A highly amplified trough with an associated cold front moved across the Rockies and brought wind gusts to 60 mph for East El Paso.
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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 highly amplified trough with an associated cold front moved across the Rockies and brought wind gusts to 60 mph for East El Paso.
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 Jan 29, 2:45 PM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM
245 PM MST TUE JAN 29 2013
.SYNOPSIS...
UPPER TROUGH MOVING EAST OF THE AREA WILL ALLOW MOST OF THE CLOUDS
TO CLEAR FROM THE AREA...THOUGH ANOTHER WEAK DISTURBANCE ALOFT MAY
CONTINUE SOME SNOW SHOWERS OVER THE MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. WINDS WILL
REMAIN QUITE BRISK THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING BEFORE DIMINISHING.
UPPER RIDGE WILL THEN MOVE OVER THE WEST COAST OF THE U.S. AND
PERSIST THROUGH THE WORK WEEK...WITH MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND
TEMPERATURES WARMING BACK ABOVE NORMAL BY FRIDAY. UPPER LOW MOVES TO
THE CALIFORNIA COAST OVER THE WEEKEND...ALLOWING SOME CLOUDS BACK IN
BY SUNDAY AND MONDAY.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
WV IMAGERY SHOWING UPPER TROUGH NOW JUST EAST OF THE CWA. VORT
CENTER AT BOTTOM OF TROUGH MOVED ACROSS EL PASO AND HUDSPETH
COUNTIES WITH SOME ACCUMULATING SNOW OVER HUDSPETH...BUT THIS
FEATURE QUICKLY DISSIPATED. MOST OF CWA NOW IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW
WITH ONE OR TWO WEAK DISTURBANCES EMBEDDED IN THIS FLOW. WILL LIKELY
CANCEL WINTER ADVISORY HUDSPETH ZONES SOON. WILL PROBABLY GO AHEAD
AND EXTEND GILA AND SAC ZONES FOR THEIR WINTER ADVISORY. BELIEVE
MOST ACCUMULATING SNOW IS OVER BUT DISTURBANCES COULD DROP A COUPLE
MORE INCHES UP UNTIL AROUND MIDNIGHT TONIGHT. WINDS HAVE CONTINUED
PRETTY MUCH AS EXPECTED AND WILL ALLOW WIND ADVISORIES/WARNINGS TO
EXPIRE AS SCHEDULED.
BY WEDNESDAY INCREASINGLY DRY NORTHWEST FLOW DEVELOPS AS UPPER RIDGE
OVER THE WEST COAST BUILDS. MODELS SHOWING CONSIDERABLE MID/HIGH
LEVEL MOISTURE UPSTREAM BUT STRONG SUBSIDENCE WILL INHIBIT MUCH OF
ANY CLOUD DEVELOPMENT IN THIS MOISTURE. WEDNESDAY WILL STILL REMAIN
COOL AS WE START TO REBOUND FROM LAST NIGHT'S COLD FRONT AIRMASS.
WARMUP CONTINUES THROUGH THE WEEK AND BY FRIDAY HIGHS SHOULD BE BACK
ABOVE NORMAL.
BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK STILL UNSETTLED AS GFS/ECMWF CONTINUE WITH
DIFFERENCES WITHIN THE MODELS AND BETWEEN THEM. GFS FOR THE MOST
PART HAS SHOWING INCREASING CLOUDS AND A CHANCE OF PRECIP MON/TUE
WHILE THE ECMWF HAS BEEN MUCH DRIER AS IT KEEPS A DRY WESTERLY FLOW
OVER US AS OPPOSED TO THE GFS'S MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW.
&&
.AVIATION....VALID 30/00Z-31/00Z.
GUSTY WINDS OF 270-290 25-30G40-45KT WILL BE DECREASING TO 10-15KTS
AT MOST TERMINALS BY 03Z EXCEPT REMAINING 28020-25G35KT AT KELP THRU
08Z THEN GRADUALLY DECREASING TO AROUND 10-15KTS BY SUNRISE. P6SM
FEW-SCT050-070 THRU 09Z...THEN P6SM SKC AT ALL TERMINALS. MOUNTAINS
WILL CONTINUE TO SEE SCT-BKN030-050 THRU 12Z WITH ISOLD 3SM -SHSN.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
UPPER TROUGH HAS PUSHED EAST OF THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON WITH GUSTY
WINDS CONTINUING THROUGH THE EARLY EVENING HOURS. ISOLATED SNOW
SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE FOR THE SACS AND GILA THROUGH MUCH OF THE
NIGHT. TEMPERATURES TOMORROW WILL CONTINUE TO BE BELOW NORMAL WITH
MOST LOCATIONS IN THE UPPER 40S TO LOWER 50S. FLOW WILL TRANSITION
TO ZONAL OVER THE COMING DAY AND CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND WITH
RIDGING OCCURING JUST TO OUR WEST. THIS WILL ALLOW WARM DRY AIR TO
MOVE INTO THE BORDERLAND WITH HIGHS IN THE 60S AND EVEN SOME 70S
POSSIBLY BY THE WEEKEND. MINIMUM RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL BE FALLING
INTO THE TEENS STARTING THURSDAY...BUT LIGHT WINDS WILL MAKE RED
FLAG CONDITIONS UNLIKELY.
