High pressure aloft centered over Arizona put southern New Mexico under a northwest flow, which contained upper waves that destabilized the atmosphere and triggered strong thunderstorms.
Every event with a place to put it. 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 episode as NWS EPZ wrote it up.
High pressure aloft centered over Arizona put southern New Mexico under a northwest flow, which contained upper waves that destabilized the atmosphere and triggered strong thunderstorms.
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 21, 1:04 PM MST, 16 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 204 PM MDT TUE JUL 21 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A WEAK COLD FRONT AND UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCES WILL MOVE INTO SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND WESTERN TEXAS WHILE EAST WINDS TRANSPORT MOIST AIR INTO THE REGION. AS A RESULT THERE WILL BE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND WEDNESDAY WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS POSSIBLE. HIGH PRESSURE WILL BRING MOSTLY WARM DRY WEATHER THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY WITH ONLY A SLIGHT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS EACH DAY. HOWEVER STORMS MAY INCREASE ON SUNDAY AS ANOTHER FRONT MOVES INTO THE REGION. && .DISCUSSION... POSSIBLY SIGNIFICANT CHANGES ARE TAKING PLACE ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND WESTERN TEXAS THIS AFTERNOON AS A WEAK BACK DOOR COLD FRONT IS ENTERING THE REGION FROM THE NORTHEAST. WEAK COOL AIR ADVECTION WILL ACCOMPANIED BY LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INFLOW AS WINDS REMAIN SUSTAINED FROM THE EAST THROUGH WEDNESDAY. THUS EXPECT SURFACE DEWPOINTS TO INCREASE INTO THE 55 TO 60 F RANGE. MOISTURE TRANSPORT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO PRECIPITABLE WATER AMOUNTS AROUND 1.2 INCHES THIS AFTERNOON AND NEAR 1.4 INCHES ON WEDNESDAY ALONG WITH AFTERNOON CAPES AROUND 500 TO 1000 J/KG OVER MOST OF THE AREA. MEANWHILE UPPER RIDGE AXIS WILL TRANSLATE SLOWLY WEST WHILE RATHER DEEP LONG WAVE TROUGHING BECOMES ESTABLISHED OVER THE EASTERN U.S. CONSEQUENTLY A SERIES OF UPPER WAVES WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FROM THE NORTH. FORCING AHEAD OF THE WAVES COMBINED WITH CONVERGENCE ALONG FRONT AND AREAS OF UPSLOPE FLOW WILL ALL COMBINE TO GENERATE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON/TONIGHT AND AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY. WEAK STEERING FLOW AND DEEPENING MOISTURE SUGGEST SLOW MOVING CELLS WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS OCCURRING. THUS CWA SHOULD BE MONITORED FOR LOCALIZED FLOODING. THERE WILL ALSO BE ADEQUATE INSTABILITY FOR HAIL OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. AFTER WEDNESDAY UPPER RIDGE MOVES SLOWLY EAST WITH SUBSIDENCE AND DRY AIR AND WARM AIR ADVECTION ALOFT RESULTING IN AIR MASS STABILIZATION AND PRECIPITABLE WATER DECREASING TO UNDER AN INCH BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON. THESE FACTORS AND CHANGES WILL CAUSE CONVECTIVE COVERAGE TO DIMINISH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WHILE TEMPERATURES WARM TO AROUND 100 OVER THE LOWLANDS. HOWEVER GFS HAS BEEN CONSISTENT IN PUSHING ANOTHER FRONT SOUTHWARD THROUGH THE CWA ON SUNDAY WITH MOIST LOW LEVEL EASTERLY WINDS DRIVING PRECIPITABLE WATER AMOUNTS WELL ABOVE AN INCH. SO EXPECT SOME INCREASE IN CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY ON SUNDAY. && .AVIATION...VALID 22/0000Z-23/0000Z... