Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

New Mexico was hit by a late-season storm that brought snow and rain

  • Snowfall totals over 9,000 feet in the Farmington area ranged from 10 to 20 inches.
  • Parts of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains around Angel Fire and Taos had seen up to 18 inches of snow.
  • There was significant rainfall in areas of the state that were too warm for snow.

FARMINGTON – The calendar may have been turned to May more than a week ago, but that doesn’t mean winter is over with New Mexico as a late-season storm brought significant snowfall to the higher elevations of the state and welcome to many The rest of the state brought rains.

The system entered the state on May 9th, and was present across New Mexico by the afternoon of May 10th. According to Brian Guyer, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, additional snowfalls of over 9,000 feet were expected in the Farmington area between 10 and 20 inches by May 11.

He said portions of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains around Angel Fire and Taos saw more than 18 inches of snow, and Santa Fe, Raton, and Las Vegas, New Mexico, saw 1 to 5 inches of snow even though the ground was too warm for it to stand the snow piles up, said Guyer.

Even the area around Ski Apache, a ski area just outside Ruidoso in the south-central region of New Mexico, had an inch of snow by May 10. That forced the resort to close for the day as it had already started offering such warm weather activities as ziplining, mountain biking, and gondola rides, according to its website.

There has been significant rainfall in areas of the state that were too warm for snow, Guyer said.

“It was pretty widespread, but the continental divide region has grown the most – that and the northern highlands,” Guyer said.

“It’s really not very unusual”

The snow may have surprised those who assumed a comparatively warm April in most parts of New Mexico meant they had seen last winter. The state saw a handful of relatively small storms in the north, central, and south-central mountains throughout the month, but April was mostly dominated by high wind conditions that wreaked havoc at the beginning of the month.

Then came the storm this week that made much of the state look more like mid-March than early May.

“Last year at that time, parts of the state were in the 80s or 90s, so that’s quite a difference,” he said.

Still, the system that enveloped the state is far from unknown for this time of year.

“It’s really not uncommon for us to see significant snowfall in the highlands (early May),” he said. “But it’s been a while.”

More important than the precipitation were the cool temperatures that the system brought with it. Midday temperatures across the state ranged from 49 degrees in Farmington, 42 in Santa Fe and 43 in Albuquerque to 51 in Roswell, 47 in Socorro and 39 in Sierra Blanca on May 10.

“The temperatures we see on May 10 are between 20 and 30 degrees below normal,” said Guyer.

This wet and cool trend was expected to continue through May 12th. However, Guyer said that another storm system by the 16th the state.

When will the spring weather return?

So when can New Mexicans expect a return to warm, sunny spring weather?

“That’s a good question,” said Guyer. “At the moment it looks like temperatures will stay below normal for the next week due to the next system.”

The cool temperatures should have a positive impact on the snowpack, which has proven to be plentiful for most of the state, as it prevents the powder from melting too quickly and leading to excessive runoff and flooding.

“Many creeks and rivers are rising in the area,” Guyer said on May 10, particularly the Rio Grande and San Juan. “We will see further increases. But there is no forecast for floods until the end of May. We have to keep an eye on that.”

Guyer encouraged people to stay away from river banks and arroyos for the next few weeks, warning that they are potentially dangerous.

“If you venture into the water, you have to be prepared for very cold conditions,” he said.

Overall, this winter was a welcome change from many who have preceded it in recent years.

“I think we have one of the best seasons ahead of us that we have had since 2004,” said Guyer. “There were a few other good years, but when it comes to runoff, we think this is likely to be similar to 2004. … The good thing about this season is that it stayed cool and humid so we’re maximizing the water we can for the watersheds. “

Snow cover numbers high

On May 10, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s snowpack summary for the San Miguel, Dolores, Animas, and San Juan Rivers basins showed a snowpack that was 195 percent normal and more than 1,700 percent higher than the previous year. The summary of the Rio Grande Basin was 154 percent of normal and nearly 2,200 percent of the previous year.

Figures published May 10 on the USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service website, showing snowpack summaries for the Sangre de Cristos, averages between 107 percent on Ute Creek and 167 percent on Upper Rio Grande.

Even the Gila Mountains in the state’s southeastern quadrant reported heavy snow cover numbers on May 10. The median numbers for the locations ranged from 121 percent at Frisco Divide to 274 percent at McKnight Cabin, according to the website. The snowpack at Sierra Blanca in the Sacramento Mountains in south-central New Mexico was 184 percent of the median.

These sums are particularly good news for the state’s agricultural producers. By the end of April, the flow of the central Rio Grande was ten times its level in the same period in 2018, and that was before that storm hit. That likely means a significant rise in the water level at Elephant Butte Lake, the largest and most important reservoir in the state.

Dry conditions over several years had lowered the lake’s level to 3 percent of capacity last fall, according to Las Cruces Sun, but that figure had risen to 14 percent by the end of April and was 17 percent on May 10.

The Office of the State Engineer, which manages New Mexico’s water resources, said Jan.

Precipitation could help end drought

State engineer John D’Antonio downplayed the risk of flooding on the Rio Grande in an email to the Daily Times.

“Although river flows on the main arm of the Rio Grande are expected to increase between now and June due to snowmelt, we are confident that the water can be safely managed to control the risk of flooding,” he said. “The good news is that it will be the best year in a long time for people who enjoy canoeing and river rafting. However, the people who live in the Rio Grande Valley will see currents higher than normal and should take proper precautions while walking . ” , Picnicking or working in the bosque by the river.

Guyer was optimistic about a possible end to the drought that has gripped most of New Mexico in recent years.

“Oh, it made a big improvement,” he said of the severe winter. “Most of the state, with the exception of the northwest, has already had a severe drought and I think this storm system is likely to put an end to that.”

The US drought monitor map confirms Guyer’s assessment. Almost half the state is completely out of the drought, although most of northern and western New Mexico – along with part of south-central New Mexico – is still classified as moderate drought or unusually dry conditions.

The hardest hit area of ​​the state, San Juan County, spent most of last year in exceptional drought, the worst ranking on the agency’s drought scale. But his condition has improved significantly over the past three months. Most of the county has climbed three notches to a moderate drought on the scale, although much of its northeast corner continues to experience severe drought – the only place in the United States to have that designation.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610.

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