Weekend storm could bring snow to Santa Fe, surrounding mountains

Nov. 12—Winter is coming — or at least another winter storm, according to the National Weather Service.

However this one — expected to arrive in the Santa Fe area late Sunday or early Monday — won't be nearly as dramatic as last week's storm which dropped more than a foot of snow in parts of the state.

It should bring only rain or an inch or two of snow, senior meteorologist Clay Anderson said in a phone interview Tuesday.

"It does not have a strong backdoor cold front preceding it," said Anderson, with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque. "So because of that, we're expecting a little bit of a warmer system."

Albuquerque will likely see only rain. Santa Fe has a better chance of seeing snow, particularly at higher elevations, Anderson said, but because temperatures are expected to remain above freezing any snow that does fall in the city will likely melt quickly.

"It's really a borderline event for Santa Fe proper," Anderson said. "You'd probably have to go up a little bit, off Hyde Park Road, up that direction to get into any snowfall accumulations, but the mountains could do well."

The Sacramento Mountains in the Ruidoso area, which have already dealt with monsoon-related flooding in the aftermath of wildfires earlier this year, could get more moisture from this storm, according to Anderson, "so that's something we're looking at closely."

The good news, Anderson said, is that the central and eastern portions of the state will get "some decent precipitation out of this event," which combined with last week's storm will bring much-needed moisture to the state's mountains.

Another storm system could be on the heels of the one forecast for Sunday and Monday, Anderson said, which after a 24-hour break in the weather could potentially bring more snow to the state.

However, he said, that front is still developing.

"As we get closer the accuracy of our forecast goes up," Anderson said.

Looking ahead, the weather service is also on the lookout for a "La Niña" weather pattern to emerge, which could mean less frequent storms this winter in general, Anderson said.

"Anything we can get this month and in December before that La Niña starts to rear its head would be fantastic for our drought situation and water supply and all those good things," Anderson said.