Taos, New Mexico Sees First Significant Snowfall of the Season
El Niño, is that you? Precipitation has reached the southwestern U.S., and high-elevation areas, like Taos, are starting to see real signs of winter.
Over the last 24 hours, Taos picked up 3 inches of snow above 10,000 ft., and while that doesn’t seem like much, it’s more than the dustings a lot of other places have gotten this fall. Judging by the ski area’s webcams, it also seems to be sticking around on the peaks at 11,000+ feet.
New Mexico experienced a dry and smoky summer, like much of the Western US. However, the record monsoon season originally forecast for the area seemed to arrive just a little late. Come September, New Mexico was suddenly experiencing one of its wettest monsoon seasons ever.
via Taos Webcam
Rain turned to snow Wednesday afternoon as temperatures dropped from the mid-30s into the low 20s overnight. Temperatures at Taos are expected to warm up through the weekend before another chance of snow above 11,000 ft. returns next weekend.
via Taos Webcam
While early season snowfall is good news for Taos, the amount of rain falling at lower elevations is somewhat the opposite.
Several parts of New Mexico are experiencing significant flooding, with two-day rainfall totals ranging from 1 to 4 inches in some areas. The late-season monsoons, combined with rain from Tropical Storm Odalys and Hurricane Polo, have caused dangerous flash flooding, road damage, and evacuations, and have prompted a state of emergency declaration for the state.
In the past, El Niño years have been known to bring fruitful winters to the southwestern part of the country and benefit places like Taos.
Although we can’t ignore the presence of a tropical storm and hurricane as factors, it’s hard not to think that these storms are early signs of the Super El Niño that has skiers everywhere wondering how the season will pan out.
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