The snow began around 11 p.m. Tuesday and ended early Wednesday. The Sunport received 3.1 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service while places such as Edgewood received as much as 6.1 inches. 3.9 inches was also reported Tuesday night in Santa Fe.
Multiple agencies told KOB 4 they did know this storm was coming and they were able to prepare crews in time, just not how much. Looking at the roads now, you'd never know the metro got hit with a major snow storm overnight.
"Two o'clock, it just started really coming down, and unfortunately, when these last few storms have hit, they've hit right at like the time when the temperatures are dropping before the morning commute," said Kimberly Gallegos with New Mexico Department of Transportation.
Which lead to a barrage of alerts for dangerous and difficult driving conditions, road closures and accidents.
The biggest one was a couple of jack-knifed vehicles on I-40 west of Albuquerque that shut down eastbound lanes Wednesday morning and leaving traffic at a stand-still for hours. Unfortunately, snow plows were stuck in that traffic too.
"When there's a backup as significant as that, it's really hard for our crews to get through there and just make sure that they continue pushing that snow and ice off the road," said Gallegos.
While state transportation officials were focusing on the freeways and major roads like Tramway and Paseo as early as midnight. The City of Albuquerque, Rio Rancho and Bernalillo County say they were covering their own routes.
"We deployed 32 crews from our five satellite locations around the city, which is the full kind of brunt of our response to a winter storm," said Scott Cilke with CABQ Department of Municipal Development. "We prioritize emergency service routes first. So any emergency vehicles that have to get out and be on the roads, they're able to have good and safe roads to be out there."
"We had about 15 individuals from a couple of crews because you know the majority of the snow that we experienced where it was in the east mountains," said Antonio Jaramillo Bernalillo County director of Operations and Maintenance.
In Los Lunas, schools were on a two-hour delay with no bus transportation.
But in true New Mexico fashion, the sun came out and roads were clear again before noon.
"By two o'clock it's going to be all dried out and we're going to be wearing shorts in a while (laughs)," said Thomas Gallegos, Albuquerque resident.
All four agencies that KOB 4 talked to say they're not ready to put up the snow equipment just yet. New Mexico's weather is unpredictable, so they're prepared for another surprise storm or two before the weather finally warms up for good.
Many schools and businesses announced delays and closures Wednesday - and we got to see some of your pictures and videos.
⛷️