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Think your weather app is lying during a snowstorm in Eldorado? Here's why the radar often gets it wrong.
Why Weather Radar Often Misses Rain and Snow in Eldorado
April 6, 2025
By Jay Faught
If you live in Eldorado, Cerrillos, or Lamy in Santa Fe County and rely on weather radar apps to check for incoming rain or snow, you might have noticed something puzzling: sometimes, the radar shows nothing overhead—even when snow is falling or rain is tapping on your window. This common wintertime mystery has a simple but fascinating explanation rooted in geography and the limits of radar technology.
Blocked by the Mountains
The National Weather Service’s main radar site for our area is located near Albuquerque. While it does a great job covering much of central and northern New Mexico, it faces a significant obstacle when it comes to scanning the skies above Eldorado: the Sandia Mountains.
These towering peaks rise more than 10,000 feet and sit squarely between the radar site and Eldorado. Because radar beams travel in straight lines and don’t bend over mountains, the lower portion of the beam is effectively blocked. This means that in areas like Eldorado, especially during storms with low cloud tops, the radar can’t “see” what’s happening at the surface.
Overshooting Low Clouds
To make matters more complicated, radar beams gradually rise as they travel farther from the radar site. By the time a beam reaches Eldorado—about 60 miles away—it’s already scanning thousands of feet above the ground. In winter storms, where clouds and snow may be hugging the surface, the beam often overshoots the precipitation altogether.
The result? Snow might be falling steadily in your backyard, but the radar shows nothing overhead. This can make interpreting weather conditions tricky for those who rely solely on radar images.
Summer Thunderstorms: A Different Story
Fortunately, radar accuracy improves in the summer. That’s because the towering thunderstorms that form during monsoon season can reach altitudes well above 30,000 feet. These higher cloud tops are easily picked up by radar beams, even from a distance and over mountain barriers. So while radar might miss a quiet winter snow in Eldorado, it’s much more reliable when those dramatic summer storms roll in.
The Bottom Line
If you're in Eldorado or even Cerrillos or Lamy and the radar shows clear skies during a winter storm, take it with a grain of salt—especially if the clouds look low and heavy. Geography plays a huge role in what radar can and can’t detect. For the most accurate understanding of current weather, it's best to combine radar with ground observations, webcams, and local forecasts.
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