Blizzard — Curry County, New Mexico

2015-12-26 to 2015-12-27 · Curry County, New Mexico

Event narrative

Heavy snow and high winds paralyzed the entire county through the 30th. Snowfall amounts of 8 to 12 inches were reported across the county. The 10.0 inches at the COOP site 13 miles north of Clovis tied the 3rd highest 1-day total snowfall dating back to 1949. Peak wind gusts of 70 to 80 mph were reported along and behind the cold front. The Clovis airport reported a peak wind gust of 82 mph. Drifts of 6 to 10 feet were common. Numerous motorists were stranded including rescue vehicles with the National Guard. Power outages were the most widespread across Curry County, where over 14,000 residents were without power. The Department of Agriculture reported the most widespread livestock fatalities occurred in Curry and Roosevelt counties. Nearly 12,000 adult milking cows perished with over 300 in one dairy alone. Massive losses were suffered in young livestock with between 30,000 and 50,000 deaths. Estimates did not include sheep and beef cows.

Wider weather episode

A potent upper level storm system developed over Arizona on Christmas Day then moved slowly east along the Mexico border through the 27th. Snow developed quickly from south to north over New Mexico on the 26th while an arctic cold front raced south and west across the state. Wind gusts behind the front averaged 60 to 80 mph across the eastern plains. The combination of heavy snow and high winds created blizzard conditions across nearly the entire eastern half of New Mexico. Travel across all of eastern New Mexico was shut down. The entire stretch of Interstate 40 from Albuquerque to Amarillo was shut down for nearly 36 hours. A Civil Emergency was declared for Quay, Curry, Roosevelt, De Baca, Chaves, and eastern Lincoln counties as dozens of motorists were stranded in their vehicles in 6 to 10 foot snow drifts. Department of Public Safety assisted a total of 455 motorists. Emergency response personnel were even stranded trying to reach these motorists. Residents were blockaded in their homes with drifts up to the top of roofs. Xcel Energy reported power outages in at least 14,200 residences across eastern New Mexico and at least 30,000 residential disruptions during the storm. Numerous trees and power lines were downed as well as several structures due to the weight of heavy snow. Snowfall accumulations of 15 to 30 inches were common from the central mountain chain eastward across much of the plains. Ski Apache reported a whopping 41 inches. Department of Agriculture reported around 12,000 adult milking cows perished in the storm and between 30,000 and 50,000 young livestock died. A couple 1-day snowfall records were broken with this event. One person died from exposure in Albuquerque and another while shoveling snow in Roswell. The New Mexico EOC coordinated with the National Guard to assist several counties with disaster operations.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 605796. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.