Heavy Snow in Northern Sangre De Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

A CoCoRaHS observer on the western edge of the zone near Arroyo Seco measured 17.5 inches of snowfall. Snowfall amounts ranged between 10 to 15 inches from ski areas and SNOTEL sites in the zone.

An upper low slowly moved east across northern New Mexico on January 29-30, 2025. Snow showers developed first over western NM during the early morning hours of the 29th then spread eastward into northern and central New Mexico through the afternoon and evening. A few of these showers produced brief heavy snow, rain, and graupel with localized slick travel. A brief landspout tornado formed on the west side of Albuquerque as one of the upper level storm systems moved overhead. The extent of damage was unknown however several observers captured stunning video coverage of swirling tumbleweeds. Snowfall then focused mainly over the northern mountains through the early morning hours of January 30th with the heaviest amounts confined to west-facing slopes and ridges of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Total snowfall accumulations averaged 10 to 20 inches at ski resort level with lighter amounts in the 2 to 6 range in the nearby lower elevations. Strong northwest winds on the backside of the exiting storm system produced wind gusts of at least 67 mph southeast of Vaughn on the 30th. Key impacts included Interstate 25 being closed between Raton and Raton Pass, slick travel across much of the high terrain and nearby lowlands.

Key Words: Landspout, heavy snow, high wind gust.