A strong and cold low pressure system deepened over the Great Basin area before tracking eastward over the state of New Mexico starting on March 23 and continuing through March 24, 2021. Meanwhile, a potent cold front surged south and west through eastern New Mexico, and upslope flow associated with this front helped to set the stage for heavy snow across the east slopes of the central mountain…
Every event with a place to put it; 18 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 strong and cold low pressure system deepened over the Great Basin area before tracking eastward over the state of New Mexico starting on March 23 and continuing through March 24, 2021. Meanwhile, a potent cold front surged south and west through eastern New Mexico, and upslope flow associated with this front helped to set the stage for heavy snow across the east slopes of the central mountain chain. The highest snow accumulations were observed across the northern mountains and along the east slopes where 12 to 24 inches was received. This led to snow-packed and icy roads across much of northern and central New Mexico, and travel was heavily impacted. A major accident involving 39 vehicles along Interstate 40 east of Moriarty led to several injuries as well as the closure of the busy travel corridor. Meanwhile, as the cold front was channeled through the central mountain chain, very strong gap winds were observed in the Albuquerque area. The Albuquerque Sunport measured a peak wind gust of 68 mph which resulted in numerous reports of downed trees and power outages across the city.
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 23, 2:03 PM MST, 1 hour 57 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 303 PM MDT Tue Mar 23 2021 .SYNOPSIS... A high impact winter storm system is still set to impact New Mexico tonight through Wednesday with widespread snow accumulation. Conditions will rapidly deteriorate tonight through Wednesday morning with moderate to heavy snow expected across the high terrain areas as well as the east slopes of the central mountain chain. Strong to damaging winds are expected on the east side of Albuquerque with gusts of 55 to 60 mph. Widespread travel impacts are likely. Precipitation will taper off by Wednesday evening, but another system on its heels will result in another round of rain and snow for northern New Mexico. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT)... Latest satellite imagery shows increasing cloud cover ahead of the next system. At this time, the low has closed off and is currently over Flagstaff, AZ. Some precipitation has already begun across western and northern areas of the state. Models are in good agreement that the low will cross the AZ/NM border around midnight tonight. The low will trek across Interstate 40, deepening to 546 dam H5 as it reaches central New Mexico. With dew points currently hovering in the teens and single digits across western and central New Mexico, it will take awhile for top-down moistening to occur. There may be some initial P-type concerns across the eastern plains with the backdoor cold front, with soundings showing a quick changeover from rain to snow overnight. The main concern for the ABQ metro area will be the strong to potentially damaging gap winds that will peak early Wednesday morning. Deep layer easterly flow with 700 mb winds approaching 50 kts will provide a classic setup for an overtopping event. Short term model guidance is in better agreement about the timing, but the strength of the winds varies from 29 kts on the ECX to 41 kts on the MAV and MET. This could mean very little in terms of accumulation in the ABQ metro area's east side, as the "snow hole" effect returns and a couple of inches of snow pile up on Albuquerque's west side. This timing also coincides with when the wet bulb 0 drops to 5600' across the northern edge of Bernalillo County early Wednesday morning, where only grassy surfaces may accumulate snowfall. Soundings also indicate ABQ's temperatures just hovering above freezing (with the GFS slightly colder), but may fall more as a rain/snow mix and further reduce snow amounts here. There may be some patches of blowing snow that reduce visibility, but snow may be on the wetter side based off of forecast temperature profiles and become compacted. Decided to add De Baca County to the advisory, as the HRRR, NAM12, and even the GFS to some extent set up a mesocale snow band just south of Interstate 40 Wednesday afternoon. There is also some uncertainty about upgrading Union County, as snowfall amounts across the western edge of the county may reach warning criteria, but as temperatures warm through the day on Wednesday, precipitation may mainly fall in the form of rain. There is less confidence across the middle and upper Rio Grande Valley that snow amounts will be near advisory and fall in the form of rain. Even a thunderstorm or two may be possible Wednesday afternoon given the instability. Kept high temperatures below guidance on Wednesday, due to snow coverage, cloud cover, and ongoing precipitation. The low ejects late Wednesday, keeping light snowfall lingering across the northern mountains just after midnight. Some freezing fog will be possible Wednesday evening, as recent snowfall may lead to a saturated boundary layer. 