A wildfire developed in Curry County, damaging one structure.
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.
A wildfire developed in Curry County, damaging one structure.
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 Feb 28, 2:48 AM MST, 8 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 248 AM MST MON FEB 28 2011 .DISCUSSION...THE WEATHER PATTERN TODAY WILL CERTAINLY UNDERGO A DRASTIC CHANGE FROM THE DYNAMIC SCENARIO EXPERIENCED ON SUNDAY. WINDS ALOFT HAVE WEAKENED CONSIDERABLY...CURRENTLY SHIFTING MORE NORTHWESTERLY AND EXPECTED TO BECOME MORE ZONAL BY THIS AFTERNOON. SOME SUBTLE RIDGING OVER NEW MEXICO COULD EVEN BE SURMISED FROM PROGGED H5 HEIGHT FIELDS FOR THIS AFTERNOON WHILE A 590 DAM SUBTROPICAL RIDGE APPEARS OVER THE SOUTHWESTERN GULF AND MEXICAN MAINLAND. TEMPERATURES WILL REBOUND CLOSE TO SEASONAL NORMS TODAY AND WINDS WILL BE NEGLIGIBLE COMPARED TO YESTERDAY/S SEVERE GUSTS EXPERIENCED IN MANY AREAS. SURFACE BREEZES WOULD KICK AROUND TO A SOUTHWESTERLY COMPONENT IN THE PLAINS AS LEE SIDE SURFACE TROUGH DEVELOPS...BUT AGAIN SPEEDS WILL BE MODERATED. VERY DRY AIR WILL BE IN PLACE AT THE MID LEVELS THIS AFTERNOON...BUT A FEW CIRRUS CLOUDS ABOVE THIS LAYER MAY FILTER INTO WESTERN ZONES BEFORE SUNSET. TONIGHT SOME PATCHES OF CIRRUS WILL CONTINUE TO STREAM OVER THE STATE AS WEST SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT TIGHTENS UP A BIT. WHILE THE BREEZINESS ALOFT AND CLOUD COVER MAY INHIBIT RADIATIONAL COOLING SOME...DECENT TEMPERATURE INVERSIONS WILL STILL BE ESTABLISHED BEFORE SUNRISE TUESDAY. THE TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY TIME FRAME WILL SEE SIMILAR TRENDS CARRYING ON DAY TO DAY WITH SLIGHTLY WARMER TEMPERATURES EACH DAY AND INCREASING BREEZES. FLOW ALOFT WILL NOT CHANGE ALL THAT MUCH THROUGH THIS TIME...GENERALLY EXHIBITING ZONAL COMPONENT OF 20-50 KT THROUGH THE H7-H5 LAYER. LEE SIDE SURFACE TROUGH/LOW WILL BE MEANDERING AROUND THE PLAINS EACH DAY...BECOMING WELL ESTABLISHED BY THURSDAY AFTERNOON AND THEREFORE BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL BE EXPECTED TO DEVELOP OVER A SUBSTANTIAL PORTION OF THE FORECAST AREA. CIRRUS WILL CONTINUE TO SPREAD OVER NEW MEXICO WITH SOME BRIEF PERIODS OF ALTOCUMULUS/ALTOSTRATUS FILLING IN BELOW. HEIGHT FALLS OVER THE NORTHERN TO CENTRAL ROCKIES BY FRIDAY WILL LEAD TO A SHORT WAVE TROUGH DIPPING INTO NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO. THIS FEATURE WILL BRING INCREASED CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION TO THESE ZONES WHILE AN ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT INFILTRATES NEW MEXICO INTO SATURDAY MORNING. TEMPERATURES WOULD FALL BACK TO OR JUST SLIGHTLY BELOW NORMAL FRIDAY AND SATURDAY...BUT PRECIPITATION WOULD LIKELY EXIT THE STATE BY EARLY SATURDAY MORNING. WEST NORTHWEST FLOW IS THEN EXPECTED TO GIVE WAY TO ANOTHER TROUGH PASSAGE BY TUESDAY OF NEXT WEEK. 52 && .AVIATION... