More snow on the way
El Nio pattern to bring more storms to the area

Steam from the Rio San Jose rises from the "Flight Over the Malpais" fountain at Riverwalk Park in Grants. Warm water in the Pacific Ocean is responsible for creating an El Nino weather pattern. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]

By Jim Tiffin
Cibola County Bureau

GRANTS — With several inches of snow still on the ground in the Grants-Milan area, another winter storm is moving into the area today and is expected to drop between one to three inches of snow, said Mark Fettig, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

This storm is moving into the area from the northwest Pacific Ocean and is part of the El Nio phenomenon, Fettig said.

El Nio is a weather pattern that is created by the warming of the equatorial waters in the Pacific Ocean.

Winds and currents heading toward the coast warm the waters creating an upper atmospheric weather pattern that increases moisture, he said.

"El Nino occurs about once every four years, but not always on that schedule," he said.

Second storm
A second storm, much stronger than today's is expected to reach northwestern New Mexico by the end of next week.

The weather service is forecasting a wetter than normal winter period through March because of El Nio's effects.

The previous storms that hit northwestern New Mexico, one at the end of November and the other about a week later were tracking in the southerly part of the jet stream and picked up additional moisture from the northern part of the Gulf of Mexico.

Storms typically track either in a northerly or a southerly direction, depending on the jet stream.

Trapped
Anyone in the unincorporated part of Cibola County is asked to contact the Sheriff's Department if they are snowed in, said Lt. Harry Hall, spokesman for the department.

"They should call 287-4404 or 287-9476, the dispatch center, and we will contact either the road department or maybe one of the volunteer fire departments to help them get out," he said.

Jet stream impacts weather
The jet stream is a pattern of winds at about 30,000 feet that moves west to east across the southwestern part of the United States coming from the Pacific Ocean.

The main jet stream is over the northern half of the North Pacific, Fettig said, and the weather information developed by the NWS indicates a strong El Nio pattern.

Storms are stronger when they pick up the moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, and the Continental Divide, between Grants and Gallup, also plays a part in how much snow, or precipitation is dropped into the area, he said.

Storms that cycle east to west, provide more snow and precipitation on the east side of the divide. Storms cycling west to east drop more snow and precipitation on the west side of the divide.

The storm that left 10 inches followed by about another four inches from a second storm in early December were both east to west cycling storm. That is why Gallup only received a couple of inches, Fettig said.

De-icing salt is corrosive
Cibola County Public Works Director Jimmy Chavez said using de-icing salt to melt snow and ice works, but one must clear as much snow and ice as possible from the sidewalk or concrete area, down to at least a couple of inches for it to work.

The de-icing salt is available at stores locally, but snow shovels are in short supply, he said.

The de-icing salt is extremely corrosive, and after it has melted the ice, one must sweep it away as much as possible or it will corrode the concrete.

The salt does not affect asphalt as much as it does concrete, he said.

Weather Web sites
A Web site providing information about El Nio and another Web site offering current and projected weather forecasts for the area are available at: El Nio, www.elnino.noaa.gov/edu.html; weather, www.srh.noaa.gov/abq.

"So far, we are at the far end of the computer models for the storm next week but it appears it will be pretty strong in precipitation from a pretty wet Pacific flow," Fettig said.

This weekend, lows will be about 10-11 degrees Fahrenheit with wind chills to -2 degrees and highs in the mid 30's, warming in the 40's on Monday.

To contact reporter Jim Tiffin, call (505) 287-2197 or e-mail: jtiffin.independent@yahoo.com.