31 LONG TERM...(THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... A brief break in the active pattern is expected Thursday morning, but it will indeed be brief. Another Pacific storm system will be digging southward into northern NV by morning and then will track eastward across the central Rockies through Friday. Shower activity will increase across the northwest quadrant of the state first Thursday afternoon as moisture and lift is advected into the area. Activity will spread eastward into north central NM by the evening. This system is relatively warmer with snow levels hovering around 6,000 to 6,500 feet both Thursday and Friday afternoons. The west to northwest flow of this system should favor the western slopes of the northern mountains with the Tusas being particularly favored. Several inches of snow look possible for the Tusas, Jemez, and Sangre de Cristo mountains with the Tusas mountain peaks potentially picking up over a foot of snow through Friday afternoon. Another round of winter weather highlights may be needed late this week for at least the high terrain zones. Additionally, this system will steer a 300mb 120-130 knot jet over the state as 700mb winds strengthen to 40-50 knots. This will result in breezy to windy conditions areawide on Thursday and then across the east on Friday. Currently, wind speeds are forecast to remain below advisory levels, but it will be something to watch, especially in the usual windy I-40 corridor in eastern NM. Low confidence remains in the forecast for this upcoming weekend and into early next week as models continue to diverge. Models are in good agreement that a piece of energy from Thur/Fri's system will dig southward into southern NV late Friday and will deepen into a closed low over western AZ by early Saturday. From here, the details get fuzzy. The latest run of the operational GFS quickly moves this closed low eastward right over NM, leading to quite the wetting precipitation event this weekend. The latest runs of the operational ECMWF and Canadian, however, keep the low spinning over AZ through the weekend before it finally ejects across northern NM on Monday. Did lean towards this solution in the forecast as ensemble solutions suggest that the GFS's enthusiastic idea is an outlier. Still, it will be something to monitor through the next few days as it does suggest that this weekend might not be quite so quiet as previously thought. 15 && .FIRE WEATHER... There are no fire weather concerns through the remainder of the week. A significant late season winter storm will arrive to New Mexico tonight, bringing moderate to locally heavy snowfall across much of northern and central New Mexico. A brief break is expected on Thursday, with temperatures remaining below normal. A third winter storm for this week is set to arrive Thursday night/Friday, bringing another round of snowfall to the northern mountains. Winds will once again be breezy to locally windy on Friday, but with below normal temperatures, no critical fire weather is forecast. However, another storm system may impact northern and central NM late in the weekend or early next week, although there is some uncertainty. 31 && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE High and mid-level clouds are approaching from the west ahead of the next storm system. Snow showers have already begun at KGUP this morning, with other western and northern TAF sites to see rain and snow showers increasing after 20z. Moderate to even locally heavy snowfall will expand across the state tonight and early tomorrow morning, with MVFR to occasional IFR conditions and mountain obscurations likely. Strong gap winds up to 40-50 kts will increase through the RGV after 06z. An AWW will be likely in effect around 09z, with winds peaking around 12z at KABQ. Added some LLWS up to 30 kts for north central TAF sites (KAEG and KSAF) during the passage of the backdoor front, but had less confidence to expand to KFMN. Snow showers will continue through the end of the TAF period Wednesday and taper off by late evening. 31 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 32 46 28 52 / 80 60 5 30 Dulce........................... 25 42 21 47 / 90 60 40 50 Cuba............................ 26 40 20 47 / 90 70 10 20 Gallup.......................... 27 42 20 48 / 70 80 10 10 El Morro........................ 24 36 16 44 / 90 90 10 5 Grants.......................... 24 39 15 48 / 90 90 10 5 Quemado......................... 26 39 21 46 / 80 80 30 5 Magdalena....................... 31 38 22 51 / 60 90 20 5 Datil........................... 26 38 22 46 / 60 90 20 5 Reserve......................... 25 47 17 54 / 70 90 30 5 Glenwood........................ 