Blizzard — Eastern San Miguel County, New Mexico

2020-10-28 · Eastern San Miguel County, New Mexico

Event narrative

The combination of snow and strong north winds resulted in considerable blowing and drifting snow with low visibility over eastern San Miguel County. Snow drifts of one to three feet were reported over parts of the area.

Wider weather episode

A powerful cold front surged southwest through eastern New Mexico on October 25, 2020 in advance of a potent upper level storm system approaching from the west. A record cold airmass over eastern New Mexico shifted west through the central mountain chain while precipitation began developing northward over central and western New Mexico early on the 26th. Precipitation changed over to all snow and several heavy snow bands impacted northern and western NM through the 27th. Areas along and west of the central mountain chain picked up eight to 16 inches of snow with up to 22 inches in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The Albuquerque metro area even picked up between five and 10 inches of snow with well over 100 vehicle accidents reported. A second round of heavy snow developed along the central mountain chain into eastern New Mexico from late on the 27th into the 28th. Blizzard conditions were reported over parts of northeast NM with 12 to 20 inches of snow, strong north winds, drifts of one to four feet, severe travel conditions, and road closures. Warmer air began filtering into the area by late on the 28th resulting in a mixture of rain and snow. Dozens of record low maximum and record low minimum temperatures were broken. Record daily snowfall records were also set for the month of October.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 920339. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.