Heavy Snow — West Central Mountains, New Mexico

2023-12-01 · West Central Mountains, New Mexico

Event narrative

The Cibola County Emergency Manager reported 13 inches of snow just west of Mt. Taylor. Heavy snow lead to impacts to travel along I-40 from Thoreau to Gallup as reported on social media. Four to seven inches of snow were also reported along the Continental Divide in the central part of the zone. This report is a carryover for an even that started on November 30th.

Wider weather episode

A series of winter storms, each weaker but colder than the one before passed over New Mexico from November 30th to December 2nd. The first system was well defined and passed west to east mainly along I-40 producing several inches up to a foot at elevations above seven thousand feet by the morning of November 30th. The most severe impacts were travel related on the I-40 and I-25 corridors through the East Mountain Communities and Santa Fe. Snow accumulations of 4 to 10 inches in these areas produced car accidents along I-40 near Rancho Verde and the shutdown of I-25 from Santa Fe to Glorieta Pass. The second and third storm system were much weaker and only produced additional snowfall at higher elevations with no further impacts being reported on December 1st and 2nd.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1143413. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.