1 flash flood, as filed by the National Weather Service.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
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 Jul 16, 1:38 PM MST, 4 hours 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 238 PM MDT TUE JUL 16 2002 SYNOPSIS... RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL PERSIST OVER MUCH OF NEW MEXICO INTO THE WEEKEND. THE FAIRLY MOIST ATMOSPHERE WILL ALSO CONTINUE AND THIS WILL ALLOW ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY THIS WEEK. TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN AROUND NORMAL FOR THE SEASON...WHICH IS THE MID 90S. DISCUSSION... AVN/MRF CONTINUE BACKING OFF EASTERLY TROUGH SCENARIO TOWARDS THE END OF THE WEEK. SO ALL THATS LEFT IS FOR HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT TO DOMINATE THE CWA FOR MOST OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. ONLY SOME SUBTLE SHIFTS OCCUR WITH THE HIGH PRESSURE. CURRENTLY THE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER THE CWA IS CONNECTED WITH THE UPPER PLAINS HIGH. AS THE PLAINS HIGH DISSIPATES...THE RIDGE OVER THE AREA GRADUALLY BECOMES CONNECTED WITH THE GULF OF MEXICO HIGH BY THURSDAY. THIS MAY CAUSE A SUBTLE SHIFT IN THE FOCUS OF CONVECTION. FOR NOW...LOOK FOR BEST CONVECTION TONIGHT OUT WEST WHERE SURFACE CONVERGENCE AND MOST UNSTABLE AIR IS FOUND. THE EAST WILL HAVE TO BATTLE DAYTIME CLOUD COVER AND A MORE STABLE AIRMASS TO KICK OFF ANY THUNDERSTORMS. BOTH ETA/AVN SHOWING SURFACE CONVERGENCE MOVING TO THE EAST ON WEDNESDAY. LIS ARE NOT GREAT IN THE EAST...THOUGH LAPSE RATES ARE STILL FAIRLY HIGH...AND TROUGH DROPS DOWN ASSOCIATED WITH MISSOURI VALLEY LOW LIFTING OUT. WILL PUT HIGHER POPS IN THE EAST. THURSDAY...ETA SHOWS TROUGH SOUTH OF AREA WHILE AVN STILL HOLDS NEAR THE AREA. ETA HOWEVER STILL SHOWS H5 COLD ADVECTION FURTHER DE-STABILIZING THE EAST. WILL CONTINUE THE HIGHER POPS IN THE EAST. AS HIGH RIGHT OVER THE AREA BECOMES MORE DOMINANT FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND...THE MAIN UPPER FLOW BECOMES MORE EAST/SOUTHEAST AGAIN. WILL KEEP PREVIOUS FORECAST FOR SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS THROUGHOUT THE REST OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD. EL PASO BB 70/ 93/ 71/ 94/ 72 11213 LAS CRUCES BB 65/ 94/ 66/ 95/ 67 11213 ALAMOGORDO BB 66/ 91/ 67/ 93/ 68 11213 CLOUDCROFT BB 46/ 71/ 47/ 72/ 48 23344 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES BB 66/ 92/ 66/ 93/ 67 21213 SILVER CITY BB 55/ 87/ 57/ 88/ 58 42212 DEMING BB 66/ 94/ 67/ 95/ 68 31212 LORDSBURG BB 65/ 95/ 66/ 96/ 67 31212 SIERRA BLANCA BB 64/ 89/ 65/ 90/ 66 11213 .ELP...NONE 17 HEFNER N
NMZ022-023-030-031-170400- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX 105 PM MDT TUE JUL 16 2002 ...SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH HEAVY DOWNPOURS ACROSS SOUTHWESTERN NEW MEXICO AND THE GILA MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON... SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS NOW DEVELOPING FROM THE BOOTHEEL AND GRANT COUNTY INTO WESTERN SIERRA COUNTY HAVE THE POTENTIAL TO PRODUCE HEAVY DOWNPOURS AS THEY MOVE SLOWLY EASTWARD THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. SOME OF THE STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS WITH BLOWING DUST. BECAUSE OF THE SLOW MOVEMENT...FLASH FLOODING IS POSSIBLE IN NORMALLY DRY ARROYOS...STREAMBEDS AND IN NARROW CANYONS. THESE STORMS ARE LIKELY TO CONTINUE INTO LATE THIS EVENING. MOTORISTS SHOULD USE CAUTION DUE TO THE POTENTIAL FOR LOW VISIBILITY IN BLOWING DUST AND HEAVY DOWNPOURS...AND SHOULD WATCH FOR PONDING ON ROADS OR WATER FLOWING ACROSS ROADS. PARK
The El Paso radar (KEPZ), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:41 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A cluster of thunderstorms dropped nearly 4 inches of rain within an hour according to a RAWS rain gauge located in the Sierra de Las Uvas Mountains. The resulting runoff washed out Highway 185 between Radium Springs and Rincon.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, July 2002
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: 5309679.