Winter storm could bring snowfall to Albuquerque this weekend

Snow lovers hold your breath.

Areas of northern and central New Mexico could see snowfall of up to 6 inches this weekend thanks to an incoming winter storm. At least a few inches, maybe more, could drop in parts of the Duke City.

A cold front Thursday will turn into precipitation beginning Friday afternoon — a “mix of rain and snow,” according to meteorologist David Craft with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque. The NWS predicts snowfall will start Friday night, reaching its heaviest point around Saturday afternoon.

The Albuquerque area has a 40% chance of more than 3 inches of snow, Craft said. The chance for that much snowfall goes up to around 50% in Rio Rancho and 60% in Santa Fe.

“If anybody's thinking about traveling this weekend, they really need to pay close attention to the weather forecast and any warnings and advisories that we issue, because we could be looking at some road closures and some very treacherous travel,” Craft said.

In the eastern plains — which includes Clayton, Tucumcari, and Clovis — temperatures will drop below freezing Thursday night and not rise above freezing until Sunday. Highs are predicted Saturday in the teens and 20s, and lows will hit Friday and Saturday night, when the temperature could hit the single digits, Craft said.

In almost all of northern and central New Mexico, lowest temperatures should reach the single digits and teens Saturday night, except in some lower valleys, like from Glenwood to Socorro, according to Craft.

In Albuquerque, the highs will fall from the mid-50s Thursday to the low- to mid-40s Friday. On Saturday during the snowfall, it should be around 40 degrees, Craft said. Lows in the mid-20s are expected in the area this weekend.

“We had the warmest December on record, so this is going to be like a slap in the face for a lot of people,” Craft said. “It could very well catch them off guard if they’re not in the habit of checking the weather right now, because it’s just been so nice.”

Some areas of Albuquerque sit in a “snow hole” — a weather phenomenon caused by strong winds from the east blowing through Tijeras Canyon that create compressed air, which warms the atmosphere — meaning they may not receive as much snow, he said. 

In parts of eastern and central Albuquerque, the chance for snow drops down to 20% because of the snow hole, Craft said.

Some of the highest snowfall is forecast across the Sangre de Cristos, where there is a 70% chance of more than 6 inches of snow, according to NWS, which may make for some great ski weather.

Sipapu Ski Resort between Taos and Santa Fe may see about 10 inches of snow this weekend, and its sister resort, Pajarito Mountain Ski Area, is expecting around 7 inches, according to spokesperson Christiana Hudson.

Natural snowfall this season has been “terrible,” Hudson said, so Sipapu has relied heavily on its artificial snowmaking system.

“We're hoping that this dump of snow will allow us to open up a lot more terrain on the upper mountain,” she said.

Ski Santa Fe is expecting between nine and 13 inches of snow this weekend, said operations manager Tommy Long, though the resort “can’t count it until it’s on the ground.”

Some avid skiers and snowboarders will reliably hit the mountain as soon as it gets fresh snowfall, so Long anticipates a slight uptick in business.

“One of the biggest advertisements for skiing and snowboarding in the state is when we get a snowstorm,” Long said.