Heavy Snow — Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

2023-03-15 to 2023-03-17 · Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

Event narrative

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.

Wider weather episode

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.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1077552. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.