Dry thunderstorms developed during the late morning hours of April 12, 2014 first across areas of northwestern New Mexico expanding eastward throughout the day. The shower activity produced little to no rain with virga present across much of the area.
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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 ABQ wrote it up.
Dry thunderstorms developed during the late morning hours of April 12, 2014 first across areas of northwestern New Mexico expanding eastward throughout the day. The shower activity produced little to no rain with virga present across much of the area. During the evening one of these dry showers created a virga bomb event which led to a 77 mph wind gust at Clines Corners.
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 Apr 12, 5:04 PM MST, 56 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 604 PM MDT SAT APR 12 2014 .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN EVOLVING DURING FORECAST PERIOD. INTO THE EVENING HOURS OR AROUND 06Z...WEST TO SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL GRADUALLY WEAKEN MOST AREAS...WITH LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS PERSISTING ALONG AND EAST OF THE CENTRAL HIGH TERRAIN. ISOLATED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS CROSSING THE NORTHERN TIER OF NEW MEXICO WILL ALSO GRADUALLY DIMINISH. THIS ACTIVITY IS MOSTLY DRY...THOUGH SOME PRECIPITATION COULD REACH THE GROUND OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. GUSTY AND AT TIMES STRONG OUTFLOWS WILL ALSO ACCOMPANY THIS ACTIVITY WITH VISIBILITY RESTRICTIONS POSSIBLE IN LOCAL BLOWING DUST. ANOTHER ROUND OF MODERATE TO STRONG WEST TO NORTHWEST WINDS WILL REDEVELOP LATE SUNDAY MORNING WITH AREAS OF BLOWING DUST MOST LIKELY FROM THE WEST CENTRAL MOUNTAINS TO THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS. THE CHANCE OF SHOWERS INCREASES DURING THE DAY AS WELL GENERALLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 40. STRONG BACK DOOR COLD FRONT WITH RACE INTO THE NORTHEAST PLAINS DURING THE AFTERNOON BETWEEN 18Z AND 00Z... INCREASING THE CHANCE OF PRECIPITATION FROM THE NORTHERN HIGH TERRAIN TO THE NORTHEAST PLAINS. 05 && .PREV DISCUSSION...308 PM MDT SAT APR 12 2014... .SYNOPSIS... ACTIVE WEATHER INTO MONDAY...A BREAK TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY...THEN POTENTIALLY MORE UNSETTLED LATE NEXT WEEK AND WEEKEND. FIRST STORM IMPACTING THE FORECAST NOW WITH GUSTY WINDS...SHOWERS AND EVEN A FEW THUNDERSTORMS...BUT WITH LITTLE OR NO RAINFALL. NEXT STORM WILL HAVE A MUCH GREATER IMPACT LATE SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. STORM WILL DROP SOUTHEAST INTO NM SUNDAY NIGHT AND DEPART MONDAY BRINGING COOLER OR COLDER AIR...WIND...DUST...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER...RAIN...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW. WHILE A QUICK HITTER...PRECIPITATION WILL BE INTENSE FOR A FEW HOURS SUNDAY NIGHT FROM THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS EAST TO THE TEXAS BORDER. WILL ISSUE A WINTER STORM WATCH FOR THIS AREA. && .DISCUSSION... PLENTY OF ECHOES ON RADAR OVER NW NM BUT NO PRECIPITATION BEING REPORTED AT THE SURFACE YET. HAVE SEEN QUITE A BIT OF LIGHTNING AS WELL. THIS TREND WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING