An upper level disturbance passed over northern NM late March 16, 2023 and through the morning of March 17, 2023. Preceding moisture associated with this system on the 16th produced heavy snow over the northern mountains or NM.
Every event with a place to put it; 12 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.
An upper level disturbance passed over northern NM late March 16, 2023 and through the morning of March 17, 2023. Preceding moisture associated with this system on the 16th produced heavy snow over the northern mountains or NM. The main disturbance and colder temperatures brought snow levels and bands of snow to lower elevations of west-central and central NM during the morning of March 17, 2023. These areas included the Santa Fe and Albuquerque metro areas. Several crashes caused road closures, including on I-25 and several state highways, resulting from snow producing low visibility. The highest snow accumulations of 1 to 2 feet were observed over the high terrain of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
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 15, 4:50 PM MST, 5 hours 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 550 PM MDT Wed Mar 15 2023 ...New AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 302 PM MDT Wed Mar 15 2023 A Pacific storm system and backdoor cold front will impact the region through Friday with windy conditions initially, followed by colder conditions with good chances for precipitation. Significant snow accumulations are likely in the mountains through Friday, especially across the northern mountains where a Winter Storm Warning is in effect. Mostly rain is expected at the lower elevations until Thursday night when some locales may see a change over to wet snow. Chances for showers with below normal temperatures will persist through the weekend. Winds will trend up next week in advance of another Pacific storm system, forecast to impact the state around mid week with good chances for precipitation and more windy conditions. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Thursday night) Issued at 302 PM MDT Wed Mar 15 2023 Unsettled weather is on the docket tonight as moisture out ahead of an incoming trough helps to initiate rain and snow showers across northern and central NM. Showers already visible on radar across portions of western and northern NM this afternoon will spread eastward into the overnight hours. Warm air currently prevailing around the state will keep snow levels above 9000', keeping PTYPEs more rain dominant and allowing snow to remain isolated to extreme high terrain. This already occurring precipitation will get reinforced tonight as forcing is aided by the incoming upper level trough. Snow levels are expected to slowly fall during this time, allowing accumulations to remain localized to the higher elevations. Precipitation will spread eastward and reaching the central mts into Thursday morning. A gusty backdoor cold front will descend down the eastern plains and the subsequent frontogenetic forcing will work to give rise to another round of precipitation from the Sangre de Cristo Mts and eastward. Cold air invades behind this front, allowing for snow levels to quickly fall in its wake. With healthy PWATs and favorable forcing, did opt to maintain the current Winter Storm Warning but also add Winter Weather Advisories for the Upper Rio Grande Valley and Johnson/Bartlett Mesas, including Raton Pass. Gusty winds will continue overnight thanks to the help of turbulent mixing and strong winds aloft. The central mts will maintain windy conditions well into Thursday morning before tapering off. The trough flattens in its exit to the Great Plains Thursday night, and bitter cold air is left in its wake. Freezing temperatures are expected areawide with locales seeing minimum temperatures anywhere from 5 to 25 degrees cooler than Wednesday night's readings. Residual moisture and the potential orographic forcing will allow light high terrain snow to persist along the central mts. As the backdoor cold front surges westward, east winds are expected to fill through the canyon caps. Wind gusts of 35 to 40 kts will be possible late Thursday night into Friday morning in and around the ABQ metro. && .LONG TERM... (Friday through Tuesday) Issued at 302 PM MDT Wed Mar 15 2023 By Friday morning, the backdoor cold front will have progressed to the Continental Divide and snow levels will have lowered to valley floors, including the Albuquerque Metro. A trailing shortwave trough is forecast to move east across the area Friday and interact with remaining and weakening forcing from the backdoor front to bring another round of snow. The Winter Storm Warning may need to be extended through Friday for the northern