A downed power line near Sulphur Creek Road in the Jemez Mountains ignited a wildfire that spread into the Valles Caldera National Preserve through much of June. No damage was reported with this fire through the month of June however prized wilderness and conservation areas were torched.
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 downed power line near Sulphur Creek Road in the Jemez Mountains ignited a wildfire that spread into the Valles Caldera National Preserve through much of June. No damage was reported with this fire through the month of June however prized wilderness and conservation areas were torched. The most significant fire growth period occurred during the first week of June when it grew from 1,745 acres to just over 18,000 acres. Early surveys from the Burned Area Emergency Response assessment indicate this was a healthy forest burn and not the recent destructive kinds observed recently over the state. The assessment showed that approximately 74% of the acreage within the fire perimeter were either unburned or received a low-severity burn, 23% sustained a burn of a moderate severity, and approximately 3% burned at a high severity. The total cost of battling this wildfire according to the National Interagency Coordination Center is near $2.7 million dollars.
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 May 31, 10:30 AM MST, 3 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 1130 AM MDT FRI MAY 31 2013 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE PREVAILING VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED DURING THE NEXT 24 HRS. STRONG NWLY FLOW ALOFT WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THIS EVENING BEFORE THE ASSOCIATED UPPER LEVEL CLOSED LOW OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS FINALLY SLIDES EASTWARD OVERNIGHT. MAIN AVIATION CONCERNS TODAY CONTINUE TO BE STRONG AND GUSTY WEST TO NORTHWEST SFC WINDS AT ALL TERMINALS THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY EVENING. GUSTS OF 35-40 KTS WILL BE COMMON OVER THE NORTH WITH WINDS NOT QUITE AS STRONG ACROSS WRN AND SRN TAF SITES. LCL BLDU RESTRICTING VSBYS THROUGH ABOUT SUNSET. DRY COLD FRONT/WIND SHIFT MOVES FROM NORTH TO SOUTH OVERNIGHT. LIGHT SLY WINDS DEVELOP AREAWIDE ON SATURDAY. 33 && .PREV DISCUSSION...340 AM MDT FRI MAY 31 2013... ONE MORE DAY OF WIND BEFORE A BRIEF CHANGE...HOPEFULLY...FOR THE WETTER AT LEAST FOR SOME CENTRAL AND EASTERN AREAS THIS WEEKEND. UPPER JET TO REMAIN OVER SRN CO TODAY AND ABOUT 40 KTS OR SO FORECAST IN THE H7-H5 LAYER OVER PORTIONS OF THE NORTH CENTRAL/NORTHEAST. A SO-SO NWLY SFC GRADIENT WILL BE IN PLACE AS WELL...SO IT WAS DECIDED TO FORGE AHEAD WITH ANOTHER WIND ADVY FOR TODAY FROM THE NW MTS TO THE NE HIGHLANDS. THE NW WINDS MAY KEEP TEMPERATURES SIMILAR TO OR EVEN A LITTLE WARMER THAN THURSDAY OVER THE NW THIRD DESPITE THE WEAK FRONT TO SAG OVER THE REGION. DRYLINE HAS STAYED EAST OF NM AGAIN AS OF THIS WRITING ALTHOUGH IT/S CLOSE TO HOBBS...BUT SHOULD BE A NON-PLAYER TODAY AS THE WIND INCREASES. FORECAST MID LEVEL MOISTURE SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 LOOKS LESS THAN 24 HOURS AGO. TRIMMED POPS IN THE EAST/SOUTHEAST SOME FOR SATURDAY AS IT LOOKS LIKE THE BACK DOOR FRONT MAY NOT PUSH AS MUCH MOISTURE INTO THE REGION THAT SOON. KEPT THE DRY CONVECTION PORTIONS OF THE WRN MTS SATURDAY AFTERNOON ALTHOUGH MID LEVEL MOISTURE NOT AS IMPRESSIVE UNTIL AFT 00Z. MODELS CONTINUE TO SUGGEST MOISTURE WILL SNEAK IN FROM THE SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY. THIS MAKES FOR A LESS CONFIDENT POP FORECAST