Heavy Snow — South Central Highlands, New Mexico

2010-12-16 to 2010-12-17 · South Central Highlands, New Mexico

Event narrative

Southwest of Corona, around 5 inches of snow fell. The snow packed roads caused a passenger bus to lose control on U.S. 54 15 miles south of Corona at 745 am local time. The bus collided with a cattle truck and overturned. The bus driver and 19 passengers were hospitalized, some with critical injuries.

Wider weather episode

A weak upper level trough, combined with a back door cold front and abundant moisture, set the stage for heavy snow across much of central and eastern New Mexico. The front quickly moved across the plains and easterly upslope flow behind the front helped focus the heaviest snow amounts along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo and Sandia Mountains. The front pushed through the gaps of the central mountain chain near Santa Fe, allowing significant snows to develop over the capital city just after morning rush hour on the 16th. However, farther south, around the Albuquerque Metro area, the front was delayed, and the precipitation remained as rain until the evening hours. The snow created multiple traffic problems, and portions of both I-40 and I-25 were closed for a time due to hazardous road conditions and multiple accidents.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 265578. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.