Heavy Snow — Far Northwest Highlands, New Mexico

2022-01-01 · Far Northwest Highlands, New Mexico

Event narrative

Snow began falling across the area on December 31, 2021, and continued through the overnight hours. A trained spotter near Regina measured twelve inches of new snow on January 1, 2022.

Wider weather episode

As this event began in December 2021, this episode is a continuation and repeated here. A pair of storm systems helped to usher in a new year as they impacted much of northern and central New Mexico on December 31, 2021 and January 1, 2022. The first storm system was a closed upper-level low pressure system off the coast of Baja California. This system moved northeastward through the area on December 31, 2021, bringing a deep tap of subtropical moisture with it. This system brought the first round of heavy snowfall to the mountainous terrain areas. The second, much colder storm system then tracked southeastward across the state on New Years' Day. Another round of heavy snow fell across much of northern and western New Mexico. With an associated backdoor cold front moving into eastern New Mexico early on January 1, 2022, this cold air advection also set the stage for additional snow accumulations across the eastern plains. Much of northern and central New Mexico received measurable snowfall with the main exceptions being the middle and lower Rio Grande Valley, including Albuquerque. The highest snowfall totals were received in the northern mountains where 10 to 20 inches of snow fell over the two day period. Due to snow-packed and icy roads, difficult to severe driving conditions were reported along several major roadways, including Interstate 40 near Gallup, Moriarty, and Tucumcari. Key Impacts: poor travel conditions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 991236. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.