DECEMBER 2006 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS FOR NEW MEXICO

December 2006 was generally close to normal in regards to temperature, with the first half of the month above normal and the second half mostly below normal. Precipitation was varied throughout the state, with the north near or above normal while the south was below normal.

The storm at the end of November, which brought the first widespread significant snows to New Mexico, had exited the state by the start of December.  Generally dry and chilly conditions characterized the first few days of the month, followed by much milder temperatures on the 3rd through 5th. In addition, a weak disturbance brought some snow to the northern mountains late on the 2nd.  A couple of cold fronts on the 6th and 7th sent temperatures generally lower over the eastern plains.  Dry and milder weather followed for the 8th and 9th, with morning low clouds common over the southern half of the state.  A storm centered over Colorado early on the 11th delivered some snow across the north, with generally two inches or less, except for higher amounts in the northern ski areas.  A quiet weather pattern followed from the 12th through 17th.  Then a major storm began to influence New Mexico on the 18th with winds, colder temperatures and some precipitation.  Heavy snow then fell on the 19th into the 20th over the north and west, while freezing rain plagued much of the east on the 19th before changing to snow on the 20th.  The weather quieted down from the 21st through 26th, aside from a windy day on the 24th, especially in the east.  Along with some light snow, the strong winds creating blowing snow in the northeast on the 24th.  The second and last significant storm of the month affected New Mexico from the 28th through 30th.  This was a slow moving storm that produced impressive snowfall totals over the northern mountains, central valleys and the northeast plains. The system organized over California on the 26th and 27th, then reached southwest New Mexico on the 28th, where it slowed to a crawl before gradually moving northeast on the 30th.

Storm Pounds New Mexico With Snow, Freezing Rain and Winds

The first major storm of the season pounded New Mexico from the 18th through the 20th.  The storm developed over California on the 17th and gathered strength over southern California on the 18th, before moving slowly east into Arizona on the 19th and crossing New Mexico on the 20th.  A cold front dove south into the state on the 18th, sending temperatures plummeting, mainly over the eastern plains.  Moisture streamed northeast well ahead of the storm out of the Pacific Ocean and into the southwest states. Precipitation developed late on the 18th, then blossomed on the 19th into the 20th.  The satellite images and loop below, along with the radar image show the storm on the 19th and a sample of the precipitation.  Note the circulation on the visible satellite loop below over far southern California and western Arizona.  The storm intensified as it crossed New Mexico and lifted northeast on the 20th, and looked quite impressive on infrared satellite.
This storm was a slow mover and resulted in long duration precipitation.  Below are some of the more impressive snowfall totals from late on the 18th through the 20th.
Location Snowfall Total (Inches) 19NE Pietown 18 Red River 16 Wolf Canyon 16 Eagle Nest 13 8SW Cuba 13 Taos 12 Santa Fe (in town) 6-12 Albuquerque Metro 4 to 11 Chama 10 Quemado Lake 10	Location Snowfall Total (Inches) 2E Cedar Crest 10 5E Sandia Park 10 Los Alamos 10 Star Lake 8 4SE McGaffey 8 Mountainair area 6-8 Springer 8 2E Espanola 8 Tres Piedras 8 2S Sedillo 7

Final Storm of 2006 - An Impressive One

The last storm of the month and 2006 was rather impressive, as it spent 3 days affecting the Land of Enchantment.  The storm system organized over southern California on the 26th, then slowly moved east into Arizona on the 27th before reaching southwest new Mexico on the 28th.  The radar image to the right and satellite images below (left panel) show the storm on the evening of the 28th, with the deep moisture plume obvious on both radar and satellite.   By the evening of the 28th, six inches of snow was reported at Angle Fire, with lower amounts of one to two inches at Farmington, Sedillo, Gallup and Sandia Park.
The storm slowly moved across southern New Mexico on the 29th, then turned northeast into the Texas panhandle on the 30th and intensified.  This resulted in an increase in winds over northeast and east central New Mexico as well as a surge of moisture that wrapped around the storm.  Blizzard and near blizzard conditions were common over the far northeast on the night of the 29th and during the day on the 30th.  The radar image to the right and satellite images below (middle panel) show the main areas of snow and moisture on the evening of the 29th.  During this period, an impressive amount of snow fell, and by the evening of the 29th snow reports of 22 inches in Red River, 17 inches in Gascon, 15 inches in Edgewood, 12 to 20 inches in and around Santa Fe and 8 to 10 inches across Albuquerque were received. Capulin and Clayton reported snow drifts of eight and nine feet deep respectively.
On the 30th, the upper level low continued to move only slow to the east. Widespread snow persisted overnight on the 29th and through much of the day on the 30th. The IR imagery below illustrates how the circulation changed over the three days as the upper low drifted from southwest New Mexico to western Texas. Note that portions of New Mexico were affected by the storm for the entire three day period. Our Public Information Statement summarizes the snowfall totals through the 30th, and the peak wind gusts over the east on the evening of the 29th are summarized in a table.

TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION DATA FOR ALBUQUERQUE - DECEMBER 2006

Albuquerque daily actual maximum (red bars) and normal maximum (purple line) temperatures - December 2006

The average maximum temperature for December 2006 was 45.0o, which was 2.9 degrees below the 30 year normal of 47.9o.

Albuquerque daily actual minimum (blue bars) and normal minimum (purple line) temperatures - December 2006

The average minimum temperature for the month was 25.2o, which was 1.0 degree above the normal of 24.2o. The average temperature for the month was 35.1o, which was only 1.0 degree below the normal of 36.1o.

Albuquerque daily precipitation - December 2006

There were 1.50 inches of rain recorded at the Albuquerque Sunport in December 2006.  The 30 year normal for the month is 0.49 inches.  Total precipitation for the year was 13.06 inches, which is 3.59 inches above the normal of 9.47 inches.  This was the 6th wettest January through December on record at the airport, thanks mostly to the wet summer months.  The most precipitation in any year at the airport was 15.88 inches in 1941.

Albuquerque daily snowfall - December 2006

There were 20.8 inches of snow measured in December.  This is 18.1 inches above the normal of 2.7 inches and brought our calendar year snowfall total to an impressive 22.9 inches, thanks to the late December record breaking snowstorm.  The record daily snowfall for any day was set on December 29, when 11.3 inches of snow was recorded.  Average snowfall for a calendar year is 13.8 inches. The 22.9 inches of snow this year is the 6th snowiest on record at the airport (since 1931).  There were 34.3 inches of snow in 1973. Click here for a summary of the temperature and precipitation data for Clayton and Roswell.

SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS NEW MEXICO - DECEMBER 2006

NOTE: The following data is preliminary and unofficial.  A highlighted date/time indicates a radar image or loop of the severe weather is available.

DATE/TIME	LOCATION	EVENT
18th/850pm	Albuquerque - Base of Tram	Wind: 63 mph wind gust