31 48 28 57 / 80 80 40 5 Chama........................... 20 36 17 41 / 100 70 60 50 Los Alamos...................... 29 39 24 46 / 90 70 20 10 Pecos........................... 25 37 20 47 / 90 80 10 5 Cerro/Questa.................... 26 36 23 42 / 90 70 30 10 Red River....................... 17 27 15 37 / 100 80 30 20 Angel Fire...................... 16 29 8 36 / 100 90 20 20 Taos............................ 26 38 18 46 / 80 50 20 10 Mora............................ 22 33 15 46 / 100 90 10 5 Espanola........................ 33 46 24 53 / 70 50 10 10 Santa Fe........................ 30 40 22 48 / 80 70 20 5 Santa Fe Airport................ 27 43 20 51 / 70 60 5 5 Albuquerque Foothills........... 33 42 29 52 / 90 80 5 5 Albuquerque Heights............. 34 43 28 53 / 80 70 5 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 35 46 27 56 / 80 70 5 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 35 46 27 55 / 80 70 5 5 Belen........................... 35 47 23 57 / 80 90 5 0 Bernalillo...................... 34 46 26 56 / 80 70 5 5 Bosque Farms.................... 34 46 25 56 / 90 80 5 0 Corrales........................ 33 47 27 57 / 80 70 5 5 Los Lunas....................... 34 47 25 56 / 90 80 5 0 Placitas........................ 32 42 27 50 / 80 70 5 5 Rio Rancho...................... 33 46 27 55 / 80 70 5 5 Socorro......................... 37 46 26 60 / 60 80 20 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 28 37 23 47 / 100 80 5 5 Tijeras......................... 30 40 22 50 / 100 90 5 5 Edgewood........................ 29 38 17 50 / 100 80 5 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 31 39 14 51 / 90 80 5 0 Clines Corners.................. 24 34 19 46 / 90 90 5 0 Mountainair..................... 29 36 17 48 / 90 90 10 0 Gran Quivira.................... 30 37 19 48 / 90 90 10 0 Carrizozo....................... 35 45 27 55 / 60 80 30 0 Ruidoso......................... 29 40 24 50 / 60 90 40 0 Capulin......................... 24 32 15 43 / 90 90 20 0 Raton........................... 27 38 15 48 / 90 80 10 0 Springer........................ 27 38 11 46 / 90 90 10 0 Las Vegas....................... 26 32 15 47 / 90 90 10 0 Clayton......................... 30 36 22 53 / 50 80 10 0 Roy............................. 28 36 18 49 / 90 90 10 0 Conchas......................... 33 42 23 55 / 80 90 10 0 Santa Rosa...................... 31 38 22 51 / 70 90 10 0 Tucumcari....................... 34 42 25 60 / 40 90 10 0 Clovis.......................... 30 42 26 60 / 30 70 10 0 Portales........................ 33 44 27 62 / 20 60 10 0 Fort Sumner..................... 34 43 26 58 / 40 90 10 0 Roswell......................... 41 55 30 68 / 10 40 10 0 Picacho......................... 36 45 28 60 / 20 60 20 0 Elk............................. 33 47 26 59 / 20 70 30 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 6 PM MDT Wednesday for the following zones... NMZ201>205-208-241. Winter Storm Warning until 6 PM MDT Wednesday for the following zones... NMZ206-207-210-211-213>215-227-228. Winter Storm Warning from 9 PM this evening to 6 PM MDT Wednesday for the following zones... NMZ212-221>224-229-231>233. Winter Weather Advisory from 9 PM this evening to 6 PM MDT Wednesday for the following zones... NMZ219-226-230-234-237-239. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 309 PM MDT Tue Mar 23 2021 NMZ201>241-241100- 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- 309 PM MDT Tue Mar 23 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight A significant winter storm will impact the region tonight with moderate to heavy snow expected across much of northern and central New Mexico. Snow will first increase in coverage across western NM this evening and will then become more widespread across eastern NM, especially along the east slopes, as the system interacts with a potent cold front. Strong to damaging winds are expected in the middle Rio Grande Valley with gusts of 55 to 60 mph on the east side of the Albuquerque metro area. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Widespread snow accumulations will continue into Wednesday with major travel impacts likely, especially in mountain passes and major travel corridors. Total snow accumulations of 8 to 12 inches is expected along the east slopes while amounts up to 18 to 24 inches is possible across mountain peaks. The strong to damaging winds will continue in the middle Rio Grande Valley through the early afternoon hours. Precipitation will taper off by Wednesday evening with conditions improving thereafter. Another storm system tracking across northern New Mexico will bring accumulating snow to the northern mountains, Chuska Mountains, northwest highlands, and northwest plateau Thursday afternoon through Friday. .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. 15
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
16 heavy snow, 1 winter storm, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A COOP observer near Cuba measured 6 inches of new snow.
The northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains received snow totals ranging from 8 to 17 inches. The highest accumulations were found in the Red River area where a ski site reported 17 inches of snow.
Various sources across the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains received snow totals ranging from 8 to 18 inches. A SNOTEL site near Rociada received about 18 inches of snow.
Various sources across the Jemez Mountains received 8 to 12 inches of snow. A CoCoRaHS observer near Ponderosa measured 11.5 inches of snow.
A member of the public near Vermejo Park reported 9 inches of snow.
Various sources across the area received 7 to 14 inches of snow. A trained spotter near Prewitt reported 14 inches of snow.
Various SNOTELs across the Tusas Mountains received 7 to 10 inches of snow.
The east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains received heavy snow totals with amounts ranging from 8 to 16 inches. A trained spotter in Gascon measured 16 inches of snow.
Various sources across the area reported snow totals ranging from 9 to 12 inches. A trained spotter near Wagon Mound measured 12 inches of snow. The strong winds also resulted in three foot snow drifts in Wagon Mound.
The highest snow totals in the area were in San Fidel where a trained spotter received 10 inches of snow.
A member of the public reported 6 inches near Clines Corners. The combination of heavy snow and strong winds resulted in severe driving conditions that forced the closure of Interstate 40 beginning at Clines Corners for several hours on March 24th.
A CoCoRaHS observer near San Pablo measured 11.8 inches of snow.
Various sources across the Sandia and Manzano Mountains received snow totals ranging from 6 to 12 inches. The highest totals were located near Ponderosa and Miera where a CoCoRaHS observer measured 12 inches of snow.
The combination of heavy snow and strong winds resulted in severe driving conditions along Interstate 40 east of Moriarty for several hours on March 24. The poor conditions led to a major accident involving multiple vehicles 10 miles east of Moriarty along Interstate 40. Thirty-nine vehicles were involved of which thirty-five were tractor trailers. As a result, Interstate 40 was closed into the morning hours of March 25th. Eleven people were injured, but no fatalities occurred. Damages are estimated for the multiple vehicles involved.
A trained spotter near Corona measured 8 inches of snow.
Various sources across Guadalupe County reported 5 to 8 inches of snow. The combination of heavy snow and strong winds resulted in several road closures across the county, including Interstate 40 near Santa Rosa. Additionally, New Mexico State Road 219 and U.S. Highway 285 were closed for several hours on March 24th.
A trained spotter southeast of Corona measured 8 inches of snow.
High wind was reported at the ABQ Sunport for several hours during the morning hours of March 24th, and the ASOS station measured a peak wind gust of 68 mph. High winds led to several reports of downed trees across northeast Albuquerque while about 22,000 people across the metro experienced power outages. Damages are estimated for the downed trees.
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, March 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: 939441, 939470, 939487, 939457, 939539, 939445, 939449, 939522, 939541, 939447, 939530, 939542, 939526, 941388, 939536, 939544, 939545, 939270.