THE FARTHER NORTH YOU GO ESPECIALLY FOR THE NRN MTS. DIDN/T MAKE ANY CHANGES POP WISE DURING THIS PD HOWEVER AS BEST MOISTURE LOOKS TO BE SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 WHERE WE ALREADY HAVE HIGHEST POPS. ALSO LEFT THE DRY CONVECTION AREA INTACT. GUIDANCE HIGH TEMPERATURES HAVE WARMED UP SOME FOR SATURDAY/SUNDAY UNDER THE RIDGE SO DESPITE THE ANTICIPATED MOISTURE INCREASE WENT AHEAD AND TWEAKED UPWARD. DRYING BEGINS ON MONDAY WITH SOUTHWEST/WEST WINDS. ANOTHER FRONT TO POTENTIALLY PUSH IN MOISTURE TUESDAY BUT GFS FASTER AND WETTING PCPN WOULD BE MORE LIKELY WEDNESDAY NE THIRD TO ERN HALF. CHANCES FOR PCPN CONTINUE MAINLY CENTRAL/EAST AS A WEAK UPPER LOW DRIFTS INTO THE SOUTHWEST U.S. .FIRE WEATHER... ...WIDESPREAD CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ONCE AGAIN TODAY DUE TO STRONG WIND AND LOW HUMIDITY FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO... ...DRY LIGHTNING THREAT POSSIBLE SATURDAY AND INCREASING SUNDAY CENTRAL/WEST... ONE MORE DIFFICULT DAY OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS BEFORE WE FINALLY LOSE THE INFLUENCE OF A FAST WEST-NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT THIS WEEKEND AND AWAIT SOME MUCH ANTICIPATED AIR MASS MOISTENING. THIS PATTERN TRANSITION WILL FEATURE A MIX OF GOOD AND BAD NEWS...THE LATTER BEING AN INCREASED THREAT OF DRY LIGHTNING FOR WESTERN AREAS ESPECIALLY SUNDAY. OTHERWISE...UPWARD TREND IN HUMIDITY AND SIGNIFICANTLY LESS WIND FOR THE TRES LAGUNAS WILDFIRE AND REMAINDER OF THE CENTRAL MTN CHAIN AND EAST SLOPES WILL BE WELCOMED NEWS AFTER TODAY. MODELS HAVE UNDER FORECAST THE STRENGTH OF WINDS NEAR THE TOP OF OUR IMPRESSIVELY DEEP MIXED LAYER THE PAST TWO DAYS...WHICH IS NOT TOO SURPRISING GIVEN THE MAGNITUDE OF THE UPPER JET CORE SLICING ACROSS THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES. PER THE KABQ SOUNDING...MIXED LAYER UP TO 480 MB ON THURSDAY AND AROUND 500 MB YESTERDAY. ALL INDICATIONS POINT TOWARD SLIGHTLY LOWER MIXING HEIGHTS TODAY BUT STILL PLENTY HIGH. COMPARISON OF TODAY/S FORECAST 500-700MB LAYER WIND SPEEDS TO WHAT WAS OBSERVED YESTERDAY SHOWED VERY SIMILAR VALUES. THE UPPER JET IS DEFINITELY ORIENTED MORE NW-SE ACROSS FAR NORTHERN NEW MEXICO AS COMPARED TO YESTERDAY. BUT SIMILAR TO YESTERDAY...WE REMAIN ON THE ANTICYCLONIC SIDE OF THE JET AXIS. SO ALL THIS TO SAY THAT WE ARE AGAIN TRENDING ABOVE MACHINE NUMBERS FOR WIND SPEEDS ACROSS THE NORTHERN HIGH TERRAIN AND NE/CENTRAL HIGHLANDS. THE SURFACE LOW WILL BE DISPLACED FARTHER EAST...AND NOT AS DEEP...AND WE ALSO ANTICIPATE A WEAK PUSH OF COOLER AIR FROM THE NW. SO THINKING THAT WINDS WILL NOT BE AS STRONG AS THE PAST TWO DAYS BUT AGAIN WE ARE TALKING MINOR TREND. MORE IMPORTANT IS THAT THERE IS HIGH CONFIDENCE IN THE COMBINATION OF LOW RH AND STRONG WINDS FOR WIDESPREAD RED FLAG CONDITIONS ONE LAST DAY. GOING INTO SATURDAY...NORTHERLY WIND SHIFT INTO THE NORTHEAST PLAINS WHILE THE ABOVE MENTIONED FRONTAL SURGE PRESSES SOUTH FROM THE NORTHWEST PART OF THE STATE. THIS IS NOT A CLASSIC BACKDOOR FRONT SCENARIO BUT END RESULT MAY BE SOMEWHAT SIMILAR. AS SURFACE WINDS VEER TO EAST AND EVENTUALLY SOUTHEAST...HIGHER DEW POINT AIR WILL ADVECT WESTWARD. STILL VERY TOUGH TO SAY WHERE THE PREFERRED CORRIDORS OF THIS MOISTURE TRANSPORT WILL SET UP. HIGHEST CONFIDENCE ACROSS THE EC/SE PLAINS ON SATURDAY...AND THEN SPREADING WESTWARD ON SUNDAY WITH GAP WINDS ASSISTING IN THIS WESTWARD TRANSPORT. AS MENTIONED YESTERDAY...ANY SUBTLE UPTICK IN MOISTURE FROM THE MID-LEVELS ON DOWN IN THE PRESENCE OF VERY STEEP LAPSE RATES ON SATURDAY COULD YIELD AT