High winds of 40-45 mph with gusts of 60-75 mph developed during mid day as a strong upper level storm center approached from Arizona.
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 episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.
High winds of 40-45 mph with gusts of 60-75 mph developed during mid day as a strong upper level storm center approached from Arizona.
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 Dec 15, 3:21 AM MST, 6 hours 39 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 321 AM MST MON DEC 15 2003 .DISCUSSION...THE CURRENT UPPER LVL SYSTEM IS PICKING UP SPEED AND WILL EXIT NM LATE THIS AFTERNOON/EARLY THIS EVENING. THAT BEING SAID IT WILL BE A WINDY 12 HOURS OR SO. UPPER GRADIENT IS TIGHTENING UP AS THE LOWER END OF THE TROF MOVES OVER NM. SN/RA SH WILL MAINLY STAY TO THE NORTH AND SHIFT EAST BY AFTERNOON AS THE CENTER OF THE LOW REMAINS TO THE NORTH IN CO. WILL KEEP THE SN ADV FOR THE NORTHERN MTNS AND DROP THE NORTHWEST PLATEAU. A SFC FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH THE EASTERN PLAINS AND BECOME ANOTHER FOCUS FOR SCT SH. ALTHOUGH THE DOWNSLOPE SHOULD HELP MIN THE POPS. SO BACK TO THE WINDS...WILL UPGRADE THE WIND ADV TO A HIGH WIND WARNING OVER THE EASTERN SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL MTN CHAIN AND INTERSTATE 40 SOUTH. WILL KEEP A WIND ADV FOR THE FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS AND MIDDLE/LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY WEST TO AZ. LOOKS LIKE THE JET IS ALREADY MAKING ITSELF KNOWN OVER THE CENTRAL MTNS. ONLY MINOR TWEAKS TO THE EXTENDED. WILL WAIT FOR A FEW RUNS OF THE GFS TO SEE WHAT IT REALLY WANTS TO DO WITH THE SYSTEM NEXT WEEKEND.AS && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FARMINGTON................ 034/011 039/010 047 23400 GALLUP.................... 036/003 042/001 051 23200 GRANTS.................... 037/008 044/007 051 23200 GLENWOOD.................. 046/017 054/013 060 23100 CHAMA..................... 029/001 034/902 039 23700 LOS ALAMOS................ 034/011 038/011 043 23500 RED RIVER................. 030/902 034/905 038 23710 TAOS...................... 035/006 038/003 045 23600 SANTA FE.................. 036/011 038/011 043 23500 SANTA FE AIRPORT.......... 039/014 039/013 044 23300 ESPANOLA.................. 039/013 040/011 047 23300 ALBUQUERQUE HEIGHTS....... 044/020 044/020 047 23100 ALBUQUERQUE VALLEY........ 045/019 044/018 048 23100 ALBUQUERQUE FOOTHILLS..... 039/021 042/019 047 23200 ALBUQUERQUE WEST MESA..... 043/021 044/018 048 23200 SOCORRO................... 047/015 048/015 054 23100 SANDIA PARK/CEDAR CREST... 038/019 040/016 043 23200 MORIARTY/ESTANCIA......... 045/014 044/008 047 23200 CARRIZOZO................. 051/021 045/015 052 23000 RUIDOSO................... 045/017 043/014 048 23000 RATON..................... 040/009 040/008 050 23430 LAS VEGAS................. 041/010 041/009 050 23410 ROY....................... 040/014 041/014 050 23330 CLAYTON................... 045/018 043/020 053 23430 SANTA ROSA................ 048/018 046/017 054 23110 TUCUMCARI................. 050/020 046/021 053 23120 FORT SUMNER............... 052/020 047/019 056 23010 CLOVIS.................... 053/021 047/022 054 23010 PORTALES.................. 055/020 049/021 054 23010 ROSWELL................... 061/022 050/019 054 23000 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...HIGH WIND WARNING TODAY NMZ05- 10>13-16>21-26. WIND ADV TODAY NMZ06>09-14>15. SNOW ADV TODAY NMZ02- 04. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 600 AM MST MON DEC 15 2003 NMZ001>021-026-161300- CAPITAN/NORTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS- CENTRAL HIGH PLAINS/ESTANCIA VALLEY-CHAVES COUNTY PLAINS- CONCHAS LAKE/GUADALUPE COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY-DE BACA COUNTY- FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF CHAVES COUNTY- HARDING COUNTY-LINCOLN COUNTY HIGH PLAINS/HONDO VALLEY- LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY- MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY/ALBUQUERQUE METRO AREA-NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS- NORTHWEST MOUNTAINS INCLUDING JEMEZ-NORTHWEST PLATEAU-QUAY COUNTY- ROOSEVELT COUNTY-SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS-SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS- SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS/UPPER GILA REGION-UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY- WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS- 600 AM MST MON DEC 15 2003 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY A FAST MOVING UPPER LEVEL STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS NEW MEXICO TODAY RESULTING IN STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WINDS ACROSS MAINLY THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AREAS OF THE STATE. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BUFFET AREAS FROM THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAIN RANGES EASTWARD TO THE TEXAS STATE LINE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS...WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.
12 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2003Every state in 2003This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, December 2003
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: 5327954, 5327955, 5327956, 5327957, 5327958, 5327959, 5327960, 5327961, 5327962, 5327963, 5327964, 5327965.