A late season upper low moved slowly northeastward across Arizona and New Mexico, drawing up plenty of moisture in advance within a deep southerly flow.
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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 EPZ wrote it up.
A late season upper low moved slowly northeastward across Arizona and New Mexico, drawing up plenty of moisture in advance within a deep southerly flow.
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 May 22, 2:12 AM MST, 7 hours 58 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 312 AM MDT FRI MAY 22 2009 .SYNOPSIS... A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE SLOWLY ACROSS NEW MEXICO AND WESTERN TEXAS TODAY AND SATURDAY CAUSING SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE REGION. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH A FEW STORMS. WESTERLY WINDS WILL BRING WARMER AND MOSTLY DRY WEATHER SUNDAY AND EARLY NEXT WEEK. ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TO THE WEST MAY PRODUCE A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. && .DISCUSSION... RATHER COMPLEX SITUATION EXISTS ACROSS THE SOUTHWESTERN U.S. EARLY THIS MORNING. IT NOW APPEARS PRIMARY UPPER LOW CIRCULATION CENTER IS IN THE PROCESS OF REFORMING OVER CENTRAL ARIZONA THIS MORNING WHILE AND ASSOCIATED SHORT WAVE/VORTICITY AXIS SLOWLY ROTATES NORTHWARD THROUGH THE EPZ CWA TODAY. ASSOCIATED DYNAMIC LIFT AND COOLING ALOFT WILL KEEP AIR MASS DESTABILIZED WITH CAPES THIS AFTERNOON AROUND 1000 J/KG. CONTINUED INFLOW OF MOIST AIR MASS IN ADVANCE OF THE LOW WILL ALSO SUSTAIN PRECIPITABLE WATER AMOUNTS ABOVE AN INCH INTO THIS AFTERNOON. COMBINATION OF LIFT...INSTABILITY AND MOISTURE SHOULD THEREFORE GENERATE MORE SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND THIS EVENING. DEEP MOISTURE AND WEAK FLOW ALOFT ALSO INDICATES LITTLE ENTRAINMENT MEANING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS ARE AGAIN POSSIBLE...YESTERDAY OVER AN INCH OF RAIN FELL IN LESS THAN AN HOUR OVER VERY ISOLATED AREAS. HEAVIEST RAINS SHOULD FALL EAST OF THE RIO GRANDER WHERE DEEPER LIFT AND MOISTURE WILL COEXIST. IN ADDITION WITH COOLING ALOFT TAKING PLACE WET BULB ZERO HEIGHTS WILL DROP TO AROUND 8000 FEET AGL TODAY SO AT LEAST SMALL HAIL MAY STILL OCCUR WITH ISOLATED CELLS. UPPER LOW CENTER WILL DRIFT VERY SLOWLY NORTHEASTWARD ACROSS ARIZONA TODAY AND SATURDAY MORNING WHILE VORTICITY AXIS GRADUALLY LIFTS TO THE NORTH. THESE CHANGES WILL RESULT IN WINDS DEVELOPING MORE OF A WESTERLY COMPONENT ALOFT WHILE RESIDUAL MOISTURE REMAINS AT LOWER LEVELS. LIFT AHEAD OF TROUGH AND CAPES AROUND 1000 J/KG SHOULD THEREFORE GENERATE SCATTERED CONVECTION AGAIN ON SATURDAY. HOWEVER BY SUNDAY ZONAL FLOW AND SHORT WAVE RIDGING SHOULD BRING WARMER MOSTLY DRY WEATHER FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE HOLIDAY WEEKEND. MODELS REMAIN CONSISTENT IN MOVING ANOTHER CLOSED LOW INTO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BY TUESDAY WITH BACK DOOR FRONT ENTERING THE CWA FROM THE EAST LATE WEDNESDAY OR THURSDAY. THUS A FEW STORMS SEEM POSSIBLE LATER PERIODS. && .AVIATION... A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO TODAY AND SATURDAY CAUSING SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND WESTERN TEXAS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH A FEW STORMS. AS A RESULT THERE WILL BE SCATTERED MVFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES WITH ISOLATED IFR CONDITIONS TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON. && .FIRE WEATHER... A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO TODAY AND SATURDAY CAUSING SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND WESTERN TEXAS. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH A FEW STORMS. THE WIDESPREAD RAINS COMBINED WITH BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL RESULT IN REDUCED FIRE DANGERS THROUGH THE WEEKEND. WESTERLY WINDS WILL BRING WARMER MOSTLY DRY WEATHER WITH LOWER HUMIDITIES EARLY NEXT WEEK BUT ANOTHER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM TO THE WEST MAY PRODUCE A FEW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... EL PASO 77 59 81 60 86 / 50 40 30 20 10 SIERRA BLANCA TX 74 56 79 56 82 / 50 40 30 20 10 LAS CRUCES 77 57 80 58 84 / 50 40 30 20 10 ALAMOGORDO 77 56 78 58 82 / 60 50 40 30 20 CLOUDCROFT 57 41 61 41 64 / 60 60 50 30 20 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 74 56 77 58 83 / 50 50 30 20 10 SILVER CITY 68 48 71 51 75 / 50 40 40 20 10 DEMING 77 56 81 57 84 / 40 30 30 20 10 LORDSBURG 77 56 78 58 82 / 30 30 30 20 10 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...NONE. TX...NONE. && 05 ROGASH
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 506 AM MDT FRI MAY 22 2009 NMZ022>025-030>032-TXZ055-056-231230- 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- 506 AM MDT FRI MAY 22 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 TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. A FEW STORMS WILL PRODUCE LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS WITH RAINFALL AMOUNTS GREATER THAN AN INCH CAUSING FLOODING OVER ISOLATED LOCATIONS. SMALL HAIL MAY ALSO OCCUR WITH A FEW STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SATURDAY WITH ISOLATED STORMS PRODUCING HEAVY RAINS AND HAIL. MOSTLY DRY WEATHER SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY WITH ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION MAY BE REQUIRED TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY PRIMARILY TO REPORT HEAVY RAIN AND FLOODING. ROGASH
The El Paso radar (KEPZ), 97 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 17:12 UTC.
1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flooding was reported in some homes in the community of Rodey. There was also flooding along Highway 185 southeast of Hatch.
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, May 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: 172527.