Winter hits Chihuahua with 25cm of snow – climate change blamed for series of winter storms

December 2015 – MEXICO – Winter struck the state of Chihuahua with a vengeance Saturday, leaving snow up to 25 centimeters deep and temperatures as low as -17 C in the mountain region of Tarahumara. It was either cold or very cold throughout the state, said Civil Protection operations director Virgilio Cepeda, with average snow accumulation measuring 15 centimeters in 52 of the state’s 67 municipalities. The snow began falling Saturday night and continued for some 16 hours.

Seven flights were canceled at the Ciudad Juárez airport and parts of many highways were temporarily closed. Three-hundred emergency shelters were opened. One fatality has been reported as a result of a motor vehicle accident on the Chihuahua-Parral highway. Civil Protection coordinator Luis de Jesús Luján Peña said the fifth winter storm of the season was a result of the conjunction of cold front No. 24, maritime air and a jet stream, and a consequence of climate change. The winter storm also struck Sonora, where four municipalities reported low temperatures. Lowest was recorded in Yécora, where the mercury dropped to -9.5 C. –Mexico News Daily