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS AND GILA REGION WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING. WHILE OUTFLOW BOUNDARIES WILL PROPAGATE INTO THE LOWLANDS...THE ABILITY OF CONVECTION TO MAINTAIN ITSELF IS QUESTIONABLE GIVEN POSITION OF EASTERN CIRCULATION CENTER OF THE MID-LEVEL RIDGE BEING NEARLY OVERHEAD. STILL...HIGHER LOW-LEVEL MOISTURE AIRMASS LURKS NOT TOO FAR TO THE EAST...AND MAY YET SNEAK IN TO ABOUT THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY AS INDICATED BY THE 12Z NAM. ENOUGH RISK TO HOLD ON TO VCTS FOR THE TIME BEING...WITH BEST CHANCE FOR THUNDER PROBABLY BEING AT KTCS. KEPT VCTS GOING A FEW HOURS BEYOND USUAL DIURNAL TREND AS A WEAK UPPER SHORTWAVE OVER COLORADO WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN NEW MEXICO THIS EVENING...POSSIBLY HELPING TO MAINTAIN CONVECTION. && .FIRE WEATHER... SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF THE GILA AND SACS WILL CONTINUE TO BE A DAILY THREAT THROUGH THE WEEK. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY OVER THE HIGH PLAINS AND LOW LEVEL SOUTHEASTERLY FLOW WILL CONTINUE TO ALLOW INCREASING LOW LEVEL MOISTURE TO SEEP INTO THE REGION FROM THE EAST...RESULTING IN SLIGHTLY BETTER CHANCES FOR LOWLAND PRECIPITATION OVER THE NEXT COUPLE DAYS...BUT DEWPOINTS STRUGGLING TO STAY IN THE LOWER 50S IS NOT WHAT WE EXPECT TO SEE IN MID JULY. A WEAK TROUGH DROPPING INTO NORTHERN NEW MEXICO THIS EVENING MAY HELP MAINTAIN THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY INTO THE EVENING HOURS ESPECIALLY ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE SACS...AND MAY HELP MAINTAIN CONVECTION INTO THE DESERT LOWLANDS...ESPECIALLY IF HIGHER DEWPOINT AIR EAST OF THE HIGHER TERRAIN CAN FILTER IN. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... EL PASO 72 93 71 95 73 / 30 30 30 20 20 SIERRA BLANCA TX 63 86 63 92 64 / 40 40 40 20 20 LAS CRUCES 68 92 67 95 69 / 30 30 30 20 20 ALAMOGORDO 65 93 65 92 66 / 40 30 30 20 20 CLOUDCROFT 48 69 50 70 49 / 40 40 40 30 30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 65 89 65 92 66 / 30 30 30 20 20 SILVER CITY 59 84 61 86 60 / 30 30 30 20 30 DEMING 65 92 65 93 66 / 30 30 30 20 20 LORDSBURG 66 92 66 92 67 / 20 20 30 20 30 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...NONE. TX...NONE. && 05 ROGASH/25 HARDIMAN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 1105 AM MDT TUE JUL 21 2009 NMZ022>025-030>032-TXZ055-056-221715- SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS/LOWER GILA REGION-SIERRA COUNTY LAKES REGION- TULAROSA BASIN/SOUTHERN DESERT-SOUTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS- SOUTHWEST DESERT/BOOTHEEL-SOUTHWEST DESERT/MIMBRES BASIN- SOUTHERN DESERT-EL PASO-HUDSPETH- 1105 AM MDT TUE JUL 21 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO...SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHWEST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH A FEW STORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAINS...SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH. OVER 2 INCHES OF RAIN MAY FALL OVER VERY ISOLATED AREAS RESULTING IN LOCALIZED FLOODING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON AND WEDNESDAY EVENING WITH A FEW STORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAINS...SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH. OVER 2 INCHES OF RAIN MAY FALL OVER VERY ISOLATED AREAS RESULTING IN LOCALIZED FLOODING. RAINFALL COVERAGE DECREASING AFTER WEDNESDAY NIGHT WITH ISOLATED MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR REPORTING HEAVY RAINS AND FLOODING ALONG WITH HAIL AND HIGH WINDS. ROGASH
The Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 21 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:20 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail, 1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A Skywarn Spotter estimated winds gusting to 60 mph northeast of La Luz, NM.
Employees at the Deming Aerostat Site reported penny size hail.
A Skywarn Spotter reported winds estimated at more than 60 mph in Columbus, NM.
Rainfall measured at 1.4 inches brought street flooding to Columbus, NM. Water was covering the intersection of NM Highways 9 and 11.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, July 2009
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: 191484, 191485, 191486, 191488.