A weak upper level disturbance quickly moved east over New Mexico and produced widespread gusty dry showers and thunderstorms over central and western portions of the state. Moisture and instability were sufficient to produce a band of severe thunderstorms over Curry and Roosevelt counties before the storms moved east into Texas.
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 ABQ wrote it up.
A weak upper level disturbance quickly moved east over New Mexico and produced widespread gusty dry showers and thunderstorms over central and western portions of the state. Moisture and instability were sufficient to produce a band of severe thunderstorms over Curry and Roosevelt counties before the storms moved east into Texas. Significant visibility reductions were reported across the eastern plains behind the line of 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 Albuquerque, NM wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 17, 10:56 AM MST, 49 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 1156 AM MDT SUN MAR 17 2013 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE A BAND OF -SHRA WITH VRB GUSTY WINDS UP TO 35KTS MOVING EAST OVER CENTRAL NM WILL PROGRESS INTO THE E PLAINS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. WEAK INSTABILITY WITH THIS WAVE WILL INCREASE THE POTENTIAL FOR SOME ISOLD THUNDER HOWEVER COVERAGE WILL BE HIGHLY ISOLATED. THE MAIN STORY WILL BE GRADIENT WINDS OVER WEST CENTRAL NM AND ALONG AND EAST OF THE CENTRAL MT CHAIN. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL IMPACT THE I-40 CORRIDOR FROM AROUND KCQC EAST TO KTCC AND I-25 FROM KLVS TO KRTN WHERE GUSTS TO NEAR 40KTS ARE LIKELY TODAY. WINDS WILL DIMINISH MOST AREAS THIS EVENING EXCEPT FOR IMMEDIATELY EAST OF NORTH-SOUTH ORIENTED MTN RANGES...WHERE ERRATIC/STRONG DOWNSLOPE WINDS WILL CONTINUE TONIGHT. SOME BLDU IS EXPECTED FOR CENTRAL AND WESTERN NM BUT CONFIDENCE IS NOT HIGH ENOUGH TO ADD MVFR VSBYS IN ANY PARTICULAR AREA. GUYER && .PREV DISCUSSION...1149 AM MDT SUN MAR 17 2013... UPDATED ZFP TO ADD ZONES 532 THROUGH 534 TO WIND ADVISORY...GOING THROUGH 02Z. ALSO EXPANDED LOW POPS TO THE SOUTH A BIT IN VCNTY OF CENTRAL MT CHAIN FOR REST OF TODAY. STILL EXPECT MOST DAYTIME PCPN AMTS TO BE TRACE TO A FEW HUNDREDTHS OF AN INCH. MAY BE AN FEW EXCEPTIONS IN VCNTY OF SANGRE DE CRISTOS. ZONES ALREADY ISSUED. 43 .PREV DISCUSSION...312 AM MDT SUN MAR 17 2013... ...WIDESPREAD CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING... SHOWERS ASSOCIATED WITH INITIAL UPPER LEVEL WAVE EXITING EASTWARD INTO THE SOUTHERN PLAINS. TRAILING WAVE EVIDENT ON WATER VAPOR AND IR IMAGERY EARLY THIS MORNING. THE JET STREAK ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE WILL PROVIDE SOME WEAK LARGE-SCALE LIFT ALONG WITH ACTING TO DESTABILIZE THE AIRMASS WITH MODERATE COOLING ALOFT...MAINLY OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS BUT AN ISOLATED SHOWER OR THUNDERSTORM OR TWO ALONG WITH GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS COMBINING WITH ALREADY WINDY CONDITIONS IS POSSIBLE FROM THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY EAST ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40. STRONG WEST-NORTHWEST WINDS...HOWEVER...ARE EXPECTED TO BE THE MAIN SENSIBLE WEATHER IMPACT TODAY THROUGH THIS EVENING. STRONG WEST WINDS WILL CONTINUE IN THE LEE OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS TONIGHT...AS THE MID-LEVEL WIND MAX MOVES THROUGH CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NM OVERNIGHT. JET TRANSITIONS NEWD MONDAY...WITH DRIER MID AND UPPER LEVEL AIR MOVING IN OVER NM. STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL ONCE AGAIN INCREASE MONDAY AFTERNOON...SUBSIDING MONDAY EVENING WITH THE CENTER OF SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING IN. MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT...THAT THE NEXT PACIFIC WAVE SLIDES THROUGH TUESDAY. A FEW LIGHT SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE BUT WITH NEAR SURFACE MOISTURE LACKING...EXPECTING MORE IN THE WAY OF VIRGA SHAFTS TO BE THE RULE. AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN SETS UP WITH A RATHER MOIST ZONAL FLOW DEVELOPING WEDNESDAY AHEAD OF TWO DISTINCT SHORT- WAVE TROUGHS APPROACHING THE WEST COAST. THE SOUTHERN BRANCH TROUGH SLIDES EAST-SEWD THROUGH NEW MEXICO WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY...BRINGING WITH IT LOW ELEVATION RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS. TRAILING NORTHERN/POLAR TROUGH THEN DIGS SEWD IN BEHIND THE SOUTHERN STREAM SYSTEM THURSDAY. 00Z MODEL RUNS FARTHER NORTHEASTWARD WITH THIS SYSTEM AS IT DROPS SOUTHEAST BUT ECMWF CONTINUES IDEA OF QUITE THE COMPLEX MESS...DIGGING OUT A LONG- WAVE TROUGH OVER THE CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN ROCKIES FRIDAY...CONTINUING TO DIG WAVES SEWD THROUGH ERN AZ/WRN NM THROUGH THE WEEKEND. 