High Wind, Far Northeast Plains
- When
- February 26, 10:00 AM MST to 7:00 PM MST
- Where
- Far Northeast Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 35 kt (40 mph)
High Wind in New Mexico, February 26, 1996
Sustained winds and higher gusts caused damage to trees and windows near Picacho and Hondo in Lincoln county. A grass fire started after winds blew down power lines was fanned by gusts over 50 mph into a fast moving blaze which consumed 10000 acres of grassland between Abbott and Gladstone in Colfax and Union counties.
The toll
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
What happened
The episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.
Sustained winds and higher gusts caused damage to trees and windows near Picacho and Hondo in Lincoln county. A grass fire started after winds blew down power lines was fanned by gusts over 50 mph into a fast moving blaze which consumed 10000 acres of grassland between Abbott and Gladstone in Colfax and Union counties.
Event by event
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
High Wind, Quay
- When
- February 26, 11:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Quay forecast zone
- Measured
- 52 kt (60 mph)
High Wind, Lincoln County High Plains/Hondo Valley
- When
- February 26, 11:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Lincoln County High Plains/Hondo Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 60 kt (69 mph)
High Wind, Chaves County Plains
- When
- February 26, 11:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Chaves County Plains forecast zone
- Measured
- 57 kt (66 mph)
High Wind, Curry
- When
- February 26, 11:00 AM MST to 5:00 PM MST
- Where
- Curry forecast zone
- Measured
- 37 kt (43 mph)
What these are
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
The same day elsewhere
- Lightning Strike in Kansas, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Blizzard in North Dakota, February 26 to 28, 1996
- High Wind in Texas, February 26, 1996
- Ice Storm in Wisconsin, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 26 to 28, 1996
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Minnesota, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Ice Storm in Wisconsin, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Lightning Strike in Illinois, February 26, 1996
- Winter Storm in Colorado, February 26, 1996
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, February 26 to 27, 1996
- Heavy Snow in Wisconsin, February 26 to 28, 1996
More
Every storm in New Mexico in 1996Every state in 1996This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, February 1996
Sources
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5539302, 5539303, 5539304, 5539305, 5539306.