National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

After a break in the active weather pattern from February 12th through 19th yet another major winter storm slammed New Mexico with moderate to heavy snow, favoring northern, central and eastern areas. The storm moved inland from California on the 20th and approached New Mexico on the afternoon of the 22nd, as shown on the water vapor satellite image below.

 

 

The storm generated plenty of moisture and instability, resulting in moderate to heavy snow over much of the state. The two radar images below show precipitation on the early afternoon of the 22nd (top image) and the evening of the 22nd (bottom image).

 

As the storm approached a strong cold front swept south across the eastern plains, sending temperatures plummetting into the teens and 20s over the northeast. The surface observations in the image below illustrate the cold air at the surface.  

The visible satellite image below reveals the aftermath of the storm, with widespread fresh snow cover over the northern and western higher terrain and much of the eastern plains.