33 .FIRE WEATHER... WINDY/VERY WINDY PATTERN IN PLACE THROUGH MONDAY WITH LARGE-SCALE AIR MASS DRYING LATER THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT AS DEEP LAYER NWLY FLOW PREDOMINATES. EXPECT CRITICAL FIRE GROWING CONDITIONS TO SIGNIFICANTLY EXPAND AFTER MIDDAY WITH THE MOST CRITICAL AREAS EXTENDING FROM THE LOWER ELEV OF WEST-CENTRAL AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO TO WESTERN PORTIONS OF THE EAST-CENTRAL PLAINS. THIS MOST CRITICAL REGION IS COINCIDENT WITH HAINES INDICES OF 5 AND MAX TEMPS STILL SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE SEASONAL AVERAGE. LOWER CONFIDENCE REMAINS FOR THE NW PLATEAU AND NE QUARTER WHERE THE EXTENT OF RED FLAG CONDITIONS WILL BE LIMITED BY RH VALUES FORECAST TO BE A BIT HIGHER THAN PREVIOUSLY EXPECTED AND SLIGHTLY ELEVATED ABOVE CRITICAL THRESHOLDS. HOWEVER...FEEL IT PRUDENT TO MAINTAIN THE RED FLAG WARNING FOR NMZ101 GIVEN FORECAST DRYING AND GUSTY WINDS FOLLOWING POCKETS OF SIGNIFICANT LIGHTNING OVER THE NW PLATEAU LATE SATURDAY. DITTO FOR NMZ103-104 WHERE SFC WINDS ACROSS THE NE QUARTER WILL BE AMONG THE STRONGEST IN THE STATE LATER TODAY INTO THE EVENING. OTHER COMPLICATING FACTOR FOR CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN AREAS IS JUST ENOUGH MOISTURE MAINLY IN THE MID-LEVELS OF THE ATMOSPHERE TO SUPPORT HIGH-BASED SHOWERS/VIRGA AND DRIER THUNDERSTORM ACTIVITY. OVERALL COVERAGE WILL BE QUITE LOW. BETTER POTENTIAL FOR WETTING PRECIPITATION ACROSS THE NORTH...PARTICULARLY THE HIGHER TERRAIN NEAR THE NM/CO BORDER REGION AS THE LAST IN A SERIES OF SHORT-WAVE TROUGHS CROSSES THE AREA TODAY. THE NWLY FLOW PATTERN IS QUITE FAVORABLE FOR LOCALLY STRONG IF NOT DAMAGING NIGHTTIME WINDS TO THE LEE OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN TONIGHT AND AGAIN MONDAY NIGHT. THIS WILL BE ESPECIALLY FAVORABLE ALONG THE EAST SLOPES OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTO...SANDIA AND MANZANO MOUNTAINS WHERE GUSTS OF 50 MPH OR HIGHER WILL BE POSSIBLE. LESS WIDESPREAD WINDINESS ON MONDAY BUT STILL BREEZY TO WINDY ON MONDAY WITH CRITICAL FIRE WX CONCERNS FOCUSED OVER THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND AREAS IMMEDIATELY EAST OF THE CENTRAL MTS. DEEP LAYER WINDS GRADUALLY WEAKEN TUESDAY AND ESPECIALLY INTO WEDNESDAY AS WEAK HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT SLIDES OVER THE STATE. GROWING CONFIDENCE THAT WE/LL SEE LESS WIND FOR THE MIDDLE PART OF THE WEEK ALONG WITH DAYTIME TEMPERATURES NEAR TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE. THEREAFTER...MEDIUM RANGE GUIDANCE GENERALLY SUPPORTS A LARGE-SCALE PATTERN THAT MORPHS INTO A QUASI-SPLIT FLOW REGIME FOR THE LATTER HALF OF THE WEEK. INCREASING FORECAST UNCERTAINTY REGARDING THE IMPACT AND TIMING OF INDIVIDUAL DISTURBANCES EMBEDDED IN THE FLOW DURING THIS PERIOD ALTHOUGH WE CONTINUE TO FAVOR THE ECMWF THAT ADVERTISES OVERALL AIR MASS MOISTENING AND POSSIBLE WIDESPREAD SHOWER ACTIVITY WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY ALONG WITH A MUCH COOLER AIR MASS THAT ADVANCES SOUTHWARD AND SETS UP A POTENTIALLY UNSETTLED AND COOLER PATTERN FOR EASTERN NEW MEXICO AS THE WEEK ENDS. KJ && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ101-103>109. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 5 AM MDT MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ512>515-521>524-526>529. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ506-507-532>534. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 538 AM MDT SUN MAR 17 2013 NMZ501>540-181200- 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- 538 AM MDT SUN MAR 17 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON ALONG WITH STRONG WEST WINDS. WEST WINDS WILL INCREASE TODAY BEHIND THE PASSAGE OF A PACIFIC COLD FRONT. SUSTAINED WEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 50 MPH WILL BE COMMON FOR MOST LOCATIONS TODAY. THE STRONG WINDS MAY POSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES...ESPECIALLY ALONG NORTH-SOUTH ORIENTED HIGHWAYS. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST MAY REDUCE VISIBILITY...ESPECIALLY DURING THE AFTERNOON HOURS WHEN WINDS WILL BE STRONGEST. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS ARE EXPECTED ONCE AGAIN MONDAY AFTERNOON. THE STRONG WINDS MAY POSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES...ESPECIALLY ALONG NORTH-SOUTH ORIENTED HIGHWAYS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. 33
The Cannon AFB radar (KFDX), 41 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:16 UTC.
2 high wind, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Clines Corners ASOS reported a peak wind gust to 58mph for several minutes during a dry shower moving over the area.
Melrose range RAWS site reported peak wind gust to 60 mph.
Dunken RAWS reported a peak wind gust to 62mph as dry showers moved through the area.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, March 2013
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: 429642, 429632, 429646.