mountains. Otherwise, snow Friday across the Albuquerque and Santa Fe Metros should be mostly nuisance-type with accumulations ranging from a trace to an inch or so and will likely not be advisory worthy. Otherwise, Friday will be relatively cold with highs forecast to be 15-25 degrees below normal. Unsettled and relatively cold will be the weather theme for the weekend, with high temperatures forecast to continue at 15-25 degrees below normal. The signal for precipitation this weekend is on the downtrend from yesterday's model runs to today's while the 12Z GFS and ECMWF are at odd with the timing and placement of a passing shortwave trough. Have trimmed PoPs for the weekend compared to the previous forecast cycle, but sufficient Pacific moisture will remain for showers. Backing and increasing flow aloft is forecast early next week with Pacific moisture back on the uptrend as an upper level trough/low hits the west coast and progresses eastward toward the southern Rockies by mid week. The 12Z GFS and ECMWF are once again at odds with the timing and placement of the approaching trough next week, but as trend toward windier and wetter conditions by mid week looks to be a solid bet. At this time, Wednesday of next week looks to be the most impactful day, with strong winds and mountain snow. && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 541 PM MDT Wed Mar 15 2023 Rain and high elevation snow showers will persist near and along the Central Mountain Chain early this evening. Another round of showers will begin this evening across western NM before expanding eastward through Thursday morning. Snow levels will lower somewhat, but rain will continue to be the dominant precipitation type at TAF sites, though snow may mix in at KGUP in the morning. Cigs and/or vsbys will lower into MVFR or IFR if they haven't already done so. A strong backdoor front will push into the northeast plains Thursday morning before sliding southward through the day Thursday. Precipitation will fill in behind the front, with snow favoring areas from east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, to KRTN and KCAO, and rain favoring areas further south. MVFR to IFR cigs are expected here as well. Behind the backdoor front, northerly wind gusts near 35kts will be likely, while ahead of the front, westerly winds with gusts btw 25 and 35kts will be common. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 302 PM MDT Wed Mar 15 2023 No critical fire weather conditions are expected for the next seven days. A wet and unsettled pattern is expected to persist for the next several days. Rain and high elevation snow west of the central mountains will spread eastward overnight persisting through Friday morning. A gusty backdoor cold front will descend into the eastern plains Friday morning, with much cooler air filtering in behind. Multiple rounds of precipitation are expected with short intervals of somewhat quiet weather expected between systems on Friday and Tuesday. Minimum RH values are expected to improve alongside cooler temperatures. Ventilation will be good to excellent in areas tomorrow before trending fair to poor throughout the rest of the forecast period. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 35 50 23 45 / 90 50 5 5 Dulce........................... 29 46 16 39 / 90 70 40 20 Cuba............................ 33 46 21 37 / 80 60 30 20 Gallup.......................... 34 47 20 44 / 90 30 10 20 El Morro........................ 32 43 23 41 / 90 40 30 30 Grants.......................... 32 51 20 40 / 70 30 30 30 Quemado......................... 32 47 26 44 / 90 30 20 20 Magdalena....................... 37 53 24 40 / 70 30 30 30 Datil........................... 33 48 25 41 / 80 30 30 30 Reserve......................... 33 54 26 51 / 90 20 10 10 Glenwood........................ 40 55 34 55 / 90 20 5 5 Chama........................... 28 40 12 32 / 90 90 60 40 Los Alamos...................... 36 45 24 35 / 90 70 60 30 Pecos........................... 35 44 18 34 / 80 80 80 30 Cerro/Questa.................... 37 41 18 32 / 70 90 80 30 Red River....................... 27 35 8 28 / 80 100 80 30 Angel Fire...................... 29 34 1 29 / 80 100 90 30 Taos............................ 33 44 14 35 / 70 90 70 20 Mora............................ 33 41 11 32 / 60 90 70 30 Espanola........................ 37 52 24 40 / 80 80 60 30 Santa Fe........................ 36 46 23 35 / 90 80 70 30 Santa Fe Airport................ 35 50 21 38 / 90 70 60 30 Albuquerque Foothills........... 42 53 27 42 / 80 60 50 30 Albuquerque Heights............. 41 56 28 44 / 80 50 40 30 Albuquerque Valley.............. 40 59 25 46 / 80 40 40 30 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 40 57 27 44 / 80 40 40 30 Belen........................... 