WITH LITTLE OR NO RAINFALL BUT SUDDEN STRONG WIND GUSTS FROM VIRGA BOMBS. JUST AS FEW LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS LATE TONIGHT OVER THE NORTH. MAIN FOCUS THIS FORECAST PACKAGE HAS BEEN ON THE SECOND STORM FOR LATER SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. MODELS CONTINUE TO BRING A POTENT SYSTEM SOUTHEAST INTO NM LATER SUNDAY AND SUNDAY NIGHT AND MOVE IT RAPIDLY EAST MONDAY. EXACT PLACEMENT AND AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION THOUGH IS STILL NOT CLEAR. THE LACK OF QPF OVER THE SANGRES AND THEIR EAST SLOPES ON MOST MODELS IS DISCONCERTING. LOCAL HI RES MODEL MANAGES TO EEK OUT 4 TO 6 INCHES. WEATHER PREDICTION CENTER HAS AN AREA OF 8 TO 10 INCHES OVER THE SANGRES AND ALONG THE CO BORDER TOWARD RATON PASS. THIS SEEMS PLAUSIBLE AND WILL ISSUE A WINTER STORM WATCH WITH THIS FORECAST PACKAGE FROM THE SANGRES EAST TO THE TX BORDER FOR SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. MARGINAL WARNING SNOW AMOUNTS BUT PART OF THE REASONING FOR ISSUING IS DUE TO THE SUDDEN CHANGE IN THE WEATHER. POTENT COLD FRONT WILL GENERATE STRONG WINDS BEHIND IT OVER THE NORTHEAST WITH BLOWING SNOW...AND YES..EVEN BLOWING DUST PRIOR TO...OR AT THE SAME TIME AS THE SNOW. BLOWING DUST AND SNOW WILL LIKELY GREATLY RESTRICT THE VISIBILITY. DURATION OF THE PRECIPITATION WILL NOT BE ALL THAT LONG...6 TO 9 HOURS PERHAPS...BUT COULD BE INTENSE FOR A FEW HOURS DURING THIS WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY. THIRTY TO FORTY DEGREE TEMPERATURE DROPS WILL BE COMMON IN THE EAST AS WELL BEHIND THE FRONT. ALL IN ALL QUITE A SHOCK FROM WHAT WE AVE BEEN ENJOYING. ONE TYPE OF WEATHER THAT WILL NOT CHANGE SUNDAY IS CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. SEE THE DISCUSSION BELOW FOR DETAILS. THE STORM WILL QUICKLY EXIT TO THE EAST MONDAY WITH PRECIPITATION ENDING. DRY AND WARMER FOR TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY. A WEAK STORM WILL CROSS NM WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY WITH LIGHT RAIN AND SNOW ACROSS THE FAR NORTH POSSIBLE. GFS HAS A STRONGER STORM COMING IN FROM THE WEST NEXT WEEKEND WHILE THE EUROPEAN ONLY HAS A WEAK TROUGH PASSAGE. CHJ && .FIRE WEATHER... VIRGA AND ISOLATED DRY THUNDERSTORMS HAVE DEVELOPED ACROSS MUCH OF NW AND NC NM THIS AFTERNOON. THIS ACTIVITY WILL CONTINUE TO SHIFT EASTWARD AS THE AFTN/EVE PROGRESSES. GUSTY AND ERRATIC WINDS WILL BE THE MAIN THREAT WITH THESE SHOWERS AND STORMS. WETTING PRECIPITATION IS NOT EXPECTED AND THE ACTIVITY SHOULD TAPER OFF AFTER SUNSET. ELSEWHERE...MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDS HAVE DELAYED THE ONSET OF RED FLAG CONDITIONS. HOWEVER...CLOUDS ARE THINNING...WHICH SHOULD ALLOW TEMPS TO WARM A FEW MORE DEGREES...AND THUS INCREASE MIXING AND WINDS THROUGH THE EVENING. THUS WILL LEAVE RED FLAG WARNING INTACT. POOR TO FAIR HUMIDITY RECOVERIES ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT...EXCEPT ACROSS THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. HAVE UPGRADED A PORTION OF THE FIRE WEATHER WATCH FOR SUNDAY. ZONES 106-109 LOOK LIKE A GOOD BET FOR CRITICAL CONDITIONS. TEMPS WILL REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL...THOUGH NOT AS HIGH AS TODAY...HUMIDITIES WILL REMAIN LOW...AND CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN UNSTABