Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in New Mexico
Every extreme cold/wind chill event the National Weather Service has filed in New Mexico, year by year, with the most significant episodes. Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.
The most significant on the map
The most significant extreme cold/wind chill episodes in New Mexico.
- Tornadoes
- Tropical storms and surge
- Floods
- Wind
- Hail
- Winter weather
- Heat and drought
- Cold
- Fire, smoke and dust
- Marine and coastal
- Other
The record
- Events
- 101
- Deaths
- 2
- Injuries
- 0
- Damage
- $1.2 million
Every year
The most significant
Ranked by deaths, injuries, damage and size together.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in New Mexico, February 1 to 4, 2022A strong winter storm system deepened over the Rockies before tracking southward into New Mexico on February 1, 2022 and continuing into February 2nd. Accompanying this system was a backdoor cold front that brought in very cold arctic air into northern and central New Mexico.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, January 1, 2009Five mornings of temperatures in the single digits to the teens resulted in one death due to exposure on New Years Day.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, November 30, 2010A man died from exposure in a vacant lot in Gallup.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, February 1 to 4, 2011A strong upper low dropped down the Northern Rockies which pushed a back door arctic cold front through the region. An upper level ridge was located over the eastern Pacific with the arctic jet steam diving south to the Mexican border.
- Blizzard and Winter Storm in New Mexico, February 13 to 15, 2021A major and historic winter storm impacted New Mexico over multiple days from February 13th through the morning hours of February 15, 2021.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, January 20 to 21, 2025A very cold modified Arctic airmass settled into much of northern NM January 20th, 2025 into January 21st, 2025.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, February 2 to 3, 2011A powerful storm and arctic cold front combined to bring fresh snow cover to nearly all of northern and central New Mexico on the 1st and 2nd, as well as extremely cold, record setting minimum temperatures. This resulted in dangerously low wind chill values over many areas.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in New Mexico, January 23 to 27, 2026A significant winter storm impacted northern and central NM from January 23rd through January 27th, with a combination of heavy snow, ice, and extreme cold impacts.
- Winter Storm and Extreme Cold in New Mexico, January 7 to 10, 2026Two back to back winter storm systems impacted northern and central NM with the first from late January 7th through the morning of January 8th with the second colder system crossing the state late January 8th through the afternoon of January 9th.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, February 1 to 2, 2011After the precipitation ended, at least significantly so, on the 1st, brutally cold temperatures and strong winds impacted eastern New Mexico.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, February 1 to 4, 2011Arctic air overspread the region on 2/1/2011. Northeast winds of 30-45 mph with higher gusts combined with temperatures in the single digits to produce wind chill values of -15 to -35 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, January 22, 2025An area of arctic high pressure built into the plains with some cold air filtering into southern New Mexico. Temperatures dropped into the single digits with wind chills dropping to around 0 for some lowlands areas.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, February 8 to 9, 2011Fresh snow cover allowed for temperatures to rapidly drop over northern New Mexico during the late evening of the 8th and early morning hours of the 9th.
- Extreme Cold in New Mexico, February 19, 2025A modified Arctic airmass entered and settled into eastern NM on February 18th. The airmass was reinforced heading into the morning hours of February 19th in the wake of a disturbance. Record low temperatures were observed in Clayton, Tucumcari, and Roswell.
More
Extreme Cold/Wind Chill everywhereEvery kind of event in New Mexico
Sources
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.