First blast of winter hits Wednesday

From the Santa Fe New Mexican.com - A fast-moving storm is expected to cause some icy winter driving conditions on Northern New Mexico roads Wednesday. Interstate 25 from Glorieta Pass east of Santa Fe through the Raton Pass at the Colorado border is likely to be hardest hit by snow and ice, according to meteorologists. It could be the first of several icy blasts in a predicted dry winter for New Mexico, a chaotic, hard-to-predict weather mix caused by two different phenomena — La Niña and the Arctic Oscillation. The National Weather Service in Albuquerque said Wednesday's temperatures are expected to take a double-digit drop, becoming progressively colder from midday on. Rain in the lower elevations may turn icy. Light to moderate snow will fall first at 10,000 feet elevation in northern mountains Wednesday morning and drop to lower elevations around Santa Fe and possibly into Albuquerque. Cold temperatures will last through Thursday night around Northern and Central New Mexico. By Friday, the storm will blow through on its way to drought-strangled Texas. Weather over the weekend will return to more normal sunny and dry October conditions. Read more

First blast of winter hits Wednesday