Significant Snowfalls in Albuquerque
National Weather Service, Albuquerque, NM
The winter storm that produced significant snows across the Albuquerque Metro Area on December 26, 2000 was one for the record books. The Albuquerque International Sunport measured 6.1 inches of snowfall, with a maximum snow depth of 4 inches. Snowfall refers to how much snow actually fell, whether it melted or not. Snow depth is officially measured every 6 hours. So given the effects of settling and melting, it's common for the snowfall measurement to be greater than the maximum snow depth.
The 6.1" snowfall on December 26, 2000 broke the previous daily record of 2.9" set back in 1974. The table below shows the 10 most significant snowfalls at the Albuquerque International Airport since 1931.
| Significant Snowfalls at the Albuquerque International Airport since 1931 | ||
| Rank | 1 Day Total | 2 Day Total |
|
1 |
10.0"; December 15, 1959 | 18.9" ; December 14-15, 1959 |
| 2 | 9.3" ; December 29, 1958 | 14.2" ; December 28-29, 1958 |
| 3 | 8.9" ; December 14, 1959 | 10.9" ; March 31-April 1, 1988 |
| 4 | 8.5" ; March 29, 1973 | 10.7" ; March 29-30, 1973 |
| 5 | 7.4" ; December 8, 1980 | 10.0" ; December 15-16, 1959 |
| 6 | 6.8" ; March 7, 1942 | 9.4" ; December 29-30, 1958 |
| 7 | 6.7" ; March 31, 1988 | 8.9" ; December 13-14, 1959 |
| 8 | 6.6" ; April 2, 1973 | 8.6" ; March 28-29, 1973 |
| 9 | 6.1" ; December 26, 2000 | 7.4" ; December 8-9, 1980 |
| 10 | 5.3" ; November 20, 1940 | 6.8" ; March 7-8, 1942 |