Alert archive / New Mexico / Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in 2002

Severe Thunderstorm Warning 69, NWS Albuquerque, NM

June 16, 2002Curry County, New Mexico

NWS Albuquerque, NM issued this severe thunderstorm warning at Jun 16, 2002, 8:18 PM MDT for Curry County, New Mexico. It was in force for 42 min. 4 reports came from inside the area while it was in force.

The area

The outline as issued, with what was reported inside it.

The facts

Issued: Jun 16, 2002, 8:18 PM MDT (02:18 UTC)
Expired: Jun 16, 2002, 9:00 PM MDT
In force: 42 min
Issued by: NWS Albuquerque, NM
Area: Counties, with a storm outline in the text

County Curry County, NM

What was reported inside it

Time	Report	Where
Jun 16, 8:45 PM MDT	Hail 1	Melrose, NM
Jun 16, 8:46 PM MDT	Hail 0.88	Melrose, NM
Jun 16, 8:50 PM MDT	Thunderstorm Wind 60 E	Melrose, NM
Jun 16, 9:00 PM MDT	Tornado F0	Melrose, NM

NCEI Storm Data entries that began inside the alert's area while it was in force. Before 2003 the local storm report archive is thin, so this is the record of what happened rather than what was phoned in.

Did it verify

Not verified. The Iowa Environmental Mesonet's Cow found no qualifying storm report inside this severe thunderstorm warning while it was in force. That is not proof nothing happened: reports are thin where few people live.

Cow counts a report within 15 km of the polygon while the warning was in force: a tornado for a tornado warning; hail of 1 inch or more, a gust of 58 mph or more or wind damage for a severe thunderstorm warning; a flash flood report for a flash flood warning.

The nearest sounding before it

Amarillo Airport, TX (KAMA), launched 00:00Z, 2.3 hours before the alert went out and 188 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-p

Temperature in red, dew point in green, the mixed-layer parcel dashed.

Hodograph

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: 164 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: -189 J/kg
Mixed-layer LCL: 1847 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 45 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 68 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 267 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.1

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

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

000 
WUUS55 KABQ 170218
SVRABQ
NMC009-170300-

BULLETIN - EAS ACTIVATION REQUESTED
SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
817 PM MDT SUN JUN 16 2002

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS ISSUED A

* SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING FOR...
  SOUTHWESTERN CURRY COUNTY IN EAST CENTRAL NEW MEXICO

* UNTIL 900 PM MDT

* AT 815 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
  SEVERE THUNDERSTORM 14 MILES NORTHWEST OF MELROSE...OR ABOUT 30
  MILES EAST OF FORT SUMNER...MOVING SOUTH AT 35 MPH.

* THE SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE...
  OVER MELROSE AT 840 PM MDT

SEVERE STORMS PRODUCE DAMAGING WINDS OF AT LEAST 60 MPH AND LARGE
HAIL. MOVE INDOORS AND AVOID WINDOWS.

LAT...LON 3468 10348 3468 10369 3460 10369 3460 10373
          3431 10372 3432 10330

What forecasters said that day

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

NWS Albuquerque, NM wrote its last area forecast discussion before this severe thunderstorm warning went out at Jun 16, 4:30 PM MDT, 3 hours 48 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 16, 4:30 PM MDT, 3 hours 48 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
430 PM MDT SUN JUN 16 2002

NW FLOW REGIME ALOFT TO SEE ITS LAST GASP...FOR NOW...INTO MONDAY.
THEREAFTER EXPECT TO CONTINUE THE GENERAL TREND OF THE PREVIOUS
FORECAST INSOFAR AS MOSTLY DRY WEATHER IN THE E...AND OF COURSE DRY
WEST. WITH RIDGE SHIFTING E AND BUILDING ACROSS E NM AND W TX FROM
TUE ON SHOULD EFFECTIVELY SHUT OFF ANY SUBSTANTIVE CHANCE OF
CONVECTION E. DRYLINE MAY WELL SHOW A NET SLIGHT TRANSLATION WESTWARD
ACROSS THE E PLAINS DURING THE TUE-THU PERIOD...BUT EXPECT IT TO BE
MORE DIFFUSE DUE LARGELY TO WEAK SUBSIDENCE WITH BUILDING RIDGE.
WITH THE NEVERENDING MARCH OF SHORT WAVES IN THE NW FLOW RETREATING
WELL E OF NM WITH THE BUILDING OF THE RIDGE...THAT SHOULD ALSO KEEP
ATMOSPHERIC ENERGY TO A MINIMUM. WILL WATCH WITH SOME INTEREST THE
INVERTED UPPER TROUGH OR POSSIBLY CLOSED LOW FAR NW GULF OR SE TX AND
SEE WHETHER IT MIGHT DRIFT SW THEN WESTWARD. RIGHT NOW MODELS KEEPING
IT WELL E OF NM. 43

ABQ AA 065/095 064/095 064 43000
SAF AA 055/088 053/089 054 43000
TCC BB 060/091 062/093 063 43311

.ABQ...NONE.

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 16, 6:38 PM MDT, 1 hour 40 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE, NM
638 PM MDT SUN JUN 16 2002

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0628 PM    CONCHAS                   NM   .75 INCH HAIL
06/16/02   SAN MIGUEL                     NICKEL TO DIME SIZE
                                          COVERING GROUND REPORTED BY
                                          HAM RADIO OPERATOR

Local storm report, Jun 16, 6:58 PM MDT, 1 hour 20 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE, NM
658 PM MDT SUN JUN 16 2002

TIME(MDT)  .....CITY LOCATION.....STATE   ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0650 PM    33 W CLAYTON              NM   1.25 INCH HAIL
06/16/02   UNION                          REPORTED BY CO-OP
                                          OBSERVERS

The office that day

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

Issued	Product	Office	Counties	Lasted
Jun 16, 6:01 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Union	44 min
Jun 16, 6:18 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	San Miguel	27 min
Jun 16, 6:45 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Union	45 min
Jun 16, 6:53 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Quay	52 min
Jun 16, 7:31 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Harding	59 min
Jun 16, 8:39 PM MDT	Tornado Warning	ABQ	Curry	66 min
Jun 17, 2:44 PM MDT	Severe Thunderstorm Warning	ABQ	Mora, San Miguel	46 min

Nearby

Severe Thunderstorm Warnings in New Mexico, 2002 Every severe thunderstorm warning in 2002

Sources

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