A fast-moving upper level storm system moved east across New Mexico while a potent back door cold front surged southwest through the state on January 18-19, 2021. Locally heavy snow first developed over the northern mountains on the 18th then spread south and west into the remainder of central and western New Mexico through the morning of the 19th.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 fast-moving upper level storm system moved east across New Mexico while a potent back door cold front surged southwest through the state on January 18-19, 2021. Locally heavy snow first developed over the northern mountains on the 18th then spread south and west into the remainder of central and western New Mexico through the morning of the 19th. Eight to 12 inches of snow was common along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and within the Valles Caldera. Lower elevation areas of northern and western New Mexico picked up between two and six inches. Blowing and drifting snow was reported in a few areas along with severe travel conditions.
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 Jan 18, 2:48 PM MST, 2 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 248 PM MST Mon Jan 18 2021 .SYNOPSIS... An active week is ahead starting with snow and strong winds tonight into Tuesday. A strong cold front shifting through eastern New Mexico will race through the gaps of the central mountain chain, resulting in gusty canyon winds within the Rio Grande Valley this evening through mid day Tuesday. Gusts between 50 and 60 mph are likely in the Albuquerque Metro. Additionally, moderate to heavy snowfall is expected across much of northern New Mexico, near and north of I-40. Between 6 and 12 inches of snow, with locally higher amounts, is expected for the northern mountains and adjacent highlands. Another storm system may impact portions of New Mexico on Thursday and Thursday night. Rain and high elevation snow is possible for southern and western areas. Yet another storm system may impact the Land of Enchantment next weekend with more rain and snow. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT)... An active weather pattern begins! A backdoor cold front has moved through the entire east this afternoon and is banked up against the east slopes of the central mountains. This pool of chilly air will spill into the Rio Grande Valley this evening with a vengeance, producing strong to high winds and maybe damaging winds for the Middle RGV. A high wind warning is being issued. Meanwhile an upper level trough over northeast NV will move southwest and intensify to a 548dm closed low well off the Baja, CA coast. This will back the winds aloft and create a difluent flow, while low level moisture moves in from the south and the back door front will act as a convergence area. The result will be a fairly widespread area of snow this evening into Tuesday for the northern tier zones. Some of the snow will be moderate to heavy in the northern mountains. The western and central higher terrain will also get some accumulation. Winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories are being issued this afternoon. Temperatures will take a sharp drop Tuesday with highs below to well below normal. LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY)... As the upper level low spins west of the Baja Peninsula, abundant subtropical will advect northward to the east of it. The low looks to get kicked out Wednesday night and Thursday, filling as it shifts eastward. Widespread clouds are expected across NM thanks to the moisture, but precipitation may be finicky across northern and central NM given the weakening system. Best chances for rain and high elevation snow look to be across western and southern portions of the area Thursday afternoon and night but QPF differs significantly between models and model runs. A break in the action should occur somewhat on Friday, before the next system that will originate from the Gulf of Alaska takes aim on the Land of Enchantment late next weekend. There are some differences between the models regarding how fast the system weakens and progresses eastward. But attm, it looks like winds should pick up as southwest flow aloft increases. This increase in winds is possible both Saturday and Sunday. Meanwhile, enough moisture and strong orographic lift may help develop mountain snow, at least across the northwest half of the area. Eventually precip will spread to lower elevations as the system crosses NM, but that may be late Sunday or Monday afternoon, depending on the model. Stay tuned. CHJ/34 && .FIRE WEATHER... The combination of a strong backdoor cold front and a developing upper low to our west will bring a round of wetting precipitation to much of central and northern New Mexico this evening into Tuesday. Significant snow accumulations are likely in the northern mountains, with light to moderate amounts on the west and central mountains and highlands. A break on Wednesday will give way to another trough of low pressure with mostly light precipitation over the west, central and south. Yet another disturbance will impact NM over the weekend. Ventilation rates will be fair to poor in most areas through the week with improvement next weekend. CHJ && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE VFR conditions prevail, but deterioration to prevailing MVFR and areas of IFR is expected due to a strong backdoor cold front and the development of snow overnight. In addition, mountain obscurations will become widespread overnight. The backdoor front will result in a strong east canyon wind at KABQ with frequent gusts to between 40-50kts. An Airport Weather Warning for strong winds will be required this evening. Conditions will likely deteriorate further early Tuesday morning with isolated LIFR visibilities and ceilings. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 29 37 18 45 / 80 80 5 0 Dulce........................... 23 34 8 46 / 90 90 10 5 Cuba............................ 23 31 17 48 / 80 80 5 5 Gallup.......................... 24 39 14 50 / 60 60 5 5 El Morro........................ 24 35 17 49 / 70 80 5 10 Grants.......................... 24 33 15 49 / 70 80 5 5 Quemado......................... 28 43 22 50 / 40 60 10 10 Magdalena....................... 28 39 25 48 / 30 50 5 10 Datil........................... 27 39 24 48 / 40 70 10 10 Reserve......................... 26 52 19 54 / 30 60 20 20 Glenwood........................ 36 55 33 54 / 20 50 20 30 Chama........................... 18 31 9 40 / 90 90 10 5 Los Alamos...................... 24 31 19 43 / 90 90 5 5 Pecos........................... 23 29 20 46 / 80 90 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 20 28 20 40 / 90 90 0 0 Red River....................... 14 24 15 37 / 90 90 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 11 25 5 39 / 90 90 0 0 Taos............................ 19 29 10 41 / 90 90 0 0 Mora............................ 18 27 11 49 / 90 90 0 0 Espanola........................ 26 32 18 47 / 90 80 5 0 Santa Fe........................ 26 31 23 45 / 80 90 5 5 Santa Fe Airport................ 24 32 20 46 / 80 80 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 29 35 27 47 / 60 80 0 5 Albuquerque Heights............. 30 38 25 48 / 50 70 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 29 39 23 51 / 50 60 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 30 37 24 50 / 60 80 0 0 Belen........................... 30 41 20 50 / 40 50 0 5 Bernalillo...................... 30 37 23 50 / 60 70 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 28 40 20 50 / 40 60 0 0 Corrales........................ 29 37 24 51 / 60 70 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 28 41 21 50 / 40 60 0 0 Placitas........................ 28 33 27 47 / 70 80 0 5 Rio Rancho...................... 29 36 25 49 / 60 80 0 0 Socorro......................... 30 45 24 51 / 20 30 5 10 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 27 30 25 45 / 60 90 0 5 Tijeras......................... 25 31 24 47 / 60 90 0 5 Edgewood........................ 24 31 19 47 / 60 90 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 23 32 13 49 / 50 80 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 19 28 18 44 / 60 80 0 0 Mountainair..................... 24 33 21 47 / 30 70 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 25 34 23 46 / 20 50 0 5 Carrizozo....................... 29 42 27 51 / 10 20 10 10 Ruidoso......................... 21 34 25 51 / 10 20 20 20 Capulin......................... 19 29 17 52 / 80 60 0 0 Raton........................... 20 30 13 52 / 90 70 0 0 Springer........................ 21 30 11 52 / 90 70 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 18 25 16 52 / 90 90 0 0 Clayton......................... 22 35 24 57 / 40 30 0 0 Roy............................. 24 32 18 53 / 80 70 0 0 Conchas......................... 27 35 21 58 / 60 60 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 29 35 23 57 / 40 60 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 28 37 26 60 / 30 40 0 0 Clovis.......................... 26 39 28 55 / 10 10 0 0 Portales........................ 27 41 26 56 / 10 10 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 28 41 25 56 / 10 30 0 0 Roswell......................... 28 45 30 54 / 10 10 10 10 Picacho......................... 28 40 28 56 / 10 10 10 5 Elk............................. 25 38 24 55 / 10 10 20 10 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM MST Tuesday for the following zones... NMZ201-202-204-206-207-217-218-221>223-231-232. Winter Storm Warning until 5 PM MST Tuesday for the following zones... NMZ203-210>216-227>229. High Wind Warning from 7 PM this evening to 5 PM MST Tuesday for the following zones... NMZ219. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 458 PM MST Mon Jan 18 2021 NMZ201>241-191200- 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- 458 PM MST Mon Jan 18 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Tonight A strong winter storm system will take shape tonight. Moderate to locally heavy snowfall is forecast to develop over northern NM this evening then spread south and west overnight. Travel impacts are most likely across the northern third of the state late tonight. Strong east canyon winds are likely in the Rio Grande Valley tonight through Tuesday, especially in the Albuquerque metro area where gusts of 50 to 60 mph may occur. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Widespread accumulating snow will continue over the northern half of the state on Tuesday with travel impacts likely on area roads. Around an inch or so of snow is possible in the middle Rio Grande Valley and Albuquerque metro are possible Tuesday morning before snow diminishes during the afternoon. Rain and mountain snow may return to the region Thursday and Thursday night as the storm system ejects eastward across the Southwest U.S. Another winter storm system is forecast to impact the state with lower elevation rain and mountain snow over the weekend. .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. You can also submit storm reports and photos on our Facebook page or via Twitter using the hashtag nmwx. 34
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
The Pajarito Ski Site measured about 13 inches of snow.
Various sources in the Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains reported about 8 to 13 inches of snow. The highest reports were near Red River which received over a foot of snow.
Various sources on the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains reported snow totals near a foot. A CoCoRaHS observer near Black Lake received 11.1 of snow over two days.
Various sources around the Las Vegas area reported around 9 to 13 inches of snow.
Various SNOTELs across the Tusas Mountains recorded about 12 to 14 inches of snow.
A CoCoRaHS observer east of Aztec measured 9.4 of snow over a two-day period.
A COOP observer near Philmont Scout Ranch measured 7 inches of snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, January 2021
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: 929554, 929562, 929563, 929568, 929550, 929521, 929567.