Winter Weather — Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Above 9500 Feet, New Mexico

2015-05-15 to 2015-05-16 · Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Above 9500 Feet, New Mexico

Event narrative

Late season heavy snowfall of 9 to 12 inches reported from high elevation SNOTEL sites in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. No impacts were noted due to the very high elevation and relatively warm surface temperatures.

Wider weather episode

The slow-moving upper level storm system responsible for isolated strong thunderstorms over New Mexico on the 14th edged closer to New Mexico on the 15th. A large subtropical moisture tap and associated upper level jet core ahead of this system moved northeast across eastern New Mexico during the late afternoon and evening hours. Scattered showers and thunderstorms moved northeast over the region, some of which became strong to severe. Quarter size hail was reported at Pep. Unfortunately, a woman traveling to Ruidoso from Albuquerque was struck by lightning while on a motorcycle east of Carrizozo. She died several days later in the hospital. Meanwhile, farther north, enough cold air with the approaching upper level storm system allowed snow to accumulate over the northern mountains. Many high elevation areas in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains reported 2 to 12 inches of wet snow, however impacts were limited due to the very high elevation and relatively warm surface temperatures.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 568311. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.