Alert archive / New Mexico / Flash Flood Warnings in 1993

Flash Flood Warning 3, NWS Albuquerque, NM

January 19, 1993Catron County, Grant County, Hidalgo County, New Mexico

NWS Albuquerque, NM issued this flash flood warning at Jan 19, 1993, 1:30 AM MST for Catron County, Grant County, Hidalgo County, New Mexico. It was in force for 8 hr.

The area

The counties it named.

The facts

Issued
Jan 19, 1993, 1:30 AM MST (08:30 UTC)
Expired
Jan 19, 1993, 9:00 AM MST
In force
8 hr
Issued by
NWS Albuquerque, NM
Area
Whole counties

Counties Catron County, NM, Grant County, NM, Hidalgo County, NM

The nearest sounding before it

Santa Teresa, NM (KEPZ), launched 00:00Z, 8.5 hours before the alert went out and 202 km from the middle of its area. This is the routine balloon launch nearest before it, the air the forecaster had in hand, not a measurement taken for the alert.

Skew-T log-pSkew-T log-p diagram, Santa Teresa, NM at 00:00Z on 1993-01-19Temperature and dew point through the depth of the atmosphere, with the mixed-layer parcel. CAPE 0 joules per kilogram.LCL10008507005003002001001 km2 km3 km6 km9 km12 km15 km-30°-20°-10°0°10°20°30°40°
Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.
HodographHodograph, Santa Teresa, NM at 00:00Z on 1993-01-19The wind through the lowest 10 kilometers. Zero to 1 km storm-relative helicity 139 square meters per square second.1939587897117136Sfc1 km3 km6 km9 kmRMLM
The wind turning with height, colored by layer: ground to 1 km, 1 to 3 km, 3 to 6 km, 6 to 10 km.
Mixed-layer CAPE
0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN
No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL
602 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear
43 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity
139 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity
257 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter
0.0
Supercell composite
0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted, in the capitals the NWS used until 2016.

000 
TTAA00 KABQ 190827
FFWABQ
NMC017-023-003-191600-
 
BULLETIN - EBS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
FLASH FLOOD WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
130 AM MST TUE JAN 19 1993
 
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS ISSUED A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL  900 AM MST
FOR PEOPLE IN SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO
 
...GRANT COUNTY...NORTHERN HIDALGO COUNTY AND SOUTHERN CATRON COUNTY
 
HEAVY RAINS HAVE CONTINUED TO FALL OVER PORTIONS OF SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO
DURING THE NIGHT. AT 100 AM MST THE GRANT COUNTY SHERIFFS OFFICE IN
SILVER CITY REPORTED SEVERAL ROCK AND MUD SLIDES COVERED PORTIONS OF
HIGHWAY 180 TO THE WEST OF SILVER CITY.  WATER WAS REPORTED TO BE ON THE
IRON BRIDGE OVER THE GILA RIVER NEAR THE TOWNS OF CLIFF AND GILA.
FLOODING WAS ALSO BEING REPORTED ALONG THE MIMBRES RIVER IN EASTERN
GRANT COUNTY.
 
THE HEAVY RAIN HAD TURNED TO SNOW IN THE SILVER CITY AREA BY 100 AM
AND PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO TURN TO SHOWERS BEFORE SUNRISE.
NEVERTHELESS...RAIN THAT HAD ALREADY FALLEN WILL KEEP STREAMS AND
RIVERS IN SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO SWOLLEN THROUGH MID MORNING AND A
FLASH FLOOD WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR GRANT...SOUTHERN CATRON AND
NORTHERN HIDALGO COUNTIES UNTIL 900 AM MST.
 
BE ESPECIALLY CAUTIOUS AT NIGHT WHEN IT IS HARDER TO RECOGNIZE
THE DANGERS OF FLOODS AND FLASH FLOODS.  IF FLASH FLOODING IS
OBSERVED...ACT QUICKLY.  MOVE UP TO ESCAPE FLOOD WATERS.  DO
NOT STAY IN AREAS SUBJECT TO FLOODING WHEN WATER BEGINS RISING.
 
A FLASH FLOOD WARNING MEANS THAT FLOODING IS OCCURRING OR IS
IMMINENT.  MOST FLASH FLOOD DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES.  DO NOT
ATTEMPT TO CROSS BRIDGES...DIPS...OR LOW SPOTS IF WATER COVERS
THE ROADWAY.  NEVER TRY TO CROSS A FLOWING STREAM...EVEN A SMALL
ONE...ON FOOT.
 
