Jan. 6—A cold snap gripping Northern New Mexico this week — with temperatures expected to range from the 30s to below zero Tuesday night and Wednesday — has prompted the city of Santa Fe and a local shelter to plan emergency precautions.
Despite the cold, which comes as much of the nation is hit with a severe winter blast, Santa Fe and surrounding areas won’t see much snow.
Lower elevations are expected to get less than an inch of accumulated snowfall, with between 1 and 3 inches in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and northeastern highlands — including the Interstate 25 corridor from Las Vegas, N.M., to Raton — said Michael Anand, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Albuquerque office. Lack of snow from the storm would be consistent with the past few months of “very dry” weather, he noted.
The chill will set in during the day Tuesday and stay through Wednesday. Daytime temperatures Wednesday will reach highs in the 30s at lower elevations, while the mountains will see temperatures in the 20s and teens, Anand said.
Overnight, it’ll get even colder. Expect nighttime air temperatures in the teens and single digits across lower elevations, with below-zero temperatures possible in the mountains.
As of Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service had issued cold and winter weather advisories for much of the southern half of the state, including the Albuquerque metropolitan area. For now, the advisories do not include Santa Fe, Taos, Los Alamos or Las Vegas.
However, the freezing temperatures will trigger a citywide Code Blue — a “unified response” to get Santa Fe’s unsheltered homeless people to safe, warm locations — from Tuesday through Thursday night, said Kyle Morgan, the city’s emergency management coordinator.
“This cold weather looks like it’s here to stay for at least the next four or five days, so we’re prepared to activate Code Blue for as long as we need to,” Morgan said.
The Interfaith Community Shelter at 2801 Cerrillos Road will provide emergency shelter Tuesday and Wednesday night in its version of a Code Blue, Executive Director Korina Lopez said. Though the shelter typically locks its doors and gate each night, emergency personnel will be welcome to bring in people in need of a warm place to stay.
The local Salvation Army’s daytime warming shelter will also be open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from about 8 a.m. to 3 p.m., said Ismael Gutierrez, a corps officer and pastor at the organization’s downtown facility, 525 W. Alameda Street.
“It’s on everyone’s radar, I think,” Lopez said of the cold weather.
The New Mexico Department of Health on Monday issued a statewide cold weather warning, reminding residents to dress in heavy layers, wear wool or waterproof clothing if possible, and ensure pets are inside and able to access warm bedding.
The department also advised people — particularly those most vulnerable in extreme cold, like infants, elders, those with chronic illnesses, outdoor workers and the unsheltered — to watch out for cold-related symptoms like shivering, numbness and confusion.
Anand summed up his cold weather advice as taking care of the four P’s: people, pets, plants and pipes.
“Limit your time outdoors,” Anand said. “Because when you’re outdoors, you’ll easily get frostbite and hypothermia in these types of conditions.”
Roads may be icy or snowy as the cold weather sets in. The New Mexico Department of Transportation will monitor roadway conditions and support law enforcement and other emergency personnel responding to traffic issues, spokesperson Kristine Bustos-Mihelcic wrote in an email.
“Patrols are ready for winter weather!” she wrote.
Bustos-Mihelcic added drivers traveling during the winter weather should prepare their vehicles with emergency supplies; plan their routes ahead of time, checking traffic updates and advisories on nmroads.com; and drive safely on snow and ice by reducing speed, not using cruise control and staying at least five car lengths from snowplows.
Traffic updates will be posted on the state’s traffic advisory website at nmroads.com.
The cold won’t last forever. Temperatures are expected to rise above 30 degrees Friday and Saturday.
Another chill may set in Saturday night, but Anand said it won’t be as cold as the middle of the week.