High Wind in Texas, April 10, 2001

Name: High Wind in Texas, April 10, 2001
Start: 2001-04-10T13:00
End: 2001-04-10T19:00
Location: Texas

April 10, 2001 · NWS EPZ · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

The second high wind event within 5 days blew across far west Texas. Although the peak gusts were slightly lower (60 to 70 mph), damaging winds continued for a much longer period.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $50,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 EPZ wrote it up.

The second high wind event within 5 days blew across far west Texas. Although the peak gusts were slightly lower (60 to 70 mph), damaging winds continued for a much longer period. Trees were downed, windows broken, and power poles were blown over. A section of a major street in downtown El Paso was closed after winds blew out large windows. In the northeast part of El Paso an 18 wheeler was blown over.

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 El Paso, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 10, 1:05 AM MST, 11 hours 55 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 10, 1:05 AM MST, 11 hours 55 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM
205 AM MDT TUE APR 10 2001

SYNOPSIS...
A MAJOR WINDSTORM WILL OCCUR ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND FAR
WESTERN TEXAS TODAY AND THIS EVENING AS A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
WITH AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE REGION. COOLER
TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE BORDERLAND TONIGHT AND
WEDNESDAY AS COOLER AIR BEHIND THE FRONT SPREADS ACROSS THE AREA.
WINDY CONDITIONS WILL OCCUR ON THURSDAY AS ANOTHER STORM MOVES
EASTWARD THROUGH THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES. HOWEVER WESTERLY WINDS ALOFT
WILL BRING A RETURN OF WARMER TEMPERATURES AND CONTINUED DRY WEATHER
FOR THE WEEKEND.

DISCUSSION...
ALL MODELS CONTINUE TO SUPPORT MAJOR WIND EVENT ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW
MEXICO AND WESTERN TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT.
LATEST GUIDANCE CONSISTENT WITH PREVIOUS RUNS IN MOVING VERY DYNAMIC
UPPER LOW CENTER ACROSS NORTHERN ARIZONA THIS AFTERNOON BEFORE
LIFTING SYSTEM THROUGH NORTHERN NEW MEXICO TONIGHT. THIS TRACK WILL
RESULT IN 100 KT MID LEVEL SPEED MAX INPINGING ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL
NEW MEXICO EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. DYNAMIC/QG FORCING ASSOCIATED WITH
LOW WILL RESULT IN STEEPENING LAPSE RATES WITH AFTERNOON MIXING
HEIGHTS NEAR 600 MB...ALLOWING FOR STRONGER WINDS ALOFT TO MIX DOWN
TO SURFACE. AT LOW LEVELS...APPROACH OF UPPER LOW WILL SUPPORT
STRONG SURFACE PRESSURE FALLS/LEE TROUGHING THROUGH WEST TEXAS WITH
STRENGTHENING PRESSURE GRADIENTS ACROSS THE CWA. THIS ALL ADDS UP TO
ANOTHER BIG WINDSTORM THIS AFTERNOON INTO AT LEAST EARLY
TONIGHT...SO WILL UPGRADE HIGH WIND WATCH TO WARNING.

STRONG AND DEEP UPWARD FORCING ALSO LIKELY TODAY AS STRENGTHENING
SURFACE COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE CWA BENEATH DIFFERENTIAL PVA
ALOFT. HOWEVER STRONG WESTERLY COMPONENT TO FLOW INDICATES LITTLE
MOISTURE TRANSPORT BELOW 500 MB. THUS WILL LIMIT MENTION OF PRECIP
TO HIGH TERRAIN.

HIGH TEMPS WEDNESDAY WILL BE AROUND 10 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AS
RATHER STRONG COLD PUSH EXPECTED BEHIND FRONT/UPPER TROUGH. YET
ANOTHER UPPER LOW MOVES ACROSS NORTHERN NEW MEXICO THURSDAY WITH
WIND SPEEDS SUGGESTING AT LEAST ADVISORY CRITERIA. FOR THE WEEKEND
AND BEYOND....LATEST AVN/MRF FORECASTING BROAD RIDGING ACROSS THE
WESTERN GULF AND NORTHERN MEXICO WITH SLOWLY RISING HEIGHTS AND
WEST-SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT ACROSS SOUTHERN ROCKIES. THIS STRONGLY
SUGGESTS WARM DRY WEATHER FOR EXTENDED PERIODS.

EL PASO               NU  72/ 42/ 67/ 44/ 75  00000
LAS CRUCES            NU  70/ 34/ 65/ 36/ 73  00000
ALAMOGORDO            NU  70/ 37/ 65/ 39/ 73  00000
CLOUDCROFT            NU  50/ 22/ 45/ 24/ 53  01000
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES NU  67/ 36/ 66/ 38/ 74  00000
SILVER CITY           NU  59/ 30/ 57/ 32/ 65  11000
DEMING                NU  66/ 33/ 64/ 35/ 72  00000
LORDSBURG             NU  69/ 30/ 67/ 32/ 75  00000
SIERRA BLANCA         NU  69/ 40/ 64/ 42/ 72  00000

.ELP...HIGH WIND WARNING THIS AFT/EVG TX ZONES 55 56
       HIGH WIND WARNING THIS AFT/EVG NM ZONES 22-25, 30-32

05 ROGASH

N

Event by event

2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, El Paso

When: April 10, 1:00 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
Where: El Paso forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph)
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.

High Wind, Hudspeth

When: April 10, 1:00 PM MST to 7:00 PM MST
Where: Hudspeth forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph)
Reported by: DEPT OF HIGHWAYS

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

Every storm in Texas in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Texas, April 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: 5242982, 5242983.