END

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before this flash flood warning went out, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

In the hours before

Special weather statement, Jan 18, 9:28 PM MST, 4 hours 2 minutes before
NMZ001-002-003-004-005-006-008-010-012-191200-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
930 PM MST MON JAN 18 1993

...SNOW AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES MOUNTAINS AND NORTH TONIGHT...
...FLASH FLOOD WATCH SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS TONIGHT...
...DENSE FOG ADVISORY FOR NORTHEAST QUARTER TONIGHT AND EARLY
   TUESDAY...

AN INTENSE UPPER LEVEL LOW PRESSURE AREA WAS CENTERED NEAR LOS ANGELES
THIS EVENING AND WILL MOVE EASTWARD ACROSS MUCH OF NEW MEXICO ON
TUESDAY.  THIS WILL BRING A VARIETY OF WEATHER TO NEW MEXICO TONIGHT
AND TUESDAY.

SNOW ADVISORIES REMAIN IN EFFECT THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF TONIGHT
FOR THE NORTHWEST PLATEAU...THE NORTHCENTRAL MOUNTAINS...THE UPPER RIO
GRANDE VALLEY...THE NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS...THE WESTCENTRAL MOUNTAINS...
THE SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS AND CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND THE SOUTHCENTRAL
MOUNTAINS.

LIGHT RAIN OR SNOW HAS BEEN REPORTED ACROSS WESTCENTRAL AND NORTHERN
PORTIONS OF THE STATE THIS EVENING.  A LARGE AREA OF PRECIPITATION
EXTENDED INTO EASTERN ARIZONA AND WILL MOVE ACROSS THE STATE DURING THE
NIGHT.  RAIN/SNOW LINE REMAINS RELATIVELY HIGH BUT WILL LOWER DURING
THE NIGHT WITH RAIN CHANGING TO SNOW ABOVE 6500 FEET. SNOWFALL
ACCUMULATIONS OF TWO TO FIVE INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE MOST MOUNTAIN
SECTIONS BY MORNING WITH SKI AREAS OF THE NORTH POSSIBLY RECEIVING
HEAVIER AMOUNTS.  IN ADDITION ONE TO THREE INCHES WILL BE POSSIBLE IN
THE NORTHWEST PLATEAU AND UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY.

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR THE NORTHEAST PLAINS
TONIGHT WITH DENSE FOG AND FREEZING RAIN OR DRIZZLE CHANGING TO SNOW
BY MORNING.

DENSE FOG DEVELOPED OVER THE NORTHEAST QUARTER OF THE STATE LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH VISIBILITIES OCCASIONALLY REDUCED TO NEAR
ZERO.  THUS A DENSE FOG ADVISORY HAS ALSO BEEN ISSUED FOR THE NORTHEAST
HIGHLANDS AND THE EASTCENTRAL PLAINS THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY MORNING.

SHOWERS AND THUNDERSHOWERS INCREASED OVER THE SOUTHWEST DURING THE
EVENING.  AT 900 PM THE SILVER CITY SHERIFF REPORTED HEAVY RAINS AND
MASSIVE MUD SLIDES IN THE AREA. SOME RAINFALL REPORTS FROM LATE MONDAY
AFTERNOON AND EVENING INCLUDED 1.31 INCHES AT GLENWOOD... 0.67 AT
FAYWOOD...AND ABOUT 0.50 AT SILVER CITY AND RED ROCK. WITH ADDITIONAL
RAINFALL...THE POTENTIAL FOR RAPIDLY RISING WATER WILL CONTINUE OVER THE
SOUTHWESTERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE NIGHT AND A FLASH FLOOD WATCH REMAINS
IN EFFECT.

THE UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL MOVE ACROSS THE STA*TE ON TUESDAY WITH
CONDITIONS IMPROVING IN THE WEST THROUGH THE DAY AND ACROSS THE EAST
SIDE OF THE STATE BY TUESDAY NIGHT. MUCH IMPROVED WEATHER IS IN THE
OUTLOOK FOR THE LATTER PART OF THE WEEK AND INTO THE WEEKEND.

The office that day

Everything else NWS Albuquerque, NM issued on the same UTC day.

IssuedProductOfficeCountiesLasted
Jan 18, 7:15 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningABQCatron, Grant3 hr
Jan 18, 10:10 PM MSTFlash Flood WarningABQCatron, Grant4 hr

Nearby

Flash Flood Warnings in New Mexico, 1993Every flash flood warning in 1993

Sources

The product and its follow-ups from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service and Storm Prediction Center text; the sounding from the Mesonet's radiosonde archive.