While Christmas Eve and Christmas Day were the warmest such days on record for tens of millions of people in the eastern U.S., the same could not be said for the Southwest.
In fact, the same dynamic storm system that spawned deadly tornadoes and unleashed significant flooding in several states over the weekend brought the winter's first true blizzard to New Mexico, the Texas Panhandle and parts of Oklahoma.
Heavy snow combined with winds gusting near 60 miles per hour at times contributed to some truly bizarre scenes in the hardest-hit areas. The more than 1 to 2 feet of snow that fell was whipped into drifts upwards of 10 feet high, blocking access to homes, and shutting down major interstates during a busy travel weekend.
Snow drifts in Friona of nearly 10' ! From a @NewsChannel10 viewer. #Blizzard2015 #txwx @TxStormChasers @NWSLubbock pic.twitter.com/vA15eU1v2L— Mack Morris (@MackAttackWX) December 27, 2015
Edgewood #NM is buried under 20″ of snow. Thanks John Wahl for pic. #nmwx pic.twitter.com/ZcM8gYN3rF— Mark Ronchetti (@KRQEMark) December 27, 2015
Snow drifts on my best friend's back porch today in Portales #NewMexico in extreme #blizzard. #nmwx @NWSAlbuquerque pic.twitter.com/1cybd9rg6n— Janet Lyn (@Janet_Lyn) December 27, 2015
Historic snow #Roswell #NM #blizzard https://t.co/QRMD19E2xi— NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) December 27, 2015
The entire stretch of Interstate 40 from Albuquerque to Amarillo was under a blizzard warning on Sunday and shut down through Sunday night, according to the National Weather Service.
Significant snow drifts in Texico, NM from a @NewsChannel10 Facebook viewer. #Blizzard2015 #nmwx @NWSAlbuquerque pic.twitter.com/KPJEEf6SBs— Mack Morris (@MackAttackWX) December 27, 2015
The blizzard resulted from a powerful storm system in the upper levels of the atmosphere, which spun counterclockwise across the Four Corners, with a circulation that enhanced the lifting of air across Texas and New Mexico. With temperatures cold enough for snow, this area was blasted by snow and high winds as a surface low pressure area connected to the upper level low gathered strength on Sunday.
Winter Storm #Goliath in Clovis, NM. RT @mward88101 Clovis, New Mexico. https://t.co/XWtiXdRQqa pic.twitter.com/yc2FqRFluV— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) December 27, 2015
Travel is not advised across Eastern NM! #nmwx pic.twitter.com/b4qyulZYOH— NWS Albuquerque (@NWSAlbuquerque) December 27, 2015
All roads in and out of the well-known town of Roswell, New Mexico were shut down and were scheduled to remain that way through Sunday night, according to the local newspaper.
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Highway 282 impassable in Pampa, TX. From a @NewsChannel10 viewer. #NC10Weather #Blizzard2015 #txwx @NWSAmarillo pic.twitter.com/UzK6W5utMz— KFDA NewsChannel10 (@NewsChannel10) December 27, 2015