Snow on May 22?

ABOVE: Sharon Phippes walks downtown during the snow storm that struck Gallup on Thursday afternoon. The unexpected storm was a change a pace from the recent warm weather. [photo by Brian Leddy / Independent] BELOW: A surprise snow fall coats the ground and fills the air with fresh, slushy flakes Thursday evening near Ya-Ta-Hey, making roads slick in spots and reducing visibility. [photo by Jeff Jones / Independent]

By Bill Donovan
Staff writer

GALLUP — Yes, Virginia, it does snow in New Mexico in late May.

In fact, there have been times when brief snow flurries have hit Gallup, even in early June.

But Thursday’s snow was more than a flurry and more of a storm as it hit Gallup about 4:30 p.m.. and stayed for more than two hours, causing low visibility and a feeling that winter had returned. It also left about 1 inch of snow on the ground.

One long-time resident, Cecil Rodriguez, said she can remember two instances when Gallup received snow near Memorial Day. Both occurrences were in the 1970s, Rodriguez said.

The snowstorm also hit parts of the Navajo Reservation in Arizona, causing, according to Navajo Police Dispatch in Window Rock, reports of a few fender benders.

Metro Dispatch in Gallup reported no accidents caused by the storm.

By 8 p.m., roads in Gallup were wet and light rain was coming down off and on.

A forecaster at AccuWeather said the storm that hit Gallup had its origins in the upper regions of Utah. This weather produced major problems throughout the western portion of the United States, including tornadoes that hit parts of eastern Colorado and western Kansas.

Los Angeles was hit hard by the storm, with reports of roofs on several homes collapsing under the weight of hail and a number of roads being flooded. There was also a report of a train derailment near Los Angeles because of the wind and rain.

What happened here, according to AccuWeather, was that the warmer temperatures in the afternoon caused thunderstorms to form but before it could rain, colder air trapped in the upper atmosphere cooled down the air and caused it to snow. The rest of the Memorial Day weekend is unlikely to see that kind of situation, forecaster said.

“You have a situation where it’s 42 degrees outside and there’s no possibility of snow but a little while later, it’s 34 degrees and its snowing heavily,” one forecaster said.