Winter 2000-2001 continued

between Deming, New Mexico and El Paso, Texas. During the late afternoon and early evening, heavy snow showers and strong gusty winds created near blizzard conditions from Deming and Lordsburg  northward across the Silver City vicinity and the southern Gilas. Six inches of snow was reported in the high terrain north of Pinos Altos with two inches falling at Silver City and an inch around Deming. Winds also gusted to near  50 miles an hour at Silver City during this intense but brief storm.

January 17-18...Widespread snows across the borderland

  The next storm system of significance brought snow across the borderland from the southern Gilas to extreme western Texas. Heaviest snows fell across the mountains of southwestern New Mexico where three to six inches were reported over most locations. In the lower elevations, four inches of snow fell over the Deming area with two inches occurring at Truth or Consequences. Further east, two inches of snow was also reported at Sierra Blanca, Texas with the slippery roads causing numerous motor vehicle accidents during the morning of January 18.

January 28- 29...Rain, snow, ice and wind

   After 10 days of mostly dry weather, cold wet conditions returned to the borderland as a major low pressure area pushed across Arizona and New Mexico. This storm system produced half-inch rainfalls around Truth or Consequences on January 28, with a mixture of rain and ice pellets falling over El Paso. Overnight and the following morning very heavy snow fell over the southern Sacramento Mountains with

Cloudcroft measuring a total of 17 inches.  Further west, around four to six inches of snow was measured over the southern Gilas. As the storm moved to the east of the borderland, strong winds developed across the region with gusts of 55 miles an hour over El Paso during the evening of January 29.

High winds and light snows on February 7-8

   A major wind episode struck southern New Mexico and far western Texas from February 7-8 with wind gusts from 50 to 60 miles an hour over most of the area. The high winds caused widespread blowing sand and dust which occasionally reduced visibilities to under a mile around the El Paso vicinity during the afternoon and early evening hours. The storm which produced the high winds also brought  two inches of snow over the southern Sacramentos along with very isolated thunderstorms across  the borderland.

   Very windy conditions returned on February 23 when  wind gusts from 50 to 60 miles an hour again caused widespread blowing sand and dust. Isolated showers and thunderstorms developed three days later as another low pressure system approached the southern Rockies. 

March begins on a stormy note

March literally came in like a lion but ended on a relative whimper. A low pressure system with a strong cold front
   
 Continued on page 3

                                                                                  
                                                                                 Page 2