Extreme Cold/Wind Chill in Sierra County Lakes Region, New Mexico

High temperatures around the area on Feb 2nd included 11F at Truth or Consequences and 18F at Hillsboro. Morning low temperatures on Feb 3rd included -17F on the north end of the Blacks Range, -10F at Hillsboro and -6F at Truth or Consequences. Each morning from the 1st through the 4th had low temperatures below 10F at Truth or Consequences.

A strong upper low dropped down the Northern Rockies which pushed a back door arctic cold front through the region. An upper level ridge was located over the eastern Pacific with the arctic jet steam diving south to the Mexican border. These two features combined to bring extremely cold air into the Western United States from Alaska and Canada. Numerous areas experienced rolling power outages and natural gas shortages along with burst pipes. The state of New Mexico declared a State of Emergency due to the natural gas shortages.