National Weather Service Albuquerque placed large swaths of the state under a winter storm warning through Friday. (Courtesy of National Weather Service)
New Mexico emergency management officials were moving equipment and workers into place Wednesday ahead of a major storm forecast to hit the state.
National Weather Service Albuquerque placed large swaths of the state under a winter storm warning through Friday. That stretches from northern New Mexico south to Ruidoso in the south-central part of the state.
Besides dangerous road conditions, state officials are preparing for possible flooding.
“If you are hearing numbers on the news that seem unbelievably high for snowfall amounts in November: believe them,” the agency said on social media. “This is a MAJOR storm.”
Between Wednesday and Friday, as much as a foot of snow is expected to fall in the San Agustin Plains, the Española Valley, the Jemez Mountains, the Northwest Highlands. At higher elevations, up to 2 feet of snow is expected, the NWS warned.
KRQE Chief Meteorologist Grant Tosterud wrote that “32 inches of snow is likely in Las Vegas,” about 40 miles east of the state’s capital city.
Anticipating heavy snowfall, especially in parts of New Mexico where wildfires have left burn scars on the landscape, the state Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management is “prepositioning some resources that will be able to deploy quickly for response needs that may arise,” said spokesperson Danielle Silva.
Those include equipment, vehicles and people who can move through difficult driving conditions to make rescues or deliver supplies, Silva said.
“We are keeping a pulse on the imminent impacts of the storm, but preparing for when that snow starts melting over the burn scars,” Silva said. “We are also working on filling requests for sandbags for northern communities.”
State officials and the American Red Cross have prepared warming stations along Interstate 40 and in the area of the Hermits Peak-Calf Canyon burn scar, Silva added.
If local, county or tribal governments can’t handle the storm on their own, DHSEM could activate the State Emergency Operations Center, Silva said.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham asked people to heed the NWS’ warnings and stay safe.
Preventing fires caused by sources of heat, preparing for power outages and safely traveling are some of the precautions emergency management officials are asking the public to take.
More details about how people can prepare can be found here.