Clouds will continue to thicken and lower over the Central Mountain chain...upper Rio Grande Valley as well as Rio Arriba...Los Alamos and Sandoval counties for the rest of the evening. Before 11 PM...expect lower elevation rain and higher terrain snow showers to start to increase over the region. In addition...look for areas of fog to become more widespread...especially along the east slopes. Visibilities of 2 to 5 miles in fog may impact travel on Interstate 40 from the Moriarty area through Milagro...as well as other roads through the region. Patchy dense fog...with visibilities of one half mile or less...could be encountered... especially in the Ruidoso area.
Forecast for Northwest Mountains including Jemez
Updated: 9:17 PM MDT on October 13, 2008
Winter Storm Warning in effect from midnight tonight to 6 PM MDT Tuesday...
Rest of Tonight
Partly cloudy. Breezy. Scattered rain and snow showers in the evening...then rain and snow likely after midnight. Snow level near 8000 feet. Snow accumulation 1 to 4 inches. Lows in the 20s to mid 30s...except 15 to 25 over the higher elevations. Southwest winds 15 to 25 mph becoming southeast 10 to 15 mph after midnight. Gusts up to 35 mph. Caution advised on area lakes.
Tuesday
Rain and snow. Snow level near 6500 feet. Snow accumulation 1 to 4 inches...except 4 to 6 inches above 7500 feet. Total snow accumulation 2 to 5 inches...except as much as 5 to 10 inches above 7500 feet. Highs in the mid 30s to upper 40s... except in the 20s to mid 30s over the higher elevations. Southeast winds 10 to 15 mph.
... Winter Storm Warning remains in effect until 6 PM MDT Tuesday...
A Winter Storm Warning remains in effect for heavy snow until 6 PM MDT Tuesday.
Precipitation will gradually increase in coverage tonight and become widespread through Tuesday morning. Snow levels will fall from 8500 feet late this evening to around 6500 feet by Tuesday morning. Expect 2 to 5 inches of snow accumulation below 7500 feet and 5 to 10 inches above 7500 feet with locally higher amounts up to one foot on mountain peaks. Rain will mix with snow in the Santa Fe area... where up to 2 inches of accumulation is possible mainly in the Sangre de Cristo foothills by Tuesday afternoon.
A Winter Storm Warning for heavy snow means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Significant amounts of snow are forecast that will make travel dangerous. Only travel in an emergency. If you must travel... keep an extra flashlight... food... and water in your vehicle in case of an emergency.
= Probability of Precipitation
