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NORTHERN NEW MEXICO
Snow, gusty winds hit northern New Mexico
Utility companies brace for return of winter weather, with snowfall forecast for Albuquerque, Santa Fe, Española and Taos
From Albuquerque to points north across the state, northern New Mexico residents awoke to a dusting of snow Thursday morning, but meteorologists say that might just be a preview of what's to come over the next 24 hours.
Albuquerque could see up to a few inches of snow from Thursday night through Friday morning, while residents in higher elevation areas in Santa Fe, Española and Taos could see several inches, according to the National Weather Service.
Winter storm warnings have been issued for mountainous areas, including the Sangre de Cristos. Taos Ski Valley, for example, could see several inches of snowfall into Friday evening, the NWS said.
Gusty winds that swept across much of northern New Mexico on Thursday are also expected to continue into Friday, raising the specter of power outages that local utility providers were prepping for Thursday afternoon.
"Kit Carson's aggressive vegetation management and wildfire mitigation efforts have prepared us for extreme winter weather," said Luis Reyes, CEO of Kit Carson Electric Cooperative, which provides power for Taos, Colfax and Rio Arriba counties. "However, because the forest remains unhealthy, trees outside our right-of-way may still fall into power lines.
"If that occurs," Reyes added, "our crews are ready to respond and restore outages as quickly and safely as possible."
This week's winter storm comes after an unseasonably warm start to New Mexico's winter season, which could persist through the spring, according to David Gutzler, professor emeritus of earth and planetary sciences at the University of New Mexico.
"We're coming out of a La Niña period, which is consistent with warm and dry weather here," he said, "but it's been a weak La Niña, and that La Niña is weakening as we speak."
Commuters are urged to exercise caution when traveling in snowy conditions. For road updates, visit nmroads.com.
John Miller is the Albuquerque Journal’s northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.
