East Slopes Sangre De Cristo Mountains storm history

The Cooks Peak Fire started on April 17, 2022 on private land north of Ocate. As a persistent windy pattern continued through the month of April, the fire grew rapidly to 59,063 acres. At the start of the month of May, Philmont Scout Ranch Back Country west of New Mexico State Ro…

The Hermits Peak and Calf Canyon Fire continued to devastate the area as it grew significantly during the month of May. The wildfire at the end of April was at 103,908 acres, but continued strong winds across the area throughout the month of May allowed the wildfire to spread rap…

While daily rounds of widespread high fire danger persisted across northern and central New Mexico throughout the month of April, conditions were primed for rapid wildfire growth. The Calf Canyon Fire was sparked on April 19, 2022, near Gallinas Canyon. The wildfire experienced i…

On April 6, 2022, a prescribed burn was started 12 miles northwest of Las Vegas, but due to windy conditions in place, the fire soon got out of control and spread rapidly. By April 13th, the Hermits Peak Fire grew to 7,900 acres with 10 percent containment. On April 22nd, the wil…

A public weather station near Gallinas, NM measured a peak wind gust of 65 mph. Another station in Rainsville also measured high sustained winds of 48 mph.

High winds from crashing mountain waves blew down several trees and cut down a few powerlines along County Rd A16C just northwest of Mineral Hill.

The Tolby SNOTEL measured an estimated 19 inches. The Eagle Nest COOP observer measured 12 inches one day with 3 inches the prior day for a 15 inch event total. Six inches was also reported near Sapello in the southern edge of the zone.

Extreme drought conditions were removed from the zone.

A wunderground station near Holman measured peak wind gusts of 62 mph.

A trained spotter between Rociada and Holman measured 18 inches of snowfall. Around a foot of snowfall was observed across other locations in the zone.

Extreme drought was introduced to the west-central tier of the zone.

The Angel Fire Airport measured a peak wind gust of 73 mph.

The KNMROCIA22 wundermap public weather station measured a peak gust of 77 mph, as well as a high sustained wind speed of 57 mph. A trained spotter reported downed trees and power outages.

The Chacon CoCoRaHS measured 15.2 inches of snow.

A personal wunderground station at Casa de Gavilan measured a high wind gust of 60 mph.

Apparent temperatures as low as -41 degrees were observed within the zone.

The Bartley RAWS between Mora and Rociada observed high wind gusts up to 59 mph. Additionally, these high wind gusts blew down a few live pine trees near Rociada.

The Bartley RAWS between Mora and Rociada observed a brief high wind gust of 59 mph.

Heavy snow and blowing snow resulted in near blizzard conditions across the zone with wind gusts of around 30 mph at the Pecos RAWS station. NM Roads reported severe driving conditions in the Mora area due to this snow and blowing snow.

Angel Fire Ski Resort observed 40 inches of snow. CoCoRaHS observers and SNOTEL sites generally observed between 1 to 2.5 feet of snow. State Highway 434 from mile marker 21 to 26 was closed due to snow drifts. In Rociada, video on social media showed cattle stuck in deep snow. P…

The Tolby SNOTEL recorded an estimated 13 inches of snow. There was a report of power outages in Sapello, NM.

A wunderground station at Upper Rociada observed a peak wind gust of 78 mph.

Severe drought remained across the southern half of the zone.

A CoCoRaHS station near Chacon measured 17.6 inches of snow. Three to 11 inches of snow fell elsewhere in the zone.

There was a public report of 18 inches of snow near Chacon, NM. There were reports of 5 to 11 inches elsewhere in the zone.

An observer in Holman measured 12 inches of snowfall. Angel Fire ski resort observed 10 inches of snowfall.

Severe drought remained across the southern half of the zone.

A public weather station near Angel Fire measured a peak gust of 68 mph. High sustained winds were between 40 and 43 mph during this time as well.

Severe drought conditions persisted across the southern half of the zone.

A trained spotter just south of Mora reported high winds causing snow drifts across highways with estimated wind gust of 60 mph. A public weather station near Rociada also reported a 77 mph wind gust later in the evening of the 13th.

The Angel Fire Ski resort reported 10 inches of snow with other reports near 4 inches elsewhere in the zone.

Severe drought conditions persisted across the southern half of the zone.

There was a CoCoRaHS report of 21.2 inches in Chacon with a storm spotter report of 20 inches in Rociada. The Angel Fire Ski area reported 18 inches of snow while a storm spotter in Ocate reported 12 inches of snow. The heavy snow resulted in a jackknifed semi truck along NM High…

Beneficial snowfall from several winter storms allowed severe drought conditions to contract to the central and southern part of the zone with moderate drought conditions across the northern part of the zone.

A dry and warm November resulted in the expansion of severe drought conditions to the vast majority of the zone.

A dry and warm October resulted in the persistence of severe drought conditions in the southern part of the zone.

A continuation of a dry monsoon season and above normal temperatures allowed for the persistence of severe drought conditions in the southern portion of the zone.

A continuation of a dry monsoon season and above normal temperatures allowed for the eastward expansion of severe drought conditions into the southwest portion of the zone.

The Las Tusas Fire was discovered May 10, 2023 around 4 pm MDT just west of Sapello. The fire caused mandatory evacuations and burned several structures. Total acreage burned was 978 acres.

The Angel Fire Airport measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.

Heavy snow impacted the eastern edge of the zone. There were various reports of 12 to 21 inches of snow stretching from Rociada to Chacon to the Moreno Valley. The heavy snow also caused road closures on U.S. Highway 64 and State Highways 120 and 434.

A public weather station in Rainsville measured a high sustained wind speed of 43 mph.

Severe drought conditions improved to moderate drought through the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

A private weather station KNMRAINS3 measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.

A private weather station KNMRAINS3 measured a high sustained wind speed of 43 mph.

Severe winter travel conditions were reported from snow packed and icy roads with blowing snow along U.S. Highway 64 through the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Heavy snow impacted the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, particularly near Chacon where there were CoCoRaHS reports of 12 to 18 inches of snow. There were also various other reports of 7 to 8 inches of snow within and near the Moreno Valley.

Moderate to severe drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through February 2023.

The Angel Fire Airport reported a high sustained wind speed of 43 mph.

Moderate to severe drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through January 2023.