National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Two winter storms crossed New Mexico in rapid succession from March 9 to March 11, resulting in more snow, wind, and hazardous driving conditions.  The IR image loop below, with mid level atmospheric pressure shown in green, depicts the progress of these two systems on March 10.  The first system (labeled L1) raced from central New Mexico to Oklahoma while the second system (laveld as L2) deepened as it moved over northern Arizona.  This second system continued to strengthen and crossed New Mexico on the 11th as a closed low.

 

 

 March 2010 has been influenced by an unsettled weather pattern, with several systems bringing precipitation to much of the state.  The graphic below depicts precipitatation totals for the first 11 days of March (green bars) at several locations across New Mexico.  For comparison, the long term average values of precipitation during the same period are shown in blue.  This wet period has helped to reduce the extent of long term dry conditions across central New Mexico.

The unsettled weather of March 2010 continued to bring more rain and snow to New Mexico on the 14th and 15th.  A strong upper level low developed over the Great Basin and worked its way to the Four Corners area by Sunday, March 14th.  Snow moved into the the northwest corner of the state early on Sunday and precipitation spread east during the day with high elevation snow, rain across the Rio Grande Valley and a few thunderstorms in central portions of the state.

 

 

The storm tracked to the south on the 15th, and the combination of the upper low and a surface front in the northeast resulted in a deep layer of east then northeast winds across much of the state, but especially the eastern plains.  This resulted in upslope flow that enhanced precipitation across eastern New Mexico. As the low tracked to the south then east, precipitation decreased from northwest to southeast during the day.