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 HOURS. WINDS HAVE CONTINUED TO LOWER ACROSS THE EAST AND THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE. NEXT AVIATION DISCUSSION SCHEDULED FOR 22Z. 50 && .FIRE WEATHER... AS THE WINDS TURNED MORE NORTHERLY ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS...HUMIDITY VALUES ROSE AND THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE REST OF TONIGHT. HUMIDITY RECOVERIES WILL BE GOOD ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN PLAINS WITH POOR RECOVERIES ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL AREAS THIS MORNING. WINDS WILL ALSO CONTINUE TO LOWER AS THE GRADIENT ALOFT AND AT THE SURFACE RELAX SOME. TODAY WILL BE A DOWN DAY IN TERMS OF WIND. THIS IS DUE TO LESSENING WINDS ALOFT...LESS OF A PRESSURE GRADIENT AT THE SURFACE AS WELL AS RESIDUAL EFFECTS FROM A POST COLD FRONTAL INVERSION. THIS WILL LEAD TO POOR VENTILATION ACROSS THE WESTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA. EASTERN AREAS WILL REMAIN BREEZY AT TIMES DURING THE AFTERNOON WITH THE STRONGEST WINDS DEPICTED IN OUR GRIDDED FORECAST BETWEEN LAS VEGAS TO CLAYTON...ESPECIALLY FOCUSED ACROSS UNION COUNTY. HUMIDITY WILL SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER ACROSS THE WESTERN HALF DUE TO THE INFLUX OF A VIGOROUS MID LEVEL DRY SLOT. MINIMUM HUMIDITY VALUES OVERALL WILL BE IN THE UPPER SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS MOST AREAS ALTHOUGH SOME LOW/MID 20S ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE NORTHWEST. TEMPERATURES WILL GENERALLY BE NEAR NORMAL ACROSS WESTERN AND CENTRAL AREAS AND SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL ACROSS THE EAST. WEATHER MODELS REMAIN PRETTY STEADY WITH THEIR DEPICTION OF A NEAR ZONAL FLOW OVER THE SOUTHWEST THROUGH THURSDAY. DURING THIS PERIOD...EXPECT VENTILATION TO INCREASE AS MIXING HEIGHTS AND TRANSPORT WINDS INCREASE. LAPSE RATES AND SURFACE TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO GRADUALLY INCREASE DURING THIS PERIOD WITH THE STEEPEST CLIMB IN TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS DUE TO COMPRESSIONAL WARMING FROM DOWNSLOPE FLOW OFF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. THUS...EXPECT MAX TEMPERATURE ANOMALIES OF 10 TO 18 DEGREES ACROSS THE EAST DURING THIS PERIOD AND GENERALLY 3 TO 10 DEGREES WESTERN AND CENTRAL AREAS. THE MID LEVEL DRY SLOT WILL ALSO MAKE ITS PRESENCE KNOWN BETWEEN TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY AS INCREASED MIXING WILL BRING MUCH DRIER AIR TO THE SURFACE. HAVE UNDERCUT MODEL GUIDANCE DEWPOINTS AS A RESULT OF THIS DEPICTED AND CONSISTENT MODEL PATTERN. THIS WILL LEAD TO BELOW NORMAL HUMIDITY VALUES FOR THE PERIOD. EXPECT LONG PERIODS OF VERY POOR HUMIDITY RECOVERY ACROSS SOUTHERN AND EASTERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA. ESPECIALLY IMPACTING THE SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS WITHIN OUR FIRE WEATHER FORECAST AREA. MINIMUM HUMIDITY READINGS WILL ALSO FALL INTO THE UPPER SINGLE DIGITS AND TEENS ACROSS A GOOD CHUNK OF THE SOUTH AND EAST. HIGHEST READINGS WILL BE FOUND ACROSS THE NORTHWEST WHERE THE MID LEVEL DRY SLOT WILL HAVE THE LEAST AMOUNT OF EFFECT. AS ALLUDED TO ABOVE...SURFACE WINDS WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE AS THE WORK WEEK PROGRESSES. WINDS WILL BE BREEZY AT TIMES BUT NOT TOO AWFULLY BAD TUESDAY AFTERNOON ALONG THE INTERSTATE 40 CORRIDOR BETWEEN CLINES CORNERS AND TUCUMCARI. A LITTLE WIND SHIFT WILL PROVIDE SOME HUMIDITY RELIEF ACROSS THE FAR NORTHEAST LATER ON TUESDAY AND LAST THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE FLOW WILL STRENGTHEN SOME AREAWIDE ON WEDNESDAY AND CREATE BREEZIER CONDITIONS FOR A LONGER DURATION TO THE LEE OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. SOME LOCALIZED RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE BETWEEN CLINES CORNERS TO LAS VEGAS BUT DOESNT APPEAR TO BE EITHER