An increased potential for heavy rainfall existed across much of the region. The prevailing upper level pattern over the area led to weak storm steering currents.
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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 MAF wrote it up.
An increased potential for heavy rainfall existed across much of the region. The prevailing upper level pattern over the area led to weak storm steering currents. This coupled with abundant atmospheric moisture resulted in thunderstorms, which in turn produced heavy rainfall and flash flooding across southeast New Mexico.
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 Midland/Odessa, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jul 8, 4:46 PM MST, 3 hours 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 646 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 2008 .AVIATION... EXPECTING MVFR CEILINGS (PREVAILING OR TEMPO) MOST LOCATIONS AFTER 10Z TONIGHT. WINDS WILL BE GUSTY THIS EVENING IN THE WEST TEXAS TERMINALS BUT SHOULD DECREASE BY 03Z OR 04Z MOST LOCATIONS EXCEPT PERHAPS FORT STOCKTON. HAVE A TEMPO GROUP FOR MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES WITH SHRA MUCH OF THE FORECAST CYCLE AT KHOB...KCNM PER LATEST RADAR TRENDS AND INCOMING GUIDANCE. EXPECT VFR CONDITIONS BY 17Z WEDNESDAY MOST LOCATIONS. 12 && .PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 209 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 2008/ DISCUSSION... RICH MSTR IS PLACE ACRS W TX AS EVIDENT IN PRESENCE 7H-5H THETA-E RIDGE AXIS AND 1.5 PW/S ON 12Z MAF SOUNDING. WX ACRS W TX BEING INFLUENCED BY CIRCULATION AROUND 5H HIGH WELL TO THE E AND MID LEVEL WLYS SAGGING S INTO NRN NM. THIS HAS PLACED A DEEP S-SE FLOW (THRU 450MB) ACRS W TX. WATER VAPOR ALSO INDICATES A WEAKENING UPPER LOWS S OF THE BBNP AND ANOTHER FARTHER SW OF BBNP. AS SUCH EXPECT THAT PRECIP THIS PM FROM THE CNTRL PB SWD WILL BE CLOSELY TIED TO THETA-E RIDGE AXIS WITHIN SLY MID LEVEL FLOW...LOW S OF BBNP...AND DAYTIME HEATING. PRECIP FARTHER W WILL BE TIED TO TERRAIN...MID LEVEL SHEAR AXIS...AND THETA-E RIDGE. POP FCST ALREADY ORIENTED IN THIS FASHION AND WILL MAKE MINOR CHANGES. CONVECTION IN THE PANHANDLE/ S PLAINS WILL BE IMPORTANT TO THE CHANCES FOR PRECIP ACRS PB WED AS STORMS WILL HELP TO DRIVE BOUNDARY S INTO AT LEAST NRN CWFA. NAM IS SHOWING THE BOUNDARY IN A SWD LOCATION 00Z/THUR AND EXPECT THAT WITH BOUNDARY BEING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THETA-E RIDGE/SHEAR AXIS THE BEST CHANCE OF RAIN WED WILL BE FROM THE GDP MTNS INTO SE NM/NW-N PB. CHANCE OF RAIN WILL DECREASE ACRS FAR S-SE AS LOWER THETA-E AIR WORKS NWWD WITH AN INCREASED PRESENCE OF HIGH PRESSURE. THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE INTO THUR AS 5H HGHTS SLOWLY BUILD AND LOWER THETA-E AIR MOVES FARTHER NW. NAM/ECMWF IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT THAT 5H RIDGING WILL INCREASE WWD PUSHING MID LEVEL MST AXIS W OF CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. GFS SLOWER HOLDING 7H- 5H MSTR ACRS NM EVEN INTO SAT. HIGH TEMPS BACK INTO THE 90S LATE THIS WEEK ACRS CWFA AND FCST WILL REFLECT SLOW WARMING TREND WITH BETTER POPS ACRS FAR W. MID LEVEL WLYS WILL ATTEMPT TO PRESSURE WELL DEVELOPED SUBTROPICAL RIDGE INTO SUNDAY WHICH WOULD TEND TO BRING BETTER MSTR/STEERING FLOW INTO W AND NE CWFA. ATTP WILL BE SLOW TO BUY INTO THIS. && .MAF WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...NONE. TX...NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE MIDLAND/ODESSA TX 129 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 2008 NMZ027>029-033-034-TXZ045>048-050>053-057>063-067>070-074-075- 079>082-258-091830- GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF EDDY COUNTY-EDDY COUNTY PLAINS- NORTHERN LEA COUNTY-CENTRAL LEA COUNTY-SOUTHERN LEA COUNTY-GAINES- DAWSON-BORDEN-SCURRY-ANDREWS-MARTIN-HOWARD-MITCHELL- VAN HORN AND HIGHWAY 54 CORRIDOR-REEVES COUNTY AND UPPER TRANS PECOS- LOVING-WINKLER-ECTOR-MIDLAND-GLASSCOCK-WARD-CRANE-UPTON-REAGAN- DAVIS/APACHE MOUNTAINS AREA-PECOS-PRESIDIO VALLEY-MARFA PLATEAU- BIG BEND AREA-TERRELL-GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS- 129 PM CDT TUE JUL 8 2008 /1229 PM MDT TUE JUL 8 2008/ THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO...SOUTHWEST TEXAS AND WEST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT HEAVY RAINFALL WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND INTO THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. GREATEST CHANCES WILL BE OVER THE EASTERN PERMIAN BASIN AND LOWER TRANS PECOS REGION... AND INTO SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO. THE PRIMARY THREAT WITH THIS ACTIVITY WILL BE LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING. IN ADDITION...ROCK AND MUDSLIDES COULD BE POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER MOUNTAIN TERRAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL CONTINUE TO BE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY AND INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT. WHILE ALL AREAS WILL SEE RAIN CHANCES...BEST CHANCE WILL RESIDE OVER SOUTHEAST NEW MEXICO. EXPECT LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AGAIN...WHICH WILL LEAD TO ADDITIONAL FLOODING POTENTIAL. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. THIS PRODUCT...ALONG WITH OTHER WATCHES...WARNINGS...ADVISORIES... AND STATEMENTS ISSUED BY THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE OFFICE IN MIDLAND CAN BE FOUND ON THE INTERNET AT /LOWER CASE/ HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/MIDLAND
The Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 164 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:30 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A trained spotter reported six to eight inches of water flowing across several street intersections in Artesia.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, July 2008
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: 124951.