After The Storm - Dense Fog & Snow Capped Mountains.

Dense Fog Between Artesia & Roswell.

( Saturday Morning, February 17, 2018.)

About Halfway Between Artesia & Roswell.

Fog Bank Ahead South Of Roswell.

Near The Roswell Airport On US Hwy 285.

Looking Back East Towards Roswell Near 12-Mile Hill On US 70.

Capitan Mountains Saturday Morning, February 17, 2018.

Looking North From US Hwy 70 West Of Roswell.

Looking North From St Hwy 380 West Of Lincoln.

Sierra Blanca Peak - Saturday, February 17, 2018.

West Of Lincoln ON St Hwy 380 Near The Fort Stanton Turnoff.

On US Hwy 70 Near Mescalero Looking North.

Whitetail - Mule Deer - Near The Sierra Blanca Regional Airport.

Cloudcroft Ice Skating Rink.

After 2.81" Of Rain & 3.1" Of Snow The Past Two Days.

My wife and I headed north out of Carlsbad early this morning towards Roswell and then west to Ruidoso. Along the way we encountered a dense fog bank about halfway between Artesia and Roswell. The visibility at the Roswell Industrial Air Center was reported to be less than one quarter of a mile at 8 AM MST this morning. This was no joke and we couldn't see more than 50 yards at times. We didn't clear out of the fog bank until we topped out on 12-mile hill west of Roswell on US Hwy 70.

What a beautiful sight the Capitan Mountains and Sierra Blanca Peak (Old Baldy, White Mountain) were this morning. The dense cirrostratus and altostratus clouds made for some varied shades of color on the snow capped peaks and cast different hues and shadows at times.

Not often will you find 2 to 3 inches of rain falling in two days in Cloudcroft (8,750') which in a non La Niña winter normally would have been 20 to 30 inches or so of new snowfall. Not this year much to the disdain of the local Ski Resorts. Ski Apache west of Ruidoso (base elevation of 9,700) picked up 5 inches of new snow and over 3 inches of rain out of this latest storm. This brings their seasonal snowfall total to 28 inches. Normal by now would be around 130 inches or so. They average about 180 inches in a season. Given the current ongoing moderate drought gripping the state the rain was very welcome anyway. 

The Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction!