Below average rainfall for the month of September allowed most locations to remain in extreme to exceptional drought with the Western Gila region seeing a return to exceptional drought conditions.
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.
Below average rainfall for the month of September allowed most locations to remain in extreme to exceptional drought with the Western Gila region seeing a return to exceptional drought conditions.
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 Aug 31, 12:46 PM MST, 11 hours 14 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 146 PM MDT WED AUG 31 2011 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL BRING WARM MOSTLY DRY WEATHER TO SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND WESTERN TEXAS THE REMAINDER OF THIS WEEK WITH MOST THUNDERSTORMS CONFINED TO THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS. A COLD FRONT WILL DROP INTO THE REGION FROM THE NORTH SUNDAY AND MONDAY RESULTING IN SOME INCREASE IN SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY ALONG WITH COOLER TEMPERATURES. && .DISCUSSION... STRONG EAST TO WEST ORIENTED RIDGE LOFT EXTENDS ACROSS CENTRAL NEW MEXICO THIS AFTERNOON WITH AXIS MOVING ONLY SLIGHTLY NORTHWARD THROUGH SATURDAY. WARM AIR ALOFT IS ATTENDANT WITH AS 500 MB TEMPERATURES WILL BE AROUND -4 TO -5 C THE REMAINDER OF THE WEEK. CIRCULATION AROUND THE RIDGE WILL ALSO TRANSPORT GENERALLY DRY CONTINENTAL AIR AT MID LEVELS FROM THE EAST AND NORTHEAST LIMITING MOISTURE INFLOW AND INSTABILITY. THUS FOR THIS WEEK PRECIPITABLE WATER AMOUNTS WILL BE MOSTLY UNDER AN INCH WITH MOST UNSTABLE CAPES REMAINING BELOW 500 J/KG ACROSS THE LOWLANDS. ANY EMBEDDED DISTURBANCES WILL LIKELY BE STEERED SOUTH OF THE CWA AS WELL. THESE FACTORS INDICATE CONTINUED WARM AND MOSTLY DRY WEATHER THROUGH SATURDAY. THE EXCEPTION WILL BE MAINLY OVER HIGHER MOUNTAIN AREAS WHERE UPSLOPE FLOW WILL INDUCE MORE WIDESPREAD CONVECTION. A COLD FRONT WILL DROP SOUTHWESTWARD ACROSS THE CWA LATE SUNDAY AND BECOME STATIONARY OVER THE AREA ON MONDAY. EASTERLY FLOW ALONG THE FRONT WILL ADVECT LOW LEVEL MOISTURE INTO THE REGION WITH CAPES INCREASING TO AROUND 500 J/KG. UPPER RIDGE WILL STILL EXTEND OVER THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES BUT EXPECT CONVERGENCE/CIRCULATION ALONG THE FRONT WILL RESULT IN SOME INCREASE IN CONVECTION SUNDAY AND MONDAY. && .AVIATION...VALID 01/00Z-02/00Z. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RESULT IN LIGHT WINDS AND PREVAILING VFR CONDITIONS... WITH JUST ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN AREAS. SKY GNLY SCT080-100 SCT-BKN 120-150 200-250 ISOLD VRB20G30KT -TSRA BKN070CB BKN120 (21Z-06Z MAINLY VCNTY MTNS). SFC WINDS GNLY 150-200 5-10KTS. && .FIRE DISCUSSION... HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT PERSISTS OVER NEW MEXICO AND CONTINUES TO KEEP TEMPERATURES ABOVE NORMAL AND PRODUCE RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES FOR MANY LOCATIONS. THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY WILL AGAIN BE LIMITED ACROSS THE BORDERLAND WITH ISOLATED STORMS DEVELOPING OVER THE AREA MOUNTAINS THIS AFTERNOON AND ONLY SLIGHT CHANCES FOR STORMS OVER THE LOWLANDS IN THE LATE AFTERNOON INTO THE EVENING. SIMILAR CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST UP TO THE WEEKEND. THERE IS A CHANCE AT THIS TIME FOR SOME COOLER TEMPERATURES AND AN INCREASE IN SHOWER AND THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY FOR LATER THIS WEEKEND INTO NEXT WEEK AS MODELS FORECAST SOME BACKDOOR COLD FRONTS FROM THE EAST ENTERING THE BORDERLAND. THE HAINES INDEX WILL GENERALLY RUN IN THE 5 CATEGORY WEDNESDAY AND 3 MOST AREAS ON THURSDAY. MIN RH VALUES WILL RANGE AROUND 15% TO 25% MOST AREAS EXCEPT AROUND 30% IN THE SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS BOTH WEDNESDAY AND THURSDAY. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... EL PASO 75 98 73 96 73 / 10 10 10 10 10 SIERRA BLANCA TX 70 96 66 94 68 / 10 10 10 10 10 LAS CRUCES 72 98 70 96 70 / 10 10 10 10 10 ALAMOGORDO 69 96 67 94 67 / 10 10 10 10 10 CLOUDCROFT 51 74 48 72 48 / 30 20 20 30 30 TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 68 95 66 93 66 / 20 20 20 10 10 SILVER CITY 61 88 59 86 59 / 20 20 20 20 20 DEMING 69 96 67 94 67 / 20 10 10 10 10 LORDSBURG 69 97 67 95 67 / 20 20 20 20 20 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...NONE. TX...NONE. && 05 ROGASH/20 NOVLAN
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 1140 AM MDT WED AUG 31 2011 NMZ022>025-030>032-TXZ055-056-011730- 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- 1140 AM MDT WED AUG 31 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO...SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO AND SOUTHWEST TEXAS. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL INHIBIT THUNDERSTORM DEVELOPMENT OVER MOST OF THE AREA. THUS THERE WILL BE ONLY SLIGHT CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND THIS EVENING WITH MOST STORMS OCCURRING OVER THE HIGHER MOUNTAINS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL REMAIN IN PLACE THROUGH MUCH OF THIS WEEK KEEPING STORM COVERAGE REDUCED. AS A RESULT THERE WILL BE ONLY SLIGHT CHANCES OF MAINLY AFTERNOON AND EVENING SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WITH MOST ACTIVITY OVER THE MOUNTAINS. VERY ISOLATED STORMS MAY PRODUCE WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH AND UP TO AN INCH OF RAIN. A WEAK COLD FRONT MAY CAUSE AN INCREASE IN THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE SUNDAY AND MONDAY WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS POSSIBLE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS SHOULD REPORT ANY OBSERVED HAZARDOUS WEATHER TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AND THIS OFFICE. ROGASH
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
The Sierra County Lakes Region remained in Extreme(D3) drought through the month.
The entire zone was in Extreme(D3) drought to start the month, but Southeastern Dona Ana County received some good precipitation and ended the month in Severe(D2) drought.
All of the Southern Sacramento Mountains remained in Exceptional(D4) drought through the month.
All of Luna County was in Extreme(D3) drought to start the month and the western third of the county was put into Exceptional(D4) drought by the end.
With the exception of the far eastern bootheel region which was in Extreme(D3) drought, the remainder of the zone was in Exceptional(D4) drought. By the end of the month, the entire zone was in Exceptional(D4) drought.
The entire zone started out in Extreme(D3) drought. By the end of the month, the western two-thirds of Grant County was upgraded to Exceptional(D4) drought.
The far southwest corner of the zone started the month in Extreme(D3) drought with the remainder of the zone in Exceptional(D4) drought. By the end of the month, the extreme southwest corner of the zone was put into Severe(D2) drought while the remainder of the area remained in Extreme(D3) to Exceptional(D4) drought.
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, September 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: 347241, 347242, 347243, 347244, 347245, 347246, 347247.