A winter storm will bring widespread snowfall, high winds, and much colder air across New Mexico starting Tuesday. Snowfall accumulations will be generally light, but some travel impacts are still possible.
Tuesday
Temperatures are already starting to get colder across New Mexico ahead of a winter storm. Our temperatures will be even colder on Tuesday as light snow will begin in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico by Tuesday morning. The snow will slowly move south through the day, with light snow making it to I-40 by Tuesday evening. East winds will be picking up through the day in Albuquerque and Rio Grande Valley, eventually gusting up to nearly 55 mph in the Albuquerque Metro by Tuesday night. This will create the “snow hole” effect in Albuquerque, leaving most of the Metro dry with only a few flurries to a dusting of snow at most for the West Mesa and Rio Rancho. This wind could bring wind chills below-zero Tuesday night into Wednesday morning across Albuquerque.
Meanwhile in southern New Mexico, light, scattered lower elevation rain and mountain snow will start Tuesday evening. Snow levels will eventually drop to valley floors and lower elevations by late Tuesday night, as parts of southern New Mexico will begin to see light snowfall accumulations.
Wednesday
Wednesday morning will be bitterly cold across New Mexico with wind chills in the single digits and single digits below-zero. By Wednesday morning, light snow will be falling in areas along and south of I-40. Accumulations will continue to be very light thanks to the very dry air we have in place, but with the cold temperatures, it may be enough to see a dusting to 1″ on the ground and a few slick spots along I-40 and in southern New Mexico. The snow will continue across the southern part of the state through the day with drier weather north of I-40. By the afternoon, some snow may mix with a little bit of rain. Winds will be lighter Wednesday afternoon, but high temperatures will stay in the 20s and 30s and many areas may not even make it above freezing.
Thursday
Another round of sow will develop across southern, central, and eastern New Mexico early Thursday morning. Some snow may be moderate at times through the afternoon as high temperatures again barely climb above freezing for most areas. Minor travel impacts are possible with this round of snowfall as it will have a better chance of accumulating on surfaces.
Friday
A few snow showers will stick around eastern New Mexico through early Friday morning. A few leftover slick spots will still be possible due to the cold temperatures. High temperatures Friday afternoon will be slightly warmer, but still well below average for this time of year.
Snow accumulations from this winter storm will generally be light. Most areas will see a dusting of snow to as much as 3″. The mountain sin southern New Mexico will have the best chance at seeing as much as 6″ of snow with this storm…