More snow and rain forecast for Santa Fe through the weekend

Feb. 6—The last week of the state legislative session will have storms, and not just the political kind.

The El Niño climate pattern continues to follow predictions in bringing a wetter-than-average winter.

The Santa Fe area will see rain mixed with snow Wednesday — a precursor for a series of storms that will move through the state this week and blanket the area with snow Saturday and part of Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.

The freezing overnight temperatures, beginning Wednesday, will cause more treacherous road conditions by the weekend, including for those driving to Super Bowl Sunday gatherings.

"If what we're seeing pans out for the weekend, there will be travel issues and icy road conditions Friday night through Sunday morning," meteorologist Michael Anand said.

Although the snowstorm is forecast to pass by Sunday afternoon, there's likely to be lingering ice coating the roads because the cold temperatures will slow thawing, he said.

It's too soon to say what the snow accumulation will be on the weekend, Anand said, given that it's several days away and will be preceded by two other storm systems.

Weather service forecasts showed a mixture of rain and snow Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

Anand said most of the snow will fall at higher elevations, with the Santa Fe mainly getting scattered showers Wednesday. Temperatures will fall to the upper 20s that night and winds will kick up to 15 mph to 25 mph, he said.

"It's going to be pretty chilly," Anand said.

On Thursday, another storm will come through the state, probably brushing Santa Fe County to the north, he said. Temperatures will cool to the low 20s, creating the frigid conditions that will turn roads icy during the coming weekend storm.

The weekend storm is expected to dump snow on both the Santa Fe ski basin and the Taos Ski Valley on Saturday as temperatures plunge to the low single digits that night. Taos is forecast to get snow Wednesday, while Ski Santa Fe could contend with a lightning storm.

A federal water outlook report shows after a slow, dry start, the El Niño is generating higher-than-usual precipitation that is bolstering the regional snowpack.

This is a boon to ski resorts and, if it continues, will swell spring runoff to supply water to irrigators, pueblos and cities.

Last year, forecasters said there was a question of whether El Niño would deliver more snow to the region this winter because the one seven years ago did not.

But during a recent weather service briefing, hydrologist Andrew Mangham said El Niño is now fulfilling expectations.

"Definitely exceeding what's normal this time of year, and that's really good news," he said.