Winter's Sudden Embrace: The cold weather that has arrived could stick in NM for some time

Let it rain and snow, New Mexico.

The beginning of November brought a dramatic change from the unusual heat October had to offer. Storm systems in New Mexico will bring anywhere from small bursts of snow in certain parts of the state to several inches of snow in other places like the East Mountains.

According to a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office social media post, Sandia Crest Road was closed in both directions late Monday afternoon due to snowy and slick roads.

"Avoid this area as no thru traffic will be allowed," the post stated. "Please drive slow and be cautious of road conditions."

BCSO spokesperson Jayme Gonzales told the Journal she was unsure how far up Sandia Crest Road the closure would go, "but we are blocking both lanes at the base" and that road reopening would be "weather-dependent."

According to the National Weather Service of Albuquerque, 3 to 5 inches of snow was predicted to hit the area.

More inclement weather, meanwhile, is predicted to come to the metro area.

"As we go into Wednesday, we're going to see another storm that's going to move in from the northwest and develop over New Mexico and lead to potentially long duration of snow and wind for our area," said Brian Guyer, National Weather Service of Albuquerque meteorologist. "Going into Thursday and Thursday night, that does look like it has potential to be a major winter storm, especially for the mountains, and we could be looking at snowfall (meansuring into the feet) up in the mountains."

Places in the state like Magdalena, Bloomfield and Las Vegas have already begun to see the effects of the snow, with schools and county courts experiencing delays or closures on Monday. Interstate 25 near Raton also experienced a road closure. Northbound lanes near the Colorado border were closed due to low visibility. U.S. Highway 64 from Raton to Clayton was also closed.

A winter weather weather advisory has been issued for areas around Gallup, Grants, Las Vegas, Clayton and Ruidoso.

In the Albuquerque metro area, people can expect to see more rain than snow with a 70% chance of precipitation during the weekend.

First, Election Day will bring a pause to the inclement weather, allowing voters to participate in voting without worrying about harsh weather-related travel conditions. In Albuquerque, the high will hit 56 degrees Tuesday but is unlikely to surpass the 40s for the remainder of the week.

"We (had) high pressure over us for the majority of October, and now we've got the whole West under low pressure," Guyer said. "Everything just swung 180 degrees and it's not uncommon."

Areas like the Jemez Mountains, Sandia Mountains, Sangre De Cristo Mountains and I-40 east of Albuquerque can expect to see the worst of the snow conditions, leading to "road closures and things of that nature," Guyer said.

Saturday will bring slightly warmer weather, with temperatures just high enough to melt snow that falls earlier in the week.

"In the mountains, it would probably take some to take some time," Guyer said.

Temperatures are expected to stay low through the rest of November, with another potential storm next week.

"It does look like our active weather pattern will continue," Guyer said. "I don't think that we'll see any kind of warm-up again like we had in October. This is a shock after having basically an extended summer, and now we have snow."

Gregory R.C. Hasman contributed to the story.