Winter Storm in Northern Sangre De Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

The Taos Powderhorn SNOTEL measured an estimated total of 24 inches of snow. Snow totals elsewhere in the zone ranged between 9 to 22 inches. The town of Red River lost power due to the heavy snow all day on May 6th.

Abundant moisture pushed east to west across NM behind a strong cold front ahead of a strong upper level low approaching from AZ. The abundant moisture and favorable weather setup allowed for multiple days of strong to severe thunderstorms to develop across northern and central NM from May 4th through the 6th. Alongside all of this was unseasonably cold weather at higher elevations of the northern mountains. The Sangre de Cristo Mountains received 1 to 3 feet of snow at higher elevations above 9,500 feet. These high snow amounts ended up melting fairly quickly or succumbed to rain on snow events producing flooding impacts over portions of the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains that lasted into May 8th.

Key Words: Heavy Snow, Severe Thunderstorms, River Flooding.