New Mexico Central

Out Of The Frying Pan…

by John Weckerle

We return after a brief hiatus, during which your editor was working on a project with an aggressive deadline.  That project was unique in that the associated travel last week – to Pasadena, California – provided the opportunity to experience last week’s storm twice: once there, and once here.

Now that most of the snow has melted here at New Mexico Central headquarters, we find ourselves again awaiting another, and apparently this one is going to be a doozy.  With that, let us provide you with the National Weather Forecast Winter Storm Warning.

WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM MST FRIDAY…

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 11 AM MST FRIDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS… LOOK FOR 5 TO 10 INCHES BELOW 6500 FEET AND 10 TO 16 INCHES ABOVE 7500 FEET WITH LOCALLY UP TO 25 INCHES ALONG THE HIGHEST EAST FACING SLOPES OF THE NORTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS.

* TIMING… SNOWFALL WILL INCREASE LATE TONIGHT AND REMAIN HEAVY AT TIMES THURSDAY INTO THURSDAY EVENING BEFORE DIMINISHING LATE THURSDAY NIGHT.

* WINDS… WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE NORTHEAST 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH BEHIND A COLD FRONTAL PUSH LATER TONIGHT. WINDS WILL DIMINISH SOME BY MID THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO THE EVENING.

* SNOW LEVELS… SNOW LEVELS WILL RAPIDLY LOWER TONIGHT WITH ALL SNOW BY DAYBREAK THURSDAY MORNING.

* LOCAL IMPACTS… SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT IMPACTS TO TRAVEL ACROSS THE WARNED AREA. SIGNIFICANT FREEZING OF THE WET AND SLUSHY SNOW FRIDAY MORNING ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS WILL ALSO IMPACT TRAVEL. BLOWING SNOW AND SOME DRIFTING OF SNOW WILL OCCUR ALONG THE FRONT RANGE.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS…

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST TRAVEL… KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT… FOOD… AND WATER IN YOUR VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

More Information

… MAJOR WINTER STORM TO IMPACT MUCH OF NEW MEXICO WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY MORNING…

.A VIGOROUS PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM AND A STRONG HIGH PLAINS COLD FRONT WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE A MIX OF WINTRY WEATHER ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. HEAVY SNOW ACCUMULATIONS WILL RESULT ACROSS MANY AREAS WITH LESSER AMOUNTS ACROSS THE FAR WEST. THE FAVORED AREAS WILL BE FOUND ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS FROM ANGEL FIRE TO RUIDOSO AS WELL AS ALONG INTERSTATE 40 BETWEEN TIJERAS AND TUCUMCARI. THE JEMEZ MOUNTAINS AND LOS ALAMOS AREA WILL ALSO RECEIVE HEAVY SNOWFALL. A MIXED BAG OF PRECIPITATION SUCH AS RAIN/SLEET AND SNOW WILL BE FOUND ACROSS THE EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST PLAINS LATE TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY MORNING BUT QUICKLY TRANSITION TO ALL SNOW BY THE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL DROP QUICKLY THURSDAY NIGHT AS THE SYSTEM GRADUALLY EXITS TO THE EAST. THUS LOOK FOR ENHANCED FREEZING OF THE WET AND SLUSHIER SNOW ACROSS THE LOWER ELEVATIONS FRIDAY MORNING. BLOWING SNOW WILL ALSO BE AN ISSUE AT TIMES DURING THE EVENT PERIOD WITH STRONG EAST TO NORTHEAST WINDS EXPECTED NEAR THE GAPS FOUND WITHIN THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN AS WELL AS ACCOMPANYING THE COLD FRONTAL PASSAGE ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS TONIGHT INTO THURSDAY.

Wednesday, January 27th, 2010, by John Weckerle and is filed under "East Mountains, Estancia Valley ". You can leave a response here. Pinging is currently not allowed.