Heavy Snow — West Slopes of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

2017-04-28 to 2017-04-30 · West Slopes of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

Event narrative

Local broadcast media reported via Twitter that heavy snow fell along the west slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, including 8 to 16 inches around Tres Ritos. Severe driving conditions were reported through mountain passes by NMDOT.

Wider weather episode

A potent upper level low pressure system that moved slowly east across central New Mexico combined with a strong back door cold front to produce heavy late season snowfall across the higher terrain and the Santa Fe metro area. Widespread snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches were reported across the east central and northeast plains. Very impressive accumulations of 10 to 18 inches were reported along the Sandia Mountains into the Santa Fe metro area and over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Numerous long-term daily snowfall records were smashed across the region, including 11 inches at Gascon, 8 inches at Mosquero and Pasamonte, 6 inches at Cimarron, and 5.5 inches at Tucumcari. The 7.5 inches of snowfall at Clayton established a new daily record for April 29th and was the greatest 24-hour snowfall amount of the entire winter season. Significant impacts to travel were noted along Interstate 25 and Interstate 40 north and east of Albuquerque. Interstate 25 was closed at Raton Pass.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 685399. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.