By Jim Owen

The first blizzard of the season blew into Grant County late Thursday night and early Friday morning. It delivered a bone-chilling mix of snow, subfreezing temperatures and strong winds.

The snow came too late to provide a white Christmas, and accumulations were not significant. However, the moisture was sorely needed in drought-stricken southwest New Mexico. It provided some relief for animals and plants, and at least temporarily reduced the wildfire danger.

Residents awoke Friday to some of the coldest weather they had experienced since last winter. Gusts of 25 mph or more created dangerously low wind chills.

Ice and packed snow created difficult driving conditions, especially on New Mexico 90 between Silver City and Lordsburg, according to the state Transportation Department. Schools were closed for the holiday, so bus drivers did not have to deal with the slick roads.

A National Weather Service meteorologist told the Beat that the deepest snowfall report in Grant County was 2 inches, about 11 miles north-northwest of Silver City. There were 1.7 inches five miles northeast of town, and 1.5 inches four miles north-northwest. About 1.2 inches fell in Mule Creek, while a weather spotter four miles south of Silver City recorded one-half inch.

Forecasters predict that temperatures could plunge as low as the teens in Silver City early Saturday morning. While mercury readings are expected to slowly rebound, lows will continue to fall below freezing.

The next chance of precipitation in the county, according to the National Weather Service, is Jan. 1-2. A storm packing snow and sleet apparently will bring in the new year.

The high country of the Gila National Forest got more snow Friday morning than lower-elevation areas. However, total precipitation since Oct. 1 remains well below average.

A rain gauge at the Signal Peak lookout tower, just north of Silver City, has recorded 4 inches of moisture during the nearly three-month period. That is just 60 percent of the precipitation in an average year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Rain and snow totals since Oct. 1 at other area locations include 3.5 inches (80 percent of normal) atop Lookout Mountain, 2.5 inches (52 percent) at the Frisco Divide and 5.3 inches (65 percent) at the Silver Creek Divide.

The only station recording more precipitation than usual is at McKnight Cabin, 9,240 feet above the Mimbres Valley. The 4.5 total inches there compares with a historical average of 4 inches from Oct. 1 to Dec. 26.