Heavy Snow — Southwest Chaves County, New Mexico

2023-01-23 to 2023-01-24 · Southwest Chaves County, New Mexico

Event narrative

A trained spotter near Dunken measured 5 inches of snow.

Wider weather episode

A closed upper low dove south over AZ before turning eastward over NM on January 23, 2023. A strong influx of southeasterly to easterly winds filled into eastern NM, funneling between the gaps of the Sandia and Manzano Mountains producing strong east canyon winds at Albuquerque. High winds were recorded through much of the day at the Albuquerque Sunport with a peak gust of 64 mph. The main upper level low also brought heavy snow to portions of the central highlands and eastern plains south of I-40. Mesoscale bands of heavy snow produced localized amounts of 6 to 8 inches over the eastern plains stretching from Vaughn to Clovis.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1067141. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.