Snow in the High Desert

quiet beauty

Nov 24, 2024

Welcome to Postcards from New Mexico!
Two Sundays a month I share beauty, stories, and culture from this region that has been my home since 2008.

Once in a while, I’ll see a tourist walking through Santa Fe in the middle of December wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Usually their teeth are chattering. Bless their heart. Sometimes folks come this way and think because we’re in the Southwest, winters are going to be warm and mild.

Here’s my biggest winter tip if you’re coming to Northern New Mexico — bring warm clothes!!!

The elevation in the Santa Fe area averages 7,000 feet. The surrounding areas range from the 5000’s up to 9 and 10,000 feet (and higher) in the mountain ranges. This is high desert folks, and we do get winter!

Part of what comes with winter is the magic and beauty of snow. This year our season got off to an early start. On November 6, a huge storm settled over the area and some regions ended up with three and four feet of snow by the end of that week. The highs each day didn’t top freezing, and the lows dropped down to the teens. While this particular storm was early, this is not unusual for winter here. The cold and snowy season will stretch well into March, possibly even April.

We don’t mind, though. The snow delivers a much needed source of water to the snow pack in the mountains, which will melt and fill the watersheds and acequias for spring. There are a number of ski areas for winter fun. And even after these big storms, we usually welcome back the bright blue skies that are so characteristic of this area.

For this postcard, I’m keeping the words to a minimum and sharing favorite scenes from this most recent storm and past winters. I hope you can feel the quiet beauty and maybe even sense a snowflake landing on your nose. Enjoy!

And finally… a short video. Make sure to turn your sound on for full effect.

Wish you were here!

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