Alert archive / New Mexico / Flash Flood Warnings in 2025
Flash Flood Warning 85, NWS Albuquerque, NM
NWS Albuquerque, NM issued this flash flood warning at Jul 12, 2025, 6:21 PM MDT for Bernalillo County, Santa Fe County, Torrance County, New Mexico. It was in force for 3 hr. No storm report in the archive falls inside the area while it was in force.
The area
The counties it named.
The facts
- Issued
- Jul 12, 2025, 6:21 PM MDT (00:21 UTC)
- Expired
- Jul 12, 2025, 9:15 PM MDT
- In force
- 3 hr
- Issued by
- NWS Albuquerque, NM
- Area
- Storm-based polygon
- Flood severity
- None
Counties Bernalillo County, NM, Santa Fe County, NM, Torrance County, NM
The radar
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 61 km from the middle of the area, began a volume at 00:20 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 00:00Z, 0.4 hours before the alert went out and 40 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.
- Mixed-layer CAPE
- 1292 J/kg
- Mixed-layer CIN
- -11 J/kg
- Mixed-layer LCL
- 2877 m above ground
- 0-6 km bulk shear
- 17 kt
- 0-1 km storm-relative helicity
- 12 m²/s²
- 0-3 km storm-relative helicity
- 91 m²/s²
- Significant tornado parameter
- 0.0
- Supercell composite
- 0.0
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.
NWS Albuquerque, NM wrote its last area forecast discussion before this flash flood warning went out at Jul 12, 5:26 PM MDT, 55 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Updated at 519 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025
- There is a high risk of burn scar flash flooding this weekend and a low chance of off-scar flash flooding with stronger storms that develop along and east of the Rio Grande Valley.
- Storms in central and eastern New Mexico have the potential to produce large hail and damaging wind gusts this afternoon and evening.
- The active monsoon pattern is expected to continue into next week becoming traditional mid and late week, keeping the threat of burn scar flash flooding moderate to high each day through the end of the week.
Area forecast discussion, Jul 12, 5:26 PM MDT, 55 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 526 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 519 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 - There is a high risk of burn scar flash flooding this weekend and a low chance of off-scar flash flooding with stronger storms that develop along and east of the Rio Grande Valley. - Storms in central and eastern New Mexico have the potential to produce large hail and damaging wind gusts this afternoon and evening. - The active monsoon pattern is expected to continue into next week becoming traditional mid and late week, keeping the threat of burn scar flash flooding moderate to high each day through the end of the week. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Sunday night) Issued at 128 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 Low clouds in the wake of last night's and early morning showers and storms have burned off across eastern NM as of 12:30 local time. A backdoor front has pushed higher low level moisture all the way west to the Continental Divide. Better daytime heating and instability is allowing showers and storms to erupt across the northern and west central mountains early this afternoon with slow motion to the southeast into the nearby highlands and Rio Grande Valley late this afternoon into the evening. A high probability of flash flooding is expected on the HPCC burn scar and a Flash Flood Watch is in effect until 9 PM to cover this risk. When looking at eastern NM and the south central mountains, including Ruidoso, this morning's low clouds and higher stability behind the early morning shower and storm activity will prevent really any shower and thunderstorm development this afternoon. This is reflected in the latest high resolution guidance. Looking specifically at Ruidoso for the evening, showers and storms across the south central highlands and lower RGV looks to potentially move into Ruidoso around 6 to 7 PM. Now these storms will be running into the aforementioned stable environment present across eastern NM helping to weaken the activity. However, model guidance does show PWATS just under an inch during the evening, so any storm that does try to get over the Ruidoso area burn scars will be capable of heavy rainfall. For that reason, kept the Flash Flood Watch in place for Ruidoso while adding this reasoning in the text of the "Additional Details" section of the watch product. Any shower and storm activity across south central NM dissipates at around 9 to 10 PM local time. Going into Sunday, the 596 dam monsoon upper high, centered just off the coast of Southern CA, looks to build northeast across the Great Basin and Arizona with the western extent of it reaching as far east as the AZ/NM border. A moist airmass will remain in place along and east of the Continental Divide with PWATs around 0.7 to 0.9 inches across central NM and 1 to 1.3 inches across the eastern plains. The PWATS are average across the RGV and slightly above average along and east of the central mountain chain. Daytime heating and high instability will help storms develop midday across the higher terrain along and east of the Continental Divide slowly moving south and east into the surrounding highlands and lower elevations during the late afternoon and early evening hours. For the Ruidoso area and the HPCC burn scars, these slow and erratically moving storms will be capable of producing heavy rainfall rates of up to 3 inches an hour resulting in flash flooding and debris flows on and downstream of the burn scars. There will be upslope