A strong upper level low pressure system that slowly moved south over Arizona and then over southern New Mexico brought copious amounts of snow to the state.  Some of the areas that were hit the hardest included the same areas that were blanketed by snow from the previous storm.  However, this time, it was the southeast portion of the state, rather than the northeast portion of the state, that was hit hard. Another cold front moved down the plains and through the gaps of the central mountain chain on the 22nd, and snow quickly developed across the western two-thirds of the state. One to two feet of snow was common across the east slopes of the Sandia and Manzano Mountains as well as the west central and southwest mountains.  As the low slowly moved east across southern portions of the state, snow was heaviest from the south central mountains eastward to the Texas state line.  These areas saw between 6 and 12 inches of snow at lower elevations, while well over a foot of fresh snow was reported across the high terrain.

Heavy Snow in SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 05:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 22:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Around 18 inches of snow fell across the Sandia and Manzano Mountains.  This amount was reported at the Sandia Ski Area, Sedillo, near Manzano and just east of Tijeras.

Heavy Snow in ESTANCIA VALLEY, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 12:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 22:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Snowfall amounts were highly variable across the Estancia Valley.  Around 4 inches of snow fell at Moriarty, but nearly 14 inches was reported at Estancia.

Heavy Snow in CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 12:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 22:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Around 5 inches of snow fell just southeast of Clines Corners, but nearly 8 inches of snow fell at Duran.

Heavy Snow in SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 09:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 22:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Approximately 5 inches of snow fell near Corona.

Heavy Snow in SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 09:00:00 to 24-DEC-11 15:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Between 12 and 16 inches of snow fell in and near Ruidoso, with over a foot and a half reported at Ski Apache.

Heavy Snow in NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 09:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 11:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Between 2 and 6 inches of snow fell across the northeast highlands.

Heavy Snow in ROOSEVELT COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 19:00:00 to 25-DEC-11 05:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Snow amounts varied from 2 to 4 inches across northern portions of the county, including at Portales, to 10 to 12 inches of snow across the southern portions of the county, including at Milnesand and Elida.

Heavy Snow in DE BACA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 17:00:00 to 24-DEC-11 15:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Southern portions of De Baca County received between 5 and 8 inches of snow, while northern portions of the county received between 3 and 4.

Heavy Snow in CHAVES COUNTY PLAINS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 17:00:00 to 25-DEC-11 05:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Between 9 and 12 inches of snow blanketed the Chaves County plains, including at Roswell, Hagerman and Elkins.

Heavy Snow in EASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 13:00:00 to 24-DEC-11 15:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Six to 10 inches of snow fell across eastern Lincoln County.

Heavy Snow in NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 05:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 04:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Between 3 and 5 inches fell near and southwest of Cuba.

Heavy Snow in SOUTHWEST CHAVES COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 16:00:00 to 25-DEC-11 00:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Around 7 inches of snow fell northeast of Dunken, while about 16 inches of snow fell near Elk.

High Wind in ALBUQUERQUE METRO AREA, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 17:00:00 to 22-DEC-11 23:00:00 (MST-7)
Magnitude: 65.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: COOP Observer

East canyon winds blew through the gaps of the Sandia and Manzano Mountains with gusts near 70 mph around the Albuquerque Foothills and 75 mph at the mouth of Embudo Canyon.  Because of the strong winds, these areas did not receive much snow.

Heavy Snow in WEST CENTRAL PLATEAU, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 10:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 12:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Near Fence Lake, approximately 6 inches of snow fell.

Winter Weather in CURRY COUNTY, NEW MEXICO
From 25-DEC-11 20:00:00 to 25-DEC-11 23:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Broadcast Media

A 4-year old girl died after her family's SUV lost traction on an icy Highway 209 north of Clovis and overturned. The girl's mother and sister suffered minor injuries.

Heavy Snow in WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 05:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 13:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Snow fell fast across the east slopes of the west central mountains. 12 to 18 inches of snow was reported in these areas.

Heavy Snow in WEST CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 05:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 14:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Snow fell fast across the west central highlands, including around Grants.  Between 10 and 12 inches of fresh snow fell at Grants, which was just under what this area had received in the previous storm just a few days earlier. Up to two feet of snow was reported from Laguna Pueblo southward toward Alamo, while 14 inches of snow was reported in Cubero.

Heavy Snow in SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 05:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 22:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

The east slopes of the southwest mountains were blanketed with 8 to 24 inches of new snow.

Heavy Snow in JEMEZ MOUNTAINS, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 05:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 05:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

The east slopes of the Jemez Mountains picked up more than a foot of new snow in some areas, including at Pajarito Ski Area, which received approximately 16 inches.  Near Los Alamos, 8 inches of snow was reported.

Heavy Snow in SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9500 FEET, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 08:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 06:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: SNOTEL

The Wesner Springs SNOTEL picked up another 8 inches of snow.

Heavy Snow in SANTA FE METRO AREA, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 06:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 11:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Between 2 and 4 inches of snow fell across the area, though the heaviest amounts were near Cochiti Lake.

Heavy Snow in ALBUQUERQUE METRO AREA, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 14:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 12:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Strong east winds prevented much of the city of Albuquerque from receiving appreciable snow.  However, far western portions of the city, as well as portions of Rio Rancho, received 1 to 2 inches of snow. This small amount of snow wreaked havoc on roads in the area and numerous accidents were reported.  The heaviest snow was reported around Belen and west of Double Eagle Airport, where approximately 4 inches of snow fell.

Heavy Snow in LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY, NEW MEXICO
From 22-DEC-11 14:00:00 to 23-DEC-11 22:00:00 (MST-7)
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Areas along and west of the Rio Grande were the hardest hit.  Between 9 and 12 inches of new snow was reported around Socorro, while 5 inches was reported near San Acacia.