As this event began in December 2021, this episode is a continuation and repeated here. A pair of storm systems helped to usher in a new year as they impacted much of northern and central New Mexico on December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2022.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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.
As this event began in December 2021, this episode is a continuation and repeated here. A pair of storm systems helped to usher in a new year as they impacted much of northern and central New Mexico on December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2022. The first storm system was a closed upper-level low pressure system off the coast of Baja California. This system moved northeastward through the area on December 31, 2021, bringing a deep tap of subtropical moisture with it. This system brought the first round of heavy snowfall to the mountainous terrain areas. The second, much colder storm system then tracked southeastward across the state on New Years' Day. Another round of heavy snow fell across much of northern and western New Mexico. With an associated backdoor cold front moving into eastern New Mexico early on January 1, 2022, this cold air advection also set the stage for additional snow accumulations across the eastern plains. Much of northern and central New Mexico received measurable snowfall with the main exceptions being the middle and lower Rio Grande Valley, including Albuquerque. The highest snowfall totals were received in the northern mountains where 10 to 20 inches of snow fell over the two day period. Due to snow-packed and icy roads, difficult to severe driving conditions were reported along several major roadways, including Interstate 40 near Gallup, Moriarty, and Tucumcari. Key Impacts: poor 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 Dec 31, 10:49 PM MST, 1 hour 11 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1049 PM MST Fri Dec 31 2021 .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE One upper level disturbance is currently moving into south central New Mexico, and will be followed by another one dropping into the state from the northwest on Saturday. Consequently, unsettled weather and breezy to strong wind speeds are expected to persist through much of New Year's Day. Scattered MVFR to IFR conditions will be common across much of western and central New Mexico into the early morning hours. Much of the eastern plains will tend to remain in VFR conditions with only sparse brief and light showers until late morning to midday when a cold front will finally arrive and drop ceilings with a few light showers (mainly in northeast to east central New Mexico). Much of western and central New Mexico will start to undergo an improving, and perhaps a clearing, trend Saturday afternoon with mountain obscurations slowly lifting in most places by Saturday evening. 52 && .PREV DISCUSSION...257 PM MST Fri Dec 31 2021... .SYNOPSIS... Deteriorating weather conditions are expected tonight across much of central and western New Mexico as temperatures drop and snow overspreads the area. Strong and gusty winds will also create areas of blowing snow and reduced visibility, especially at higher elevations. Areas of snow may spread to portions of northeast and east central New Mexico early New Years Day. Slick roads are likely and anyone celebrating the new year away from home should use extreme caution when traveling tonight. The winds and snow will diminish Saturday evening, then quieter conditions are expected for a few days with gradually warming temperatures. However, a back door cold front will rapidly drop temperatures again Wednesday night. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT)... Satellite imagery indicates the upper low off Baja is now moving eastward with the tap of subtropical moisture over the southeast half of New Mexico making slow progress to the east. Higher dewpoints have been advecting northward, allowing some of the light snow observed earlier this afternoon to turn over to rain. Much colder air will begin to sweep into the region after dark and progresses southward during the overnight and Saturday morning. Forecast models have some agreement on a broad band of snow stretching from the Gallup area northeast through Sandoval and Santa Fe counties into the Rio Arriba and Taos counties late this evening and into the overnight hours. As the backdoor front pushes into far northeast New Mexico, precipitation develops there as well. Strong winds will accompany the colder air as it pushes into the state creating some areas of reduced visibilities in blowing snow. Snowfall amounts this package are generally similar to the 12Z one, so winter highlights remain unchanged at this time, with the exception of adding the San Francisco River Valley to a Winter Storm Warning. Snow should taper off by Saturday afternoon, but may linger along and east of the central mountain chain Saturday evening before ending. Will allow the potential for strong winds, especially in portions of Lincoln county, to be covered by the winter highlights. Gusty northwest winds look to continue into Saturday afternoon over the southwest half of the forecast area and may need some consideration in the way of highlights if snow tapers off more quickly. Temperatures Saturday will be about 10 to 30 degrees colder than normal. Saturday night lows will also be 10 to nearly 20 degrees colder than normal. LONG TERM...(SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)... With weak ridging building over the Desert Southwest on Sunday, temperatures will begin to warm, however, poor mixing and snow on the ground will keep temperatures below normal. In fact, it may be the second day in a row much of northwest NM remains below freezing. The warming trend will continue on Monday with zonal flow aloft, and to a lesser degree on Tuesday after a weak shortwave passes overhead Monday night. West-northwest flow will begin to increase Tuesday allowing for a deepening surface low over the Texas Panhandle. Westerly winds will pick up across the East Central Plains and thus the greatest increase in temperatures will be there thanks to downsloping. More westerly breezes will be possible during the afternoon hours on Wednesday across eastern NM but the bigger story will be the back door cold front that rapidly plows through eastern NM Wednesday night. Temperatures look to quickly plummet, with strong northerly winds behind the front making it feel even colder. Wind chills Wednesday night may fall into the single digits, both above and below zero. High temperatures on Thursday across eastern NM will be well below normal. Since the front does not look like it will push through the gaps of the Central Mountain Chain, a very slow and steady warm up looks to continue from the Rio Grande Valley westward. 99/34 && .FIRE WEATHER... Widespread wetting precipitation remains expected for much western and northern New Mexico into New Year's Day. Much colder than normal temperatures will linger into Sunday before moderating. Critical fire weather conditions could return Tuesday afternoon to the East Central Plains due to strong westerly flow aloft and an area of surface low pressure over the Texas panhandle. Another strong cold front may impact eastern New Mexico Wednesday night/Thursday but appears to be dry and windy. Widespread poor ventilation expected Sunday through Wednesday. 99 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until noon MST Saturday for the following zones... NMZ201-207-217. Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM MST Saturday for the following zones... NMZ222-223-227>229. Winter Storm Warning until noon MST Saturday for the following zones... NMZ202>206-209-218. Winter Storm Warning until 5 PM MST Saturday for the following zones... NMZ208-210>216-221-226. Winter Weather Advisory until 5 PM MST Saturday for the following zones... NMZ230>232. &&
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
631 PM MST FRI DEC 31 2021
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0400 PM SNOW CHAMA 36.89N 106.58W
12/31/2021 E1.0 INCH RIO ARRIBA NM CO-OP OBSERVER
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 heavy snow, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snow began falling in the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. A trained spotter near Pietown measured ten inches of new snow on January 1, 2022.
Snow began falling across the area early on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. By January 1, 2022, a SNOTEL site near Bonito Lake received an estimated ten inches of new snow.
Snow began falling across the area early on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. By January 1, 2022, a SNOTEL site near Bluewater Lake had received an estimated twelve inches of new snow.
Snow began falling across the Sandia/Manzano Mountains early on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. By January 1, 2022, a member of the public near Sandia Park measured eleven inches of new snow.
Snow began falling across the area early on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. Conditions near Gallup rapidly deteriorated into early January 1, 2022. Several sources across the West Central Plateau measured four to five inches of new snow by New Years' morning. Snow-packed and icy roads resulted in severe driving conditions along Interstate 40 near Gallup.
Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. On January 1, 2022, a trained spotter near Tererro measured seven inches of new snow.
Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. Some of the highest snow totals from this event were found across the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains where snow totals ranged from about 10 to 20 inches. A SNOTEL near Chupadero received an estimated 21 inches of new snow by January 1, 2022.
Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. Numerous SNOTELs across the Jemez Mountains received estimated new snow totals of five to ten inches. The highest snow totals were received near Cuba where a SNOTEL received an estimated ten inches of new snow by January 1, 2022.
Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. The highest snow totals in this area were found on the north and northeast side of Santa Fe. By the morning of January 1, 2022, several CoCoRaHS observers in the area measured new snow totals of six to seven inches.
Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. A trained spotter near Regina measured twelve inches of new snow on January 1, 2022.
Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. Numerous SNOTELs across the Tusas Mountains received new snow totals ranging from ten to fourteen inches. The highest snow totals were received near Canjilon and Canon Plaza where each SNOTEL received an estimated fourteen inches of new snow by January 1, 2022.
Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. Various SNOTELs across the northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains received snow totals ranging from ten to sixteen inches. The highest snow totals were found near Red River where a SNOTEL received an estimated sixteen inches of new snow by January 1, 2022.
Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. On the morning of January 1, 2022, a CoCoRaHS observer near Taos measured seven inches of new snow.
Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. A member of the public near Angel Fire measured seventeen inches of new snow on January 1, 2022.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, January 2022
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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 991227, 991228, 991229, 991230, 991231, 991232, 991233, 991234, 991235, 991236, 991237, 991238, 991239, 991240.