40 61 24 47 / 80 40 40 30 Bernalillo...................... 40 56 26 44 / 80 50 50 30 Bosque Farms.................... 39 60 22 46 / 80 40 40 30 Corrales........................ 40 57 26 44 / 80 50 50 30 Los Lunas....................... 39 60 24 46 / 80 40 40 30 Placitas........................ 40 52 26 40 / 80 60 50 30 Rio Rancho...................... 40 56 27 43 / 80 50 40 30 Socorro......................... 41 63 27 48 / 70 30 30 30 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 37 47 22 36 / 80 70 60 50 Tijeras......................... 37 50 24 39 / 80 70 60 40 Edgewood........................ 35 49 20 37 / 80 70 60 50 Moriarty/Estancia............... 34 51 17 38 / 70 60 60 40 Clines Corners.................. 34 46 16 34 / 60 70 70 50 Mountainair..................... 36 52 20 38 / 80 60 60 40 Gran Quivira.................... 37 53 20 38 / 80 60 60 40 Carrizozo....................... 44 58 27 45 / 70 60 50 20 Ruidoso......................... 39 51 19 39 / 70 70 50 30 Capulin......................... 26 34 11 34 / 20 90 30 10 Raton........................... 30 38 11 37 / 30 90 40 20 Springer........................ 32 41 13 40 / 10 80 40 10 Las Vegas....................... 34 42 14 34 / 30 80 60 30 Clayton......................... 31 38 16 40 / 10 80 10 0 Roy............................. 34 41 16 38 / 10 80 30 5 Conchas......................... 41 50 22 45 / 10 90 30 5 Santa Rosa...................... 40 50 23 42 / 20 70 40 10 Tucumcari....................... 41 50 20 44 / 10 80 10 0 Clovis.......................... 44 55 23 45 / 10 50 10 0 Portales........................ 46 58 23 47 / 10 40 20 0 Fort Sumner..................... 44 57 24 46 / 20 50 30 5 Roswell......................... 50 69 31 51 / 10 20 20 10 Picacho......................... 45 62 24 44 / 30 30 40 10 Elk............................. 42 60 21 42 / 40 40 20 20 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until 7 PM MDT this evening for NMZ230>232-234. Winter Storm Warning until 6 AM MDT Friday for NMZ210-211- 213>215. Winter Weather Advisory from 6 AM Thursday to 6 AM MDT Friday for NMZ216-227. Wind Advisory until 6 AM MDT Thursday for NMZ226-240. && SHORT TERM...12 LONG TERM....11 AVIATION...34
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
754 PM MDT WED MAR 15 2023
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0600 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 1 NNW RUIDOSO 33.35N 105.69W
03/15/2023 M63 MPH LINCOLN NM MESONET
MESONET STATION COPN5 RUIDOSO 1 NNW (SMOKEY
BEAR).
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 heavy snow, 1 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snow impacted the western high terrain of the Jemez Mountains where the Vacas Locas SNOTEL measured 11 inches of snow.
Heavy snow impacted the zone, highlighted by an estimated 21 inches of snow at the Taos Powderhorn SNOTEL. There were various reports of 7 to 18 inches of snow across the zone.
Heavy snow impacted much of the southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The Rio Santa Barbara SNOTEL measured 17 inches of snow. There were various other reports of 8 to 14 inches of snow throughout the zone.
Heavy snow reaching 10 inches was measured by a SNOTEL in the area.
Heavy snow impacted the eastern edge of the zone. There were various reports of 12 to 21 inches of snow stretching from Rociada to Chacon to the Moreno Valley. The heavy snow also caused road closures on U.S. Highway 64 and State Highways 120 and 434.
Heavy snow impacted parts of the Upper Rio Grande Valley. There were various reports of 5 to 9 inches of snow from Taos to San Cristobal and near the Rio Grande Gorge.
Heavy snow impacted a limited section of the zone along I-25 south of Las Vegas. There were two reports of 10 to 12 inches of snow in these areas.
Heavy snow and hazardous driving conditions impacted most of the zone. There were various reports of 10 to 12.8 inches of snow along I-25 from Glorieta to Ilfeld.
Heavy snow impacted the East Mountain Communities. There were various reports of 4 to 8 inches of snow with a locally high amount of 10 inches near Golden.
NMDOT reported a crash on I-25 at mile marker 322 south of Las Vegas that closed the interstate.
Heavy snow impacted an isolated section of the zone where the Torreon Navajo Mission COOP station measured 7 inches of snow.
Heavy snow impacted areas from Santa Fe Seton just southeast of Santa Fe proper down to Cerrillos. There were various reports of 4 to 11 inches of snow in these areas.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, March 2023
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: 1077541, 1077545, 1077552, 1077840, 1077555, 1077587, 1077594, 1077543, 1077589, 1077603, 1077538, 1077576.