&&
26-GRZYWACZ
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
EL PASO 30 50 29 57 33 / 10 0 0 0 0
SIERRA BLANCA 32 51 28 60 31 / 10 0 0 0 0
LAS CRUCES 24 46 24 54 28 / 10 0 0 0 0
ALAMOGORDO 26 46 25 56 30 / 10 0 0 0 0
CLOUDCROFT 6 28 13 40 19 / 30 0 0 0 0
TRUTH OR CONSEQUENCES 25 47 26 54 26 / 10 0 0 0 0
SILVER CITY 21 41 25 50 31 / 10 0 0 0 0
DEMING 21 48 20 55 23 / 10 0 0 0 0
LORDSBURG 24 49 22 59 23 / 10 0 0 0 0
WEST EL PASO METRO 32 50 29 54 30 / 10 0 0 0 0
DELL CITY 25 51 25 59 26 / 10 0 0 0 0
FORT HANCOCK 28 53 26 63 27 / 10 0 0 0 0
LOMA LINDA 24 47 28 53 34 / 10 0 0 0 0
FABENS 25 52 25 62 27 / 10 0 0 0 0
SANTA TERESA 27 46 25 54 28 / 10 0 0 0 0
WHITE SANDS HQ 31 47 29 58 30 / 10 0 0 0 0
JORNADA RANGE 17 46 16 58 17 / 10 0 0 0 0
HATCH 21 48 23 55 27 / 10 0 0 0 0
COLUMBUS 25 46 26 55 27 / 10 0 0 0 0
OROGRANDE 24 48 25 59 27 / 10 0 0 0 0
MAYHILL 15 41 22 51 28 / 30 0 0 0 0
MESCALERO 11 38 18 48 23 / 30 0 0 0 0
TIMBERON 13 40 19 48 21 / 30 0 0 0 0
WINSTON 18 41 23 51 23 / 20 0 0 0 0
HILLSBORO 19 42 23 49 27 / 10 0 0 0 0
SPACEPORT 13 49 23 57 27 / 10 0 0 0 0
LAKE ROBERTS 13 41 18 51 22 / 20 0 0 0 0
HURLEY 19 40 23 48 23 / 10 0 0 0 0
CLIFF 18 50 14 52 15 / 10 0 0 0 0
MULE CREEK 14 46 9 50 12 / 10 0 0 0 0
FAYWOOD 20 42 25 50 29 / 10 0 0 0 0
ANIMAS 21 47 25 59 27 / 10 0 0 0 0
HACHITA 18 47 20 58 21 / 10 0 0 0 0
ANTELOPE WELLS 21 49 26 60 25 / 10 0 0 0 0
CLOVERDALE 23 44 27 55 32 / 10 0 0 0 0
&&
.EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NM...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR NMZ413-417.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR
NMZ401>412-414>416.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR
NMZ401>403-408-414>416.
TX...HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 7 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR TXZ419>424.
WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR TXZ418.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR
TXZ420>424.
&&
17 HEFNERHAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX/SANTA TERESA NM 1232 PM MST TUE JAN 29 2013 TXZ420>424-301300- NORTHERN HUDSPETH HIGHLANDS/HUECO MOUNTAINS-SALT BASIN- SOUTHERN HUDSPETH HIGHLANDS- RIO GRANDE VALLEY OF EASTERN EL PASO/WESTERN HUDSPETH COUNTIES- RIO GRANDE VALLEY OF EASTERN HUDSPETH COUNTY- 1232 PM MST TUE JAN 29 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF TX. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH THE AFTERNOON...WITH 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOWFALL EXPECTED. CLEARING TONIGHT. SOME SNOW PACK POSSIBLE ON ROADS. STRONG WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WILL CREATE A FEW AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOW AMOUNTS. NMZ404>407-409>413-417-TXZ418-419-301300- SOUTHWEST DESERT/LOWER GILA RIVER VALLEY-LOWLANDS OF THE BOOTHEEL- UPLANDS OF THE BOOTHEEL-SOUTHWEST DESERT/MIMBRES BASIN- SIERRA COUNTY LAKES-NORTHERN DONA ANA COUNTY- SOUTHERN DONA ANA COUNTY/MESILLA VALLEY-CENTRAL TULAROSA BASIN- SOUTHERN TULAROSA BASIN-OTERO MESA-WESTERN EL PASO COUNTY- EASTERN/CENTRAL EL PASO COUNTY- 1232 PM MST TUE JAN 29 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NM AND TX. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. STRONG WINDS OF 25 TO 40 MPH WILL BEGIN DIMINISHING THIS EVENING. SOME BLOWING DUST NEAR PLOWED AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... NMZ401>403-408-414>416-301300- UPPER GILA RIVER VALLEY-SOUTHERN GILA HIGHLANDS/BLACK RANGE- SOUTHERN GILA FOOTHILLS/MIMBRES VALLEY- EASTERN BLACK RANGE FOOTHILLS- WEST SLOPES SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS BELOW 7500 FEET- SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS ABOVE 7500 FEET- EAST SLOPES SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS BELOW 7500 FEET- 1232 PM MST TUE JAN 29 2013 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NM. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. SOME SNOW SHOWERS CONTINUING THROUGH AROUND MIDNIGHT BEFORE TAPERING OFF. 1 TO 3 ADDITIONAL INCHES POSSIBLE...WITH 3 TO 6 INCHES TOTAL SNOWFALL FOR THE EVENT. STRONG WIND OF 25 TO 35 MPH WILL CREATE SOME BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOW AMOUNTS. HEFNER
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX
1031 AM MST TUE JAN 29 2013
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
1030 AM SNOW CLOUDCROFT 32.96N 105.74W
01/29/2013 M3.5 INCH OTERO NM TRAINED SPOTTER
SINCE OVERNIGHT.
&&
EVENT NUMBER EPZ1300097
FKThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An NWS Employee reported a peak gust of 60 mph in Northeast El Paso.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2013Every state in 2013This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 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: 431566.