southeast flow across these burn scars helping to provide the extra lift to keep these heavy rainfall rates, as well as latch the storms over the burn scars for several hours Sunday afternoon and early Sunday evening. The HREF 6 hr mean QPF has 0.5 to 1 inch over the burn scars Sunday afternoon. However, max 6 hour amounts show values of up to 2.5 inches over both HPCC and the Ruidoso area burn scars. This is a very similar setup and scenario to Tuesday's catastrophic flooding across Ruidoso, so individuals in the area should stay weather aware and have multiple ways to receive warnings if they are issued. After saying all of this, new Flash Flood Watches have been issued for these areas containing the burn scars. Going to the evening, the storms across the central mountain chain and nearby eastern highlands coalesce into a line of storms as it moves into the east central and southeast plains. HREF guidance is showing locally heavy rainfall amounts of 1 to 3 inches across these areas through the late evening. For that reason, the entire central mountain chain, northeast, central and south central highlands have been included in tomorrow's Flash Flood Watch. Could see De Baca and Chaves County added to this watch late this evening with the new forecast package, but will let the evening shift take another look and reassess before making this decision. && .LONG TERM... (Monday through Friday) Issued at 128 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 Any shower and thunderstorm activity across central and eastern NM tapers off overnight with just some lingering clouds across southeast NM Monday morning. The monsoon high remains centered off the coast of southern CA on Monday with it extending westward to as far east-northeast as western Kansas. Mid and upper level heights show a weak disturbance moving over the northern Rockies among the jet stream. This will result in shower and thunderstorm development across the CO Rockies with some of this activity extending as far south as the north central mountains in New Mexico. Additionally, with this orientation of the monsoon high, shower and storm coverage will favor the western and central mountains with storm motion to the west-southwest. Global guidance and the NAM hint at an inverted trough, possibly from Sunday evening's convection, across south central NM on the southern edge of the upper high Monday afternoon, so this could help to enhance shower and thunderstorm coverage. The monsoon high looks to weaken to 592 dam and be more centered over northern AZ on Tuesday with guidance favoring diurnal shower and thunderstorm activity over north central and western NM. The NAM shows an inverted trough across West Texas with subsidence west of this inverted trough axis helping to keep a cap on shower and thunderstorm activity across much of eastern NM during the afternoon and evening hours. Come Wednesday and Thursday, the upper high over northern AZ fully breaks down due to a strong upper level trough moving across the northern Rockies and Great Plains. In it's place is an upper low over Baja California. Southerly flow north and east of this low combined with south-southeast flow on the western edge of the broad Bermuda high over the southern US will result in a typical monsoon setup with western and central NM favored Wednesday afternoon and evening and all of the state on Thursday and Friday. && .AVIATION... (00Z TAFS) Issued at 519 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 VFR conditions prevail and are forecast to persist, but short- lived MVFR conditions are possible with thunderstorms this evening and again Sunday afternoon. In addition, patches of low stratus may bring short-lived MVFR cigs to eastern NM overnight. Current round of storms moving in on the ABQ Metro will impact air traffic through 02Z, with strong and erratic wind gusts to between 35-45kts and small hail. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 128 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 Higher moisture has moved west to the Continental Divide today. Shower and thunderstorm coverage will favor central NM this afternoon, central, southern and eastern NM Sunday, northern and western and southern NM Monday, and northern and western NM Tuesday. This is due to the monsoon high just off the southern CA coast expanding west-northwest to as far east as the central Rockies early this upcoming week. The monsoon high breaks down Wednesday with a more traditional monsoon pattern expected for the state through the end of this upcoming week. Any showers and storms will be capable of producing locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding with urban areas and burn scars being the most favored. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 62 97 65 96 / 0 10 10 20 Dulce........................... 46 91 46 89 / 10 60 40 70 Cuba............................ 54 88 55 87 / 10 50 40 50 Gallup.......................... 50 95 55 92 / 0 10 20 50 El Morro........................ 53 91 55 87 / 10 30 50 70 Grants.......................... 53 93 55 89 / 10 30 40 60 Quemado......................... 57 92 58 89 / 20 40 70 80 Magdalena....................... 60 89 60 85 / 30 50 60 60 Datil........................... 55 88 55 84 / 20 60 60 70 Reserve......................... 53 97 53 92 / 30 60 60 90 Glenwood........................ 59 100 58 94 / 30 60 60 90 Chama........................... 47 83 46 82 / 20 70 40 70 Los Alamos...................... 58 83 58 83 / 20 70 30 60 Pecos........................... 55 80 54 81 / 30 70 40 50 Cerro/Questa.................... 51 82 51 84 / 30 70 30 60 Red River....................... 