New Mexico winter storms
Every recorded winter storm record since 1996 · 33 counties with a record
NOAA's Storm Events Database records 2,947 winter storm records in New Mexico from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 101 a year since 2000. The deadliest was the December 19, 2011 heavy snow: 5 deaths, 7 injuries and $3,936 in damage in 2025 dollars across 4 records. New Mexico ranks 37th of 51 states and territories by count and 45th of 50 per square mile.
Winter storms in New Mexico, 1996 to 2026
Winter storm records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.
- recorded, no damage figure
- under $1 million
- $1 million or more
- $10 million or more
- $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
- $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
- a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
- a year with a death
- Records
- 2,9471996 to June 30, 2026
- A year since 2000
- 101average
- Deaths
- 56201 injuries
- Damage, 2025 dollars
- $155Mas filed
- Busiest year
- 2010255 records
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.
Are winter storm records common in New Mexico?
New Mexico averages about 101 winter storm records a year since 2000, 37th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2010 (255). Per 10,000 square miles of land, New Mexico records 243 winter storm records since 1996, 45th of 50 states and territories by that measure.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.
Which counties in New Mexico have the most winter storm records?
Per square mile, Los Alamos County leads New Mexico: 87 days with a winter storm record since 1996, 797.3 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, Santa Fe County has the most winter storm records (692 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.
When is winter storm season in New Mexico?
48% of its winter storm records since 1996 fell in December and January. The busiest month is December (741 records).
The values, month by month
Jan 670 · Feb 603 · Mar 351 · Apr 131 · May 25 · Jun 0 · Jul 0 · Aug 0 · Sep 3 · Oct 115 · Nov 308 · Dec 741 (records).
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.
What were the deadliest winter storm records in New Mexico?
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-12-19 | Heavy SnowCurry County · forecast zone Curry County One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. A strong upper level storm system moved across southern New Mexico, and initially brought heavy snow to western and central New Mexico. Then, a very strong cold front plowed across the northeast and east central plains bringing winds up to 60 mph and more heavy snow. More than a foot of snow fell across Union County. ... | 5 | 7 | $4K | |
| 2022-02-01 | Heavy SnowBernalillo County and 2 more · forecast zone Sandia/Manzano Mountains Including Edgewood One storm episode: 3 records in 2 places, 2022-02-01 to 2022-02-02; the totals are the episode's. A strong winter storm system deepened over the Rockies before tracking southward into New Mexico on February 1, 2022 and continuing into February 2nd. Accompanying this system was a backdoor cold front that brought in very cold arctic air into northern and central New Mexico. This blast of cold air combined with the ... | 4 | 9 | – | |
| 2018-01-15 | Winter WeatherSan Miguel County · forecast zone Northeast Highlands A vehicle traveling northbound on Interstate 25 crashed into a divider in the center of the highway near mile marker 340. A semi truck jack knifed attempting to avoid the crash and caused a chain reaction that resulted in a 20 car pileup. Two motorists were killed in separate vehicles and numerous injures were ... | 2 | 20 | $1.2M | |
| 2016-12-17 | Winter WeatherQuay County · forecast zone Quay County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A powerful jet stream approaching from the eastern Pacific carved out a potent storm system over New Mexico the week before Christmas. This was the most impactful winter storm since the blizzard from December 2015 and the first significant storm of the 2016-2017 season. High winds developed over the high terrain ... | 2 | 12 | $492K | |
| 2010-02-04 | Winter WeatherCatron County and 2 more · forecast zone West Central Plateau One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. Moisture spread from south to north across the state as an upper level low pressure system tracked from the boot-heel of New Mexico northeastward into the Texas panhandle. Snow prevailed at higher elevations, however, precipitation changed from rain to snow during the late morning hours across lower elevations. The ... | 2 | 3 | – | |
| 2009-12-30 | Winter WeatherBernalillo County and 4 more · forecast zone West Central Highlands One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A fast moving, but intense short wave trough moved from northwest to southeast across New Mexico later on the 30th into the 31st. The atmosphere was very unstable during this time and temperatures were well below freezing in many areas. This combination resulted in bands of heavy, dry snow that quickly accumulated ... | 2 | 3 | – | |
| 2024-11-07 | Winter WeatherBernalillo County and 2 more · forecast zone Santa Fe Metro Area One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. An upper low dove south into the Four Corners area during the day November 6th with much colder air diving south into northern and central NM during the day. Snow developed across northwest and north central NM during the day. Snow increased in coverage and intensity across central and northeast NM late November 6th ... | 2 | 1 | $3.8M | |
| 2009-12-07 | Heavy SnowMcKinley County and 3 more · forecast zone Northwest Highlands One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. A potent storm system brought heavy snow and high winds across the state. Snowfall started on December 6th across the San Juan Mountains. Snow increased in coverage and intensity on the 7th, and a final blast of snow came early on the 8th as a cold front swept from west to east across New Mexico. Many locales on the ... | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2008-12-25 | Heavy SnowMcKinley County and 3 more · forecast zone Northwest Mountains Including Jemez While much of the area only received a few inches of snow, Chama reported around two feet of snow over the 2 day period. | 2 | 0 | – | |
| 2008-12-15 | Heavy SnowRio Arriba County and 2 more · forecast zone Upper Rio Grande Valley Eight to 12 inches of snow fell over much of the Upper Rio Grande Valley. | 2 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: deaths direct and indirect, as filed by the National Weather Service, summed over each storm (one episode, or one named storm filed by several offices). Storm names from the titles of FEMA declarations that name the storm's counties.