LEAST AN ISOLATED DRY LIGHTNING THREAT ACROSS THE WEST. STILL A SLIGHT CHANCE OF WETTER SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE EAST. SUNDAY WILL BE AN INTERESTING DAY. MID-LEVEL RIDGE EXPANDS/BUILDS NORTHWARD WITH DEEPER AND RICHER LOW LEVEL MOISTURE SPREADING WESTWARD GENERALLY SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40. STORMS THAT DEVELOP ALONG/EAST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN WILL SLOWLY MOVE EASTWARD AND DEPENDING UPON THE COVERAGE SHOULD ASSIST IN FORCING BETTER MOISTURE EVEN FARTHER WEST. OTHERWISE...THE PATTERN IS LOOKING TO BE A RATHER CLASSIC DRY LIGHTNING SIGNATURE FOR AREAS NEAR THE DIVIDE TO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY THOUGH HAVE TO SAY THAT WETTER STORM FOOTPRINTS MAY BE PREDOMINATE ALONG THE CENTRAL VALLEY CORRIDOR AND MOST CERTAINLY FROM THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN EASTWARD SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. EITHER WAY...THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE LOOKS TO RAMP UP IN A HURRY BY LATE WEEKEND. DRYING FROM WEST TO EAST ON MONDAY BUT NOT CONVINCED WE WILL COMPLETELY ELIMINATE THE POTENTIAL BETWEEN THE DIVIDE AND RIO GRANDE VALLEY. IN FACT...MONDAY MAY ACTUALLY SEE THE BETTER POTENTIAL FOR DRY STORMS TO THE CENTRAL VALLEY CORRIDOR. UPPER HIGH BUILDS SHIFT SOUTH AND THEN WEST NEXT WEEK. BACK TO MUCH DRIER CONDITIONS ON TUESDAY WITH A WEAKER BACKDOOR PUSH ON WEDNESDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SUPPORTING THE POSSIBILITY OF SOME WETTING RAIN EAST. KJ && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ101>108. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ510>516-527>529. && 50
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 600 AM MDT FRI MAY 31 2013 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- 600 AM MDT FRI MAY 31 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS...DUE TO LOW HUMIDITIES AND STRONG WINDS...WILL IMPACT MUCH OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO EXCEPT THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS...THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WHERE A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT. NORTHWEST WINDS SUSTAINED AT 25 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 50 MPH ARE FORECAST ACROSS PORTIONS OF NORTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO INCLUDING THE NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS TODAY INTO THIS EVENING. AREAS OF REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING DUST ARE POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR ISOLATED DRY THUNDERSTORMS WITH GUSTY WINDS AND LIGHTNING SATURDAY AFTERNOON OVER PORTIONS OF THE WEST CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS...AND ON SUNDAY THROUGHOUT THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY AND WEST TO THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE. WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS...WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... CONTACT YOUR LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT AT 911 AND THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AT 1.888.386.7637 TO REPORT WILDFIRE OUTBREAKS.
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
A downed power line along Sulphur Creek Road ignited a wildfire that spread east into the Valles Caldera National Preserve. The fire burned 653 acres at the last day of May.
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, May 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: 457151.