Heavy Snow — Albuquerque Metro Area, New Mexico

2015-12-26 to 2015-12-27 · Albuquerque Metro Area, New Mexico

Event narrative

Heavy snowfall and strong winds produced treacherous travel and whiteout conditions at times in portions of the metro area. Snowfall amounts ranged from 2 to 6 inches, with the highest amounts in the foothills and west mesa. A snow-hole area was observed around UNM where amounts were only near one-half inch. Other parts of the city were at a standstill with over 100 accidents reported and several roads closed, including Paseo del Norte and Tramway. Winds gusted to near 40 mph during the event while temperatures fell into the teens. A homeless man was found dead at a local park as a result of exposure to the elements.

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 606970. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.