The costliest winter storm records in New Mexico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-12-26 | Heavy SnowBernalillo County and 2 more · forecast zone Albuquerque Metro Area One storm episode: 7 records in 6 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 1 | $126M | |
| 1997-12-27 | Heavy SnowTijeras, Bernalillo County One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 1 | 0 | $12M | |
| 1997-04-24 | Winter StormGuadalupe County and San Miguel County · forecast zone Conchas Lake/Guadalupe One storm episode: 4 records in 4 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $5.0M | |
| 2024-11-07 | Winter WeatherBernalillo County and 2 more · forecast zone Santa Fe Metro Area One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 2 | 1 | $3.8M | |
| 2025-04-19 | Heavy SnowSan Miguel County and 2 more · forecast zone Central Highlands One storm episode: 2 records in 2 places; the totals are the episode's. | 0 | 0 | $1.5M | |
| 2018-01-15 | Winter WeatherSan Miguel County · forecast zone Northeast Highlands | 2 | 20 | $1.2M | |
| 2021-03-23 | Winter StormSanta Fe County and Torrance County · forecast zone Estancia Valley | 0 | 11 | $762K | |
| 2019-01-01 | Heavy SnowBernalillo County and 2 more · forecast zone Albuquerque Metro Area | 1 | 66 | $577K |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database: property and crop damage as estimated by the National Weather Service, in 2025 dollars.
Are winter storm records becoming more frequent in New Mexico?
New Mexico's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.
| Decade | New Mexico | United States | New Mexico's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996-99 | 286 | 32,893 | 0.9% |
| 2000s | 615 | 88,805 | 0.7% |
| 2010s | 1,387 | 103,626 | 1.3% |
| 2020-26 | 659 | 62,015 | 1.1% |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.
The most recent winter storm records in New Mexico
| Date | Record | Character | Killed | Injured | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherMcKinley County and 3 more · forecast zone Northwest Highlands | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherCatron County and 2 more · forecast zone West Central Plateau | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherMcKinley County and San Juan County · forecast zone Northwest Plateau | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-02-20 | Winter WeatherRio Arriba County and Taos County · forecast zone Tusas Mountains Including Chama | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Heavy SnowOtero County · forecast zone East Central Tularosa Basin/Alamogordo | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormOtero County · forecast zone West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet | 0 | 0 | $25K | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormOtero County · forecast zone Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet | 0 | 0 | $100K | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormEddy County · forecast zone Eddy County Plains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Winter StormEddy County · forecast zone Eddy County Plains | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Heavy SnowLincoln County and Socorro County · forecast zone Upper Tularosa Valley | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-24 | Heavy SnowRio Arriba County and 2 more · forecast zone Espanola Valley | 0 | 0 | – | |
| 2026-01-23 | Winter StormEddy County · forecast zone Guadalupe Mountains Of Eddy County | 0 | 0 | – |
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.
Federal disaster declarations for winter storm records in New Mexico
FEMA has declared 5 disasters in New Mexico for winter storm, counting its incident type and declarations that name snow or winter storm or ice storm or blizzard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 5 were major disasters, the latest on March 24, 2011.
| Declared | Number | Title | Areas named |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011-03-24 | DR-1962 | Severe Winter Storm and Extreme Cold Temperatures | 15 |
| 1999-09-22 | DR-1301 | Severe Ice Storms, Flooding and Heavy Rains | 8 |
| 1998-01-29 | DR-1202 | Severe Winter Storm | 10 |
| 1979-06-23 | DR-589 | Severe Storms, Snowmelt & Flooding | 6 |
| 1973-05-11 | DR-380 | Severe Storms, Snow Melt & Flooding | 11 |
Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.
Next
- Los Alamos County: the county's whole recordThe New Mexico county with the most winter storm records per square mile
- Winter storms across the United StatesEvery state ranked, by year and month
- Every natural hazard in New MexicoTornadoes, floods, storms, heat and the federal declarations
- Drought in New Mexico6,408 records
- Hail in New Mexico5,297 records
- High wind and dust storms in New Mexico4,278 records