New Mexico is more often associated with sun and cacti than it is with snow and blizzards. However, we definitely receive our share of extreme weather. The winter of 1967 hammered this point home.
The year 1967 was a tough one throughout the nation. For instance, in January, a record-breaking blizzard made headlines in Chicago. For New Mexico, disaster struck at the end of the year. In December 1967, a storm began to build over New Mexico and Arizona.
Snow started falling around December 11th. Sources vary on the precise date that the winter storm began, but its effects were indisputable.
Five feet of snow blanketed Northern New Mexico.
Navajo Nation, which covers parts of both Arizona and New Mexico, was particularly hard hit.
The snow just kept falling.
It drifted as high as the rooflines, trapping residents in their homes.
The storm stranded some people far away from permanent shelter. This included approximately 200 Navajo farm workers who found themselves stuck in trucks near Grants.
Navajo Nation was even more remote than it is now. There were few roads crossing the land, so rescue attempts were challenging.
People quickly ran low on vital supplies such as food and medicine. By December 18th, BIA officials were concerned about the welfare of 60,000 Navajo.
On that same day, the U.S. Air Force launched helicopter rescue efforts from Luke Airforce Base in Phoenix and Kirtland Air Force base in Albuquerque. The National Guard was also mobilized.
Unfortunately, the snow was so deep that helicopters couldn’t land. Instead, they airdropped food and other supplies.
Although the storm was starting to let up, 30 miles per hour winds gusted across New Mexico, complicating the rescue efforts. In places, snowdrifts were still four feet deep.
President Lyndon B. Johnson sent a White House aide to Navajo Nation to gather information about the severity of the situation.
Thankfully, by December 20th conditions began to ease, although the snow remained three feet deep.
By December 27th, the immediate crisis was over.
This one storm was responsible for 51 deaths, across New Mexico and its neighboring states.
Were you in New Mexico when this blizzard hit? What are your memories from that time?
These modern snowy images only serve to set the scene. They cannot fully capture the weather conditions experienced in 1967. If you have any photos from the 1967 blizzard, please share them on our Only In New Mexico Facebook page. We’d love to see them.
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