43 72 43 75 / 40 70 30 60 Angel Fire...................... 39 75 38 76 / 30 70 30 50 Taos............................ 49 85 50 86 / 30 60 30 50 Mora............................ 49 78 49 79 / 30 80 30 50 Espanola........................ 58 91 58 91 / 20 60 30 40 Santa Fe........................ 59 83 58 84 / 30 70 40 50 Santa Fe Airport................ 57 86 56 87 / 20 60 40 40 Albuquerque Foothills........... 66 92 65 89 / 30 50 50 40 Albuquerque Heights............. 65 94 63 91 / 30 40 40 30 Albuquerque Valley.............. 63 96 63 94 / 30 40 40 20 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 65 93 64 92 / 30 40 40 20 Belen........................... 61 96 61 92 / 30 30 50 20 Bernalillo...................... 63 94 63 93 / 30 50 40 30 Bosque Farms.................... 61 95 60 92 / 30 30 40 20 Corrales........................ 64 96 63 94 / 30 40 40 30 Los Lunas....................... 62 95 62 92 / 30 30 50 20 Placitas........................ 62 91 62 89 / 30 50 40 30 Rio Rancho...................... 64 94 63 92 / 30 40 40 30 Socorro......................... 66 97 65 94 / 30 40 50 30 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 56 86 56 84 / 30 60 40 40 Tijeras......................... 59 88 58 85 / 30 50 40 40 Edgewood........................ 54 87 53 85 / 30 60 40 30 Moriarty/Estancia............... 53 87 52 85 / 30 60 40 30 Clines Corners.................. 54 79 53 79 / 20 60 40 30 Mountainair..................... 55 86 54 83 / 40 60 50 40 Gran Quivira.................... 57 85 55 81 / 30 60 50 40 Carrizozo....................... 62 88 60 84 / 20 60 50 50 Ruidoso......................... 56 79 55 76 / 20 70 40 70 Capulin......................... 51 78 51 80 / 30 40 20 10 Raton........................... 52 83 53 84 / 40 50 20 20 Springer........................ 53 84 54 86 / 30 50 20 20 Las Vegas....................... 52 80 52 81 / 30 70 30 30 Clayton......................... 59 84 59 86 / 5 20 20 5 Roy............................. 56 80 57 82 / 20 40 30 10 Conchas......................... 62 87 63 88 / 10 40 30 10 Santa Rosa...................... 61 84 60 84 / 10 50 40 20 Tucumcari....................... 59 85 60 86 / 5 20 30 10 Clovis.......................... 63 87 63 87 / 5 30 50 20 Portales........................ 63 88 63 88 / 5 30 50 20 Fort Sumner..................... 64 88 63 87 / 5 40 40 10 Roswell......................... 68 90 67 88 / 10 30 40 20 Picacho......................... 62 85 61 83 / 10 50 40 40 Elk............................. 59 83 58 81 / 20 60 40 60 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch until 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ214-215-226-229. Flood Watch from Sunday afternoon through Sunday evening for NMZ212-214-215-221>224-226-229-233-239. && SHORT TERM...71 LONG TERM....71 AVIATION...11
In the hours before
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 3:51 PM MDT, 2 hours 30 minutes before
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 351 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 NMZ207-122230- West Central Highlands NM- 351 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT EAST CENTRAL CIBOLA COUNTY UNTIL 430 PM MDT... At 351 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 5 miles south of New Laguna, or 7 miles southwest of Laguna Pueblo, moving east at 5 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Laguna Pueblo, New Laguna, Mesita, Paraje, Seama and North Acomita Village. This includes Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 102 and 116. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Monitor the weather situation closely and be alert for threatening weather conditions. Motorists can expect brief but sudden changes in visibility and ponding of water on roadways as storms move through the area. && LAT...LON 3487 10758 3508 10756 3506 10733 3484 10735 TIME...MOT...LOC 2150Z 275DEG 5KT 3497 10745 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...50 TO 55 MPH 25/11
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 4:43 PM MDT, 1 hour 38 minutes before
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 443 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 NMZ211-122330- Jemez Mountains NM- 443 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025 ...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT EAST CENTRAL SANDOVAL COUNTY UNTIL 530 PM MDT... At 443 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 10 miles east of Jemez State Monument, or 17 miles southwest of Los Alamos, moving south at 5 mph. HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail. SOURCE...Radar indicated. IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible. Locations impacted include... Mainly rural areas of East Central Sandoval County. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Monitor the weather situation closely and be alert for threatening weather conditions. Heavy rains from severe thunderstorms can produce sudden and dangerous flows in arroyos, ditches and over low water crossings. Do not attempt to drive through areas where water covers the roadway. && LAT...LON 3575 10664 3581 10646 3567 10634 3561 10660 TIME...MOT...LOC 2243Z 348DEG 5KT 3573 10652 MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN MAX WIND GUST...50 TO 55 MPH 25/11
Special weather statement, Jul 12, 5:15 PM MDT, 1 hour 6 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Albuquerque NM
515 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025
NMZ211-219-130000-
Jemez Mountains NM-Middle Rio Grande Valley including the
Albuquerque Metro Area NM-
515 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT EAST CENTRAL SANDOVAL COUNTY
UNTIL 6 PM MDT...
At 515 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Jemez Pueblo, or 25 miles north of Bernalillo, moving south at 15
mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible.
Locations impacted include...
San Ysidro, Jemez Pueblo, Zia Pueblo, Canon and Ponderosa.
This includes Highway 550 between Mile Markers 17 and 28.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Monitor the weather situation closely and be alert for threatening
weather conditions.
Heavy rains from severe thunderstorms can produce sudden and
dangerous flows in arroyos, ditches and over low water crossings. Do
not attempt to drive through areas where water covers the roadway.
&&
LAT...LON 3559 10686 3561 10686 3575 10679 3573 10661
3548 10649 3549 10692 3555 10689 3555 10686
TIME...MOT...LOC 2315Z 355DEG 11KT 3566 10668
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 TO 55 MPH
25/11Special weather statement, Jul 12, 5:28 PM MDT, 53 minutes before
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Albuquerque NM
528 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025
NMZ204-211-130015-
Jemez Mountains NM-Northwest Highlands NM-
528 PM MDT Sat Jul 12 2025
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT CENTRAL SANDOVAL COUNTY UNTIL
615 PM MDT...
At 528 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 14
miles northwest of San Ysidro, or 21 miles south of Cuba, moving
south at 10 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and nickel size hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor damage to outdoor objects is possible.
Locations impacted include...
Mainly rural areas of Central Sandoval County.
This includes Highway 550 between Mile Markers 31 and 45.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Monitor the weather situation closely and be alert for threatening
weather conditions.
Motorists can expect brief but sudden changes in visibility and
ponding of water on roadways as storms move through the area.
&&
LAT...LON 3576 10700 3577 10678 3562 10686 3555 10687
3555 10697 3556 10697 3556 10699 3558 10699
3560 10701 3561 10701 3562 10703
TIME...MOT...LOC 2328Z 349DEG 9KT 3572 10693
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.88 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 TO 55 MPH
25Special weather statement, Jul 12, 5:55 PM MDT, 26 minutes before
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</html>Local storm report, Jul 12, 6:07 PM MDT, 14 minutes before
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</html>The office that day
Everything else NWS Albuquerque, NM issued on the same UTC day.
| Issued | Product | Office | Counties | Lasted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 12, 6:00 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABQ | Bernalillo | 45 min |
| Jul 12, 6:28 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABQ | Santa Fe, Torrance | 20 min |
| Jul 12, 6:36 PM MDT | Severe Thunderstorm Warning | ABQ | Torrance | 23 min |
| Jul 12, 7:22 PM MDT | Special Weather Statement | ABQ | Torrance | 38 min |
| Jul 12, 7:48 PM MDT | Special Weather Statement | ABQ | Torrance | 42 min |
| Jul 12, 9:38 PM MDT | Special Weather Statement | ABQ | Lincoln | 37 min |
| Jul 13, 11:02 AM MDT | Flood Watch | ABQ | Lincoln | 28 hr |
| Jul 13, 4:07 PM MDT | Flash Flood Warning | ABQ | San Miguel | 3 hr |
| Jul 13, 5:00 PM MDT | Special Weather Statement | ABQ | Lincoln | 30 min |
| Jul 13, 5:10 PM MDT | Special Weather Statement | ABQ | Torrance | 35 min |
Nearby
Flash Flood Warnings in New Mexico, 2025Every flash flood warning in 2025
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.