WIDESPREAD ENOUGH OR LONG ENOUGH IN DURATION TO WARRANT A WATCH AT THIS TIME. THE STRONGER SIGNAL DAY FOR CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER GROWING CONDITIONS STILL APPEARS TO BE THURSDAY ACROSS A GOOD CHUNK OF THE EASTERN PLAINS FOUND WITHIN FIRE WEATHER ZONES 103...107...104 AND 108. THE GEM AND ECMWF DEPICT THE STRONGEST WINDS ALOFT COUPLED WITH A NEAR 1000 MB LOW ACROSS SOUTHEAST COLORADO WHILE THE GFS IS SLIGHTLY WEAKER AND POSITIONS THE SURFACE LOW FURTHER SOUTH AND LESS STRONG. WILL HOLD OFF ON ISSUING A WATCH BUT WELL ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES COUPLED WITH POOR HUMIDITY RECOVERY LEADING INTO THE EVENT COULD TRIGGER A WATCH FOR THAT PERIOD DURING THE NEXT 24 TO 36 HOURS. WANT TO CONTINUE TO WATCH MODEL CONSISTENCY. THE GEM...ECMWF AND GFS ALL PAINT A PACIFIC CLIPPER WAVE TO MOVE OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES ON FRIDAY. THEY PAINT A LITTLE DIFFERENT PICTURE AS FAR AS WETTING PRECIPITATION CHANCES ASSOCIATED WITH THE BACK DOOR COLD FRONT ACROSS NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST AREAS BUT SOME PRECIPITATION CHANCES SHOULD OCCUR WITH THIS SYSTEM PASSAGE ACROSS THE NORTH. STRONGER WINDS WILL BE FELT AHEAD AND TO THE SOUTH OF THE WAVE. A DRY SLOT WILL ALSO BE FOUND TO THE SOUTH AND WEST OF THIS WAVE SO SOME RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE BUT GENERALLY SOUTH OF OUR FIRE WEATHER FORECAST AREA AT THIS TIME. DRY SLOTTING AND A GRADUAL WARMING TREND IS EXPECTED OVER THE WEEKEND. BREEZIER CONDITIONS WILL ALSO BE EXPECTED DURING THE PEAK HEATING PERIOD. THIS COULD PRECEDE A MUCH STRONGER WIND EVENT AND TROUGH PASSAGE FOR EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE GFS IS MUCH MORE PROGRESSIVE WITH THIS SYSTEM THAN THE ECMWF SO WILL HAVE TO CONTINUE TO WATCH THE MODEL TRENDS FOR THIS PERIOD. ANOTHER CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER GROWING EVENT COULD BE POSSIBLE DURING THIS PERIOD. 50 && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... FARMINGTON...................... 50 24 57 27 / 0 0 0 0 DULCE........................... 48 14 53 19 / 0 0 0 0 CUBA............................ 51 12 53 17 / 0 0 0 0 GALLUP.......................... 51 13 56 20 / 0 0 0 0 EL MORRO........................ 49 17 54 21 / 0 0 0 0 GRANTS.......................... 53 19 60 24 / 0 0 0 0 QUEMADO......................... 52 17 57 20 / 0 0 0 0 GLENWOOD........................ 60 23 66 27 / 0 0 0 0 CHAMA........................... 47 13 49 17 / 0 0 0 0 LOS ALAMOS...................... 52 24 56 28 / 0 0 0 0 PECOS........................... 53 23 58 26 / 0 0 0 0 CERRO/QUESTA.................... 48 15 54 18 / 0 0 0 0 RED RIVER....................... 44 10 48 15 / 0 0 0 0 ANGEL FIRE...................... 45 12 50 16 / 0 0 0 0 TAOS............................ 50 17 56 20 / 0 0 0 0 MORA............................ 52 21 55 25 / 0 0 0 0 ESPANOLA........................ 58 18 60 21 / 0 0 0 0 SANTA FE........................ 52 23 57 26 / 0 0 0 0 SANTA FE AIRPORT................ 53 22 58 27 / 0 0 0 0 ALBUQUERQUE FOOTHILLS........... 55 27 58 30 / 0 0 0 0 ALBUQUERQUE HEIGHTS............. 57 29 60 33 / 0 0 0 0 ALBUQUERQUE VALLEY.............. 59 21 62 27 / 0 0 0 0 ALBUQUERQUE WEST MESA........... 58 23 62 27 / 0 0 0 0 LOS LUNAS....................... 60 22 63 26 / 0 0 0 0 RIO RANCHO...................... 60 27 62 29 / 0 0 0 0 SOCORRO......................... 61 26 64 31 / 0 0 0 0 SANDIA PARK/CEDAR CREST......... 54 23 57 29 / 0 0 0 0 TIJERAS......................... 56 26 59 30 / 0 0 0 0 MORIARTY/ESTANCIA............... 57 18 61 24 / 0 0 0 0 CLINES CORNERS.................. 52 24 61 30 / 0 0 0 0 GRAN QUIVIRA.................... 56 26 58 31 / 0 0 0 0 CARRIZOZO....................... 60 27 63 33 / 0 0 0 0 RUIDOSO......................... 53 29 58 35 / 0 0 0 0 CAPULIN......................... 58 18 63 19 / 0 0 0 0 RATON........................... 59 19 65 20 / 0 0 0 0 SPRINGER........................ 58 23 63 24 / 0 0 0 0 LAS VEGAS....................... 55 25 64 28 / 0 0 0 0 CLAYTON......................... 61 31 69 27 / 0 0 0 0 ROY............................. 59 26 67 24 / 0 0 0 0 CONCHAS......................... 64 30 72 30 / 0 0 0 0 SANTA ROSA...................... 62 29 69 29 / 0 0 0 0 TUCUMCARI....................... 64 29 73 29 / 0 0 0 0 CLOVIS.......................... 62 31 70 34 / 0 0 0 0 PORTALES........................ 63 29 71 33 / 0 0 0 0 FORT SUMNER..................... 66 31 72 34 / 0 0 0 0 ROSWELL......................... 66 28 75 34 / 0 0 0 0 PICACHO......................... 65 28 71 34 / 0 0 0 0 ELK............................. 59 23 63 28 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && 52/50
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 511 AM MST MON FEB 28 2011 NMZ501>540-011200- NORTHWEST PLATEAU-CHUSKA MOUNTAINS-FAR NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS- NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS-WEST CENTRAL PLATEAU-WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS- WEST CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS- SAN FRANCISCO RIVER VALLEY-SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS-JEMEZ MOUNTAINS- WEST SLOPES SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS- NORTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9500 FEET/RED RIVER- SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 9500 FEET- EAST SLOPES SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS-UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY- LOWER CHAMA RIVER VALLEY-SANTA FE METRO AREA-ALBUQUERQUE METRO AREA- LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY-SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS-ESTANCIA VALLEY- CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-SOUTH CENTRAL HIGHLANDS-UPPER TULAROSA VALLEY- SOUTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS-RATON RIDGE/JOHNSON MESA- FAR NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS-NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS-UNION COUNTY- HARDING COUNTY-EASTERN SAN MIGUEL COUNTY-GUADALUPE COUNTY- QUAY COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY-ROOSEVELT COUNTY-DE BACA COUNTY- CHAVES COUNTY PLAINS-EASTERN LINCOLN COUNTY-SOUTHWEST CHAVES COUNTY- 511 AM MST MON FEB 28 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY 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. 52
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A wildfire scorched a 7 mile long by 1/2 mile wide path from Curry Road H near Ned Houk Memorial Park to Curry Road D. One home was damaged in the area of Curry Road G and 19. In all, the wildfire burned 4000 acres. This wildfire continued to burn into March.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, February 2011
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: 288889.