Heavy Snow — Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Above 9500 Feet, New Mexico

2015-03-19 to 2015-03-20 · Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Above 9500 Feet, New Mexico

Event narrative

Ski sites and SNOTELs reported between 9 and 19 inches of wet snow. Intense snowfall rates occurred with this snow event during the late afternoon and early evening hours of the 19th.

Wider weather episode

A deep fetch of rich subtropical moisture surged northeast over New Mexico while a cold front moved south out of Colorado. Very warm temperatures at the beginning of the event forced snow levels above 9,000 feet through the day on the 19th. As the colder air filtered in from the north, snow levels fell and very heavy, wet snow accumulations occurred over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. SNOTEL and ski resort locations above 8,000 feet reported total snow accumulations on the order of 12 to 18 inches by the morning of the 20th. A few severe storms developed along the cold front during the early evening hours, dropping pea to quarter sized hail. No significant impacts to travel were noted due to the wetter nature of the snowfall.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 556353. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.