an estimated 10 inches.
Various SNOTEL locations in the northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains observed heavy snow with total accumulations of about 8 to 13 inches. Ski sites in the Red River area also saw heavy accumulations with estimates over one foot.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, December 2020
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: 926785, 926786.