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Monday, December 19, 2011

Blizzard To Hammer Northeast 2/3rd's Of NM Today!

Please Click On The Maps To Enlarge Them.

Map Is Courtesy Of The Midland NWS Office.
Note: This Map Does Not Update On This Blog.

Map Is Courtesy Of The Lubbock NWS Office.
Note: This Map Does Not Update On This Blog.

Map Is Courtesy Of The Albuquerque NWS Office.
Note: This Map Does Not Update On This Blog.

Map Is Courtesy Of The El Paso NWS Office.
Note: This Map Does Not Update On This Blog.




Blog updated at 5: 24 PM MST.



Valid Until 11 PM MST Tonight.
2" - 3" New Snowfall.
Areas Of Blowing &  Drifting Snow.




Northeast & East-Central New Mexico.
Valid 6 AM Monday - 5 AM Tuesday.
New Snowfall 8" - 16".
North Winds 25-35G45+ MPH!
Zero Visibility In White Out Conditions!
Travel May Become Impossible!
Widespread Blowing Snow!
Widespread 3' - 4' Snow Drifts.
Significant Drifting Snow. 5' -10'Drifts Possible!

Curry-Roosevelt-De Baca-Chaves-Lincoln Co's.
Valid 6 AM Monday - 5 AM Tuesday.
New Snowfall 2" - 6" Lower Elevations.
5" 10" Locally Higher Over Higher Elevations.
North Winds 15-25G40 mph.
Blowing Snow & Drifting Snow.
Reduced Visibilities.
Difficult To Impossible Driving Conditions.

Otero County.
11 PM Tonight - 11 PM Monday.
New Snowfall 6" 12".
Locally 18" Above 8,000'.
West Winds 10-20G30 mph.
Blowing & Drifting Snow.
Reduced Visibilities.
Difficult To Impossible Driving Conditions.

For The Guadalupe Mtn's
Until 11 PM MST Tonight.
SW Winds 40-50G70 MPH.

Valid Until 5 PM MST.
SW Winds 25-35G50 MPH.

Dangerous...Potentially Life Threatening Blizzard!

Potentially Life Threatening And Very Dangerous Winter Weather conditions expected to develop across roughly the northeastern two-thirds of New Mexico today into tonight. 

I-40 from Tijeras Canyon eastward to the New Mexico and Texas state line, and I-25 from Gloreta Pass eastward, looks to bear the burnt of this next inbound Major Winter Storm. Travel across these areas will likely become impossible in time due to widespread heavy snowfall, blowing snow, and drifting snow. Zero visibilites are expected in the widespread White Out conditions today into tonight. There are major concerns that this storm is going to catch some people off guard who live in the area or who will be traveling in the area.

New snowfall totals across northeast and east-central New Mexico are expected to be in the 10"- 16" range. Snow drifts of 3' - 4' will likely be common, with significant snow drifts in these areas due to the heavy snow, and northerly winds sustained at 25-35G45+ mph. Snow drifts of 5' - 10' (feet) are not out of the question across the northeastern two-thirds of the state!

Again to be blunt folks...If you absolutely do not need to travel north from the Clines Corners area today into Tuesday morning, or east or west down I-40, or up the I-25 corridor from Gloreta Pass to the Colorado state line, or across parts of the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles into southwestern Kansas, then please don't. You could very well be risking your life in doing so in these extremely dangerous Blizzard conditions! Its just a suggestion.

This mess is also going to have major impacts to livestock and animals that will be exposed on the open range.These impacts could last for days, and may be complicated by the addition of one or more winter storms forecast to impact the state into the Christmas weekend, as well as additional surges of very cold air moving south into the state.



Widespread road closures will be likely across parts of the state today into Tuesday. This will be especially true across the northeastern 2/3rd's of the state. For the latest road conditions across the state, please click on this link.

Southeastern New Mexico.


An intense closed upper-level low was located near El Paso early this morning. This inbound Major Winter Storm is forecast to deepen over SE NM today as it begins to lift off to the northeast. A few thunderstorms broke out over the area overnight..producing small hail across parts of southern New Mexico. Thunderstorms are occurring early this morning across parts of West Texas to our east. 

I talked to my brother in Lakewood this afternoon and he said that he measured .94" last night. I picked up .28" of rainfall here at my home in Carlsbad overnight. Some of the heavier rainfall totals overnight as of 5 AM MST include: The Caprock Raws .59", Paduca Raws .40", NW Hobbs (KM5BS) .39", 8-Mile Draw Raws .35", Carlsbad Airport .29", Queen Raws .27", the Artesia Airport .22", and the Roswell Airport .15".

Much colder arctic air was filtering into northeastern New Mexico early this morning. The cold front should arrive in southeastern New Mexico later this afternoon. Our highs today are forecast to range from the low 40's to near 50 across the local area. Tomorrow will be chilly with highs ranging from the upper 30's to the mid 40's. A brief warm-up is expected on Wednesday with highs in the 50's.

 Wrap around moisture, wrapping around the west side, or backside of the upper-level low, will invade the area later this afternoon and evening as the upper-level storm departs off to our northeast. A few more scattered rain showers should dot the landscape throughout the day today. These will mix with, and change over to snow later this afternoon and evening.

 Current National Weather Service forecasts still keep our snowfall accumulations to an inch or less here in Eddy and Lea Counties. The higher elevations of the Guadalupe's may pick up a couple of inches of the white stuff. The snowfall will end later tonight as the upper-level storm moves into the Texas Panhandle.

Today is going to be windy with southwesterly-westerly winds picking up later this morning to sustained speeds at around 25-35G50 mph across Eddy County, as well as the lower elevations of Culberson County. As the cold front pushes southward through the area later this afternoon and evening, these winds will switch around to the northwest and north.

Our next winter storm to affect the state is forecast to dive southward and close off near Tijuana, Mexico tonight. It is then forecast to swing eastward across northern Mexico Tuesday into Thursday. A third upper-level storm is forecast by the models to swing across the state Friday into the Christmas weekend. The models are already struggling with this so I won't try and focus on the details just yet.

Another surge of colder air from the north is due to arrive by Thursday or Friday...with the coldest airmass heading our way for Christmas. We still have a chance for seeing a White Christmas here in SE NM. 

The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction!

3 comments:

  1. Wendell,

    I was wondering if you had insight why we can barely get any snow or rain in the heart of the southern Sacramento Mtns this season. We live just south of the southern border with the Mescalero Reservation, about 10 miles NE of Cloudcroft (as the crow flies). The many generous winter storms in Dec have often skirted the southern Sacramentos. This storm, especially. We got .02" rain and a very thin crust of snow. What gives?! Sometimes our bar. pressure has been (too) high, but not this time!? Is this a common effect for the area? (we moved here permanently one year ago).

    Thank you,

    Lyn C.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Lyn...that's a good question. Really its the track of the upper-level storms, and the available moisture that they have to work with. In order for the Sacramento Mtn's to get a really good snowstorm, these upper-level storms need to track along a line south of Tucson-El Paso-Midland, TX. And the arctic air with low-level upslope flow from the east needs to be well entrenched over the area before the upper-level storm arrives from the west. It also helps to have a moist influx of air the mid-levels of the atmosphere coming in from the southwest from off of the Pacific ocean. Sometimes its tough to get all three of these factors working in tandem.I hope this helps.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yes, thank you, that's helpful. It would mean the So. Sacramentos don't experience all that many wet winters overall (favored by El Nino, though), which seems to fit our limited experience. We have visited our land for 13 years (before building/living here) and we didn't visit over the winter very much.
    Lyn

    ReplyDelete

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