New Mexico, 2001

Damaging Winds in New Mexico, July 2, 2001

July 2, 2001 · NWS ABQ · 5 events in 3 counties and zones

Strong thunderstorms moved south from the Jemez Mountains into the middle Rio Grande Valley with brief heavy rain, intense lightning and gusty winds of 45 to 65 mph. Several porch coverings and roofs were damaged or torn off at Sandia Pueblo.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$70,000
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.

Strong thunderstorms moved south from the Jemez Mountains into the middle Rio Grande Valley with brief heavy rain, intense lightning and gusty winds of 45 to 65 mph. Several porch coverings and roofs were damaged or torn off at Sandia Pueblo. The storms passed over Albuquerque causing mainly downed tree limbs and power outages, but several tents and portable fireworks facilities were tossed and overturned. Damage to additional roofs and fireworks tents were also reported at Los Lunas.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, 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 the first event at Jul 2, 2:10 PM MST, 4 hours 5 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jul 2, 2:10 PM MST, 4 hours 5 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
310 PM MDT MON JUL 2 2001

12Z UPPER AIR ANALYSIS SHOWS THE 500MB HIGH CENTERED WEST OF THE
FOUR-CORNERS ALONG THE ARIZONA/UTAH BORDER. 500MB TEMP OVER ABQ AT
12Z WAS -7C...WITH -9C SHOWING UP AT GJT/DEN/AMA. THE FLOW AT 500MB
IS GENERALLY FROM THE NORTH/NORTHEAST...SO THERE IS DEFINITELY SOME
COLD AIR ADVECTION GOING ON AT THIS LEVEL. BOTH THE NGM AND MESOETA
12Z RUNS SHOW PRECIP ALONG AND WEST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN
THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT...WITH THE NGM GOING BONKERS ON THE QPF.
STORMS CURRENTLY INTENSIFYING OVER THE NORTHERN AND WESTCENTRAL
MOUNTAINS WILL BE MOVING SOUTH/SOUTHWEST WITH TIME. THE LATEST VAD
WIND PROFILE FROM KABX SHOWS A SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL FLOW...WHICH
STORMS MOVING OFF OF THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS WILL EAT-UP THIS EVENING.
GIVEN 500MB COLD AIR ADVECTION...PLENTY OF SURFACE HEATING AND THESE
SOUTHERLY LOW LEVEL WINDS...HAVE SOME CONFIDENCE THAT STORMS WILL BE
ABLE TO HOLD TOGETHER THIS EVENING AND BRING SOME RAIN TO PLACES LIKE
SANTA FE...ALBUQUERQUE AND TAOS.

FOR THE NEXT TWO DAYS...THE UPPER HIGH WILL WOBBLE AROUND THE FOUR-
CORNERS...ALLOWING AT OR SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL TEMPS TO CONTINUE WITH
SCATTERED DAYTIME/EVENING CONVECTION IN THE WEST AND ISOLATED STUFF
IN THE EASTERN PLAINS.

NO MONSOON...YET. HOWEVER...BOTH THE ECMWF/MRF SHOW THE UPPER HIGH
MIGRATING EASTWARD ON THURSDAY AND INTO TX/OK BY FRIDAY...ALLOWING A
SOUTHERLY FETCH TO DEVELOP FROM THE SURFACE UP. THIS WOULD BE A
MONSOON PATTERN...ALLOWING MOISTURE TO STREAM POLEWARD FROM
MEXICO...WHICH WOULD FAVOR SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS AFTERNOON/EARLY
NIGHTTIME THUNDERSTORMS WITH PLENTY OF RAIN ACTUALLY GETTING INTO THE
BUCKET. CA

ABQ BB 066/093 066/095 067 50422
SAF BB 061/088 060/089 060 50423
TCC BB 066/093 067/095 067 50100

.ABQ...NONE.

The radar

The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 26 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 01:16 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

5 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Sandoval

When
July 2, 6:15 PM MST
Where
Sandoval County, Sandia Pueblo
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
35.250, -106.567

Thunderstorm Wind, Sandoval

When
July 2, 6:30 PM MST
Where
Sandoval County, Rio Rancho
Measured
53 kt (61 mph)
Reported by
AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
Coordinates
35.250, -106.667

Thunderstorm Wind, Bernalillo

When
July 2, 7:00 PM MST to 7:10 PM MST
Where
Bernalillo County, Albuquerque
Measured
56 kt (64 mph)
Reported by
NWS EMPLOYEE(OFF DUTY)
Coordinates
35.083, -106.567

Thunderstorm Wind, Bernalillo

When
July 2, 7:00 PM MST to 7:15 PM MST
Where
Bernalillo County, Albuquerque
Property damage
$30,000
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
35.083, -106.567

Thunderstorm Wind, Valencia

When
July 2, 7:30 PM MST to 7:40 PM MST
Where
Valencia County, Los Lunas
Property damage
$20,000
Reported by
BROADCAST MEDIA
Coordinates
34.800, -106.717

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind
Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Mexico in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, July 2001

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: 5258509, 5258510, 5258511, 5258512, 5258513.