Happy chilly Monday morning to everyone!

On Sunday we hoped for 1-3" in the northern mountains and that is exactly what we got:

3" Ski Santa Fe
2" Taos Ski Valley
1" Pajarito

These light refreshes are keeping conditions soft and winterlike. No spring slush skiing yet!

This is also a good opportunity to check in on resort closing dates. Always check with resort websites for the latest news and updates but this is where we stand as of Monday:

Pajarito: Open April 1-2, closing date TBD
Sipapu: Closed March 27-March 30, Open Friday-Sunday until April 9
Ski Santa Fe: Open through April 16th
Taos: Open through April 9th

Now on Monday morning, a storm is passing to our north but the precipitation is not making it past the Colorado-New Mexico border.

But this system is bringing strong winds and low clouds to Taos Ski Valley with limited visibility up on Highline Ridge.

Meanwhile, the southern Sangres and the Jemez are starting the work week with a mix of low clouds and sunshine as seen from the Sandia Peak cam.

The clouds should mostly clear out across the northern mountains by midday as drier air moves in. However, cold temperatures will linger in the high country with highs only in the teens above 10,500 feet. 

The bigger story on Monday will be strong and biting winds. Gusts of 30-45mph will produce negative wind chills and possibly cause some lift delays at Taos.

Overnight temperatures Monday will be more like January than March in the single digits and it will take a while to warm up on Tuesday morning so definitely bundle up Monday and Tuesday.

Wednesday and Thursday will be the warmest days of the week with highs in the 30's in the high country but strong winds will be a problem again on Thursday ahead of our next storm.

It has been a remarkable run of snow in March. Thanks to this our snowpack is off-the-charts phenomenal as of March 27th and we made progress statewide over the last 20 days including in the southern mountains.

Overnight Thursday our next storm will cross the Four Corners with winds from the southwest and west.

The brunt of the storm is expected to take a hard northeast turn focused more on Colorado and Wyoming and this is keeping the snowfall expectations lower for New Mexico.

A good scenario right now would be several inches for first chair Friday and then a few more inches through the morning hours for soft turns.

Storm totals are still trending in the 1-6" range favoring the northern mountains. The northeast trajectory of the storm would favor Taos Ski Valley.

After this March 31st storm, I don't see any storms to hang our hat on going forward. Yesterday, we discussed the storm track in the first week of April crossing further to our north and that seems to still be the case.

Thanks for reading and I will be back on Wednesday!

JULIEN ROSS
[email protected]

Considerable Avalanche Danger. Check Taos Avalanche Center for all of your backcountry forecasts

Always consult TAC for the latest avalanche conditions.

New Mexico Geography Key

Northern Mountains
→ Red River, Taos Ski Valley (north side of northern mountains - Sangre de Cristos)
→ Angel Fire (northeast side of northern mountains - Sangre de Cristos)
→ Sipapu (middle of the northern mountains - Sangre de Cristos)
→ Ski Santa Fe (south side of the northern mountains - Sangre de Cristos)
→ Pajarito (southwest side of the northern mountains - Jemez)

Central Mountains
→ Sandia Peak (Sandias)
→ Mt. Taylor backcountry (San Mateos)

Southern Mountains
→ Ski Apache (Sacramentos)
→ Ski Cloudcroft (Sacramentos)