New Mexico

Winter storm system hits eastern New Mexico, headed next to Texas Panhandle and central Oklahoma

Published

11 months ago

February 11, 2024

The remnants of a slow-moving atmospheric river storm that pummeled California last week delivered the first notable snowfall of the season across eastern New Mexico, with the National Weather Service warning Sunday of snowpacked and icy roads as the system headed toward the Texas Panhandle and central Oklahoma.

A winter storm advisory was issued for eastern New Mexico, including the city of Roswell. The National Weather Service in Albuquerque said temperatures were in the mid-30s, which is up to 25 degrees below normal.

“Hopefully it will diminish by sunset,” Jennifer Shoemake, a meteorologist for the weather service in Albuquerque, said Sunday.

She said the storm system appeared to be headed next to the Texas Panhandle and central Oklahoma, where warnings were already in effect.

The National Weather Service forecast up to 8 inches (20 cm) of snow Sunday in the west Texas city of Lubbock, with 1.3 inches (3.3 cm) already on the ground in Amarillo in the Texas Panhandle.

The storms stem from a slow-moving system that first hit California early Wednesday. It moved out after days of wind, record rain and heavy snowfall that caused power outages, street flooding and hundreds of destructive mudslides around Los Angeles.

It also dumped 3 feet (91 cm) of snow over three days in northern Arizona before tracking east on Friday and making its way Saturday into New Mexico.

Shoemake said Albuquerque got up to 4 inches (10 cm) of snow Saturday, with the adjacent mountains getting anywhere between 6 inches (15 cm) and 9 inches (22 cm).

“Likely some decent skiing conditions,” Shoemake said.

She was right.

In Albuquerque, Sandia Peak Ski Area has opened up for the first time since 2022 with access to top-to-bottom skiing across 300 acres (1.2 kilometers) on all 35 trails.

“It’s like we are in the clouds up there,” snowboarder Jovanni Orozco told Albuquerque TV station KOB. “Literally, it is like low you can’t even see nothing and then the snow just covers your goggles, but it’s fun!”

The Arizona Snowbowl ski resort north of Flagstaff got 55 inches (139 cm) from the recent storms, bringing its snowfall total to 140 inches (355 cm) this season. All lifts and trails at the ski area were open Sunday.

National Park officials closed the Bandelier National Monument near Los Alamos, New Mexico on Saturday afternoon due to worsening weather, but it was reopened Sunday after snow removal operations.

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New Mexico

FEMA to close Roswell offices Saturday; at least one spokesperson headed to California fires • Source New Mexico

Published

2 minutes ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

FEMA to close Roswell offices Saturday; at least one spokesperson headed to California fires • Source New Mexico

Federal officials will wrap up their offices in Roswell as at least one employee heads to California to respond to ongoing fires.

In a press release, FEMA said it would continue working with the New Mexico Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management.

The application period for federal disaster assistance from the Roswell floods closed on Thursday, Jan. 2. However, residents have an additional 60 days to provide a late application, but an explanation for the delay must be provided “by phone, in writing or in-person,” according to the website. Those applications are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Details on Roswell office closure

The Disaster Recovery office in the Roswell Mall will close permanently after 5 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 18.

For assistance visit the FEMA page for Roswell resources (or DisasterAssistance.gov/es para español) or call the FEMA live helpline at 800-621-3362 (TTY 800-462-7585) seven days a week between 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Talking Disaster

Maria Padron, who’s worked for FEMA for 25 years, managed public affairs for the South Fork and Salt fires and the destructive Roswell floods.

Padron announced her reassignment to the California fires, in an email Tuesday, writing. “My city needs me. I had been redeployed to Los Angeles.”

In a call with Source NM, she said hers is the only reassignment she knows of.

Source NM: The U.S. experienced a near-record number of destructive storms, and that’s poised to escalate, considering the effects climate change is having. Do you have anything to say to the people experiencing disasters, many for the first time?

Padron: Always be prepared, have a prepared kit in your car, because you never know when a disaster is going to strike. People need to be aware of what’s going on with the climate, and their surroundings at all times.

In your departure letter, you said ‘your city needs you,’ and you went to school in Carson, California. How do these fires personally affect you?

I live in – not quite the Valley. I live in a safe place, away from the hills. I have two friends, they’ve lost their homes, one in Pasadena the other in Pacific Palisades. So even though I wasn’t affected, I’m affected indirectly.

Is there anything you learned from Roswell or Ruidoso that you think is going to inform your work in LA?

You know, it’s a different ball game. This one is a catastrophic event. There were 1,000, maybe – I forgot how many houses were destroyed in Ruidoso – but this one is miles and miles of destruction. Every disaster is a different ball game, but lessons learned: If you live close to the mountains, in the woods, you need to be prepared all the time for emergencies.

Source NM note: more than 1,400 structures including more than 856 homes were destroyed in the South Fork and Salt Fires.

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New Mexico

Brief warming trend begins Tuesday in New Mexico

Published

8 hours ago

January 14, 2025

Press Room

Brief warming trend begins Tuesday in New Mexico

A ridge of high pressure is building in and will start a warming trend for New Mexico that will only last for a few days. See the latest conditions at KOB.com/Weather.

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — A ridge of high pressure is building in and will start a warming trend for New Mexico that will only last for a few days.

High temperatures will get back toward average, even above average, for this time of year. That will be cut short this weekend when we return to cooler temperatures and another chance of snow.

Meteorologist Kira Miner shares all the details in her full forecast in the video above.

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