Heavy Snow — San Juan Mountains, New Mexico

2016-12-16 to 2016-12-17 · San Juan Mountains, New Mexico

Event narrative

COOP and SNOTEL observations supported widespread snowfall accumulations of 9 to 16 inches across the area. The combination of strong winds and heavy snow produced near blizzard conditions in the high terrain.

Wider weather episode

A powerful jet stream approaching from the eastern Pacific carved out a potent storm system over New Mexico the week before Christmas. This was the most impactful winter storm since the blizzard from December 2015 and the first significant storm of the 2016-2017 season. High winds developed over the high terrain during the early morning hours of the 15th and spread into the lower elevations through the 16th. Peak wind reports averaged 70 to 80 mph along the high plains east of the central mountain chain. Over 60 cottonwood trees were blown down near Ute Park along with more trees near the Little Bear burn scar in Lincoln County. Snow developed in the high terrain on the 16th with near blizzard conditions through 17th. One to two feet of snow fell in the high terrain of northern New Mexico. This snowfall then spread into the eastern plains where significant impacts occurred due to the combination of snow, wind, and bitterly cold temperatures. A massive pile up of 40 vehicles along Interstate 40 between Santa Rosa and Tucumcari resulted in one fatality and a dozen injuries. Another fatality was reported near Portales where a motorist hit black ice and slid off the roadway into a tree.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 663883. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.