Alert archive / New Mexico / Mesoscale Discussions in 2021

Mesoscale Discussion 241

March 24, 20215 counties in New Mexico

The Storm Prediction Center issued this mesoscale discussion at Mar 24, 2021, 8:49 AM MDT for 5 counties in New Mexico. It was in force for 3 hr.

The area

The outline as issued.

The facts

Issued: Mar 24, 2021, 8:49 AM MDT (14:49 UTC)
Expired: Mar 24, 2021, 12:15 PM MDT
In force: 3 hr
Issued by: the Storm Prediction Center
Concerning: Heavy snow

Counties De Baca County, NM, Guadalupe County, NM, Harding County, NM, Quay County, NM, San Miguel County, NM

The radar

The Cannon AFB radar (KFDX), 79 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 14:48 UTC, the scan nearest the moment this went out.

Open the radar archive at this moment

The archived warnings, watches and discussions in force at that minute are drawn over the scan, this one among them.

The nearest sounding before it

Albuquerq/Krtlnd, NM (KABQ), launched 12:00Z, 2.8 hours before the alert went out and 217 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: 0 J/kg
Mixed-layer CIN: No buoyant parcel
Mixed-layer LCL: 1048 m above ground
0-6 km bulk shear: 54 kt
0-1 km storm-relative helicity: 174 m²/s²
0-3 km storm-relative helicity: 421 m²/s²
Significant tornado parameter: 0.0
Supercell composite: 0.0

Open this sounding in Storm Lab

The text

As transmitted.

880 
ACUS11 KWNS 241449
SWOMCD
SPC MCD 241449 
TXZ000-NMZ000-241815-

Mesoscale Discussion 0241
NWS Storm Prediction Center Norman OK
0949 AM CDT Wed Mar 24 2021

Areas affected...Northeast New Mexico

Concerning...Heavy snow 

Valid 241449Z - 241815Z

SUMMARY...Periods of heavy snow, featuring snowfall rates over 1
in/hr, will continue to be possible through 12 PM CDT as a snow band
moves across northeast New Mexico.

DISCUSSION...A band of heavy precipitation has been noted developing
over portions of east/northeast NM over the past hour. Surface
observations and web cams under this band have shown persistent
visibility reductions between one-quarter to one-half mile due to
heavy snowfall rates. This band is being organized largely by the
favorable overlap of synoptic lift ahead of the main upper-level low
(currently over the AZ/NM border) and a zone of warm air advection
near the 700 mb layer.  Water vapor imagery suggests this zone of
warm advection is occurring primarily ahead of an embedded shortwave
impulse, which is progressing to the northeast within the mean
southwesterly flow. The expectation is that this snow band will
persist until warm advection diminishes as the shortwave exits the
region around mid-day. Until then, periods of heavy snow should
continue across northeast NM - mainly across the higher
elevations/where temperatures are near freezing.

..Moore.. 03/24/2021

...Please see www.spc.noaa.gov for graphic product...

ATTN...WFO...AMA...ABQ...

LAT...LON   34330581 34990577 35550521 35960430 36150375 36180319
            36010286 35760289 35450297 35130317 34840350 34480404
            34150470 33970530 34330581

Nearby

Mesoscale Discussions in New Mexico, 2021 Every mesoscale discussion in 2021

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; radar from the NEXRAD Level II archive.