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- A major winter storm named Anya is impacting New Mexico and Colorado.
- Snow and strong winds, including white out conditions, are making travel difficult in some areas.
- Denver will see significant snow through early Saturday.
- Historic, record-breaking snow totals are possible in a few locations of northern New Mexico.
A major winter storm is hammering parts of Colorado, including Denver, after dumping multiple feet of snow in parts of northern New Mexico, snarling travel, knocking out power, even damaging some trees.
This system was named Winter Storm Anya by The Weather Channel due to the severity of its impacts in this region.
Latest Status, Reports
Snow continues to fall in parts of eastern Colorado, southeast Wyoming, and parts of neighboring states, as the latest radar snapshot shows below.
The heaviest totals so far are 40.7 inches near Fort Garland, Colorado, and 36 inches in Rociada, New Mexico.
Las Vegas, New Mexico, had picked up 24 inches by Thursday afternoon, passing their annual snowfall average of 22 inches. The Santa Fe, New Mexico, area saw up to 15 inches of snow.
Denver’s first round of snow from this storm produced 9 inches. The ongoing second round will just pile on to that storm total.
Various winter storm alerts have been issued for parts of Colorado and New Mexico by the National Weather Service.
Denver is under a winter storm warning through Saturday morning for snowfall that could be heavy at times.
Travel should be avoided in areas where blizzard and winter storm warnings are in effect.
Winter Storm Alerts
(Issued by the National Weather Service.)
Snow Forecast Totals, Impacts
The heaviest additional snow totals will be in eastern Colorado, southeast Wyoming and extreme western Nebraska, where some areas might see another foot or more through early Saturday.
Much of the Denver metro area could see 8 to 12 additional inches, which will likely snarl travel in the region. The National Weather Service says travel will be impossible east and southeast of Denver through Saturday morning, including along the Interstate 70 corridor.
In New Mexico, the heaviest snow has already fallen.
This winter storm will be mostly over in all areas by late Saturday morning as it travels eastward and produces rain in the central states.
Additional Snow and Rain To Expect
(This is in addition to what has already fallen.)
Totals Might Approach Records
In a few locations, the amount of snow that falls might approach three-day records for New Mexico, according to data provided by the National Weather Service.
-Las Vegas: Current record snowstorm is 27 inches set in 1958. Records date to 1940.
-Raton: Current record snowstorm is 26.5 inches set in 1990. Records date to 1953.
Chris Dolce has been a senior meteorologist with weather.com for over 10 years after beginning his career with The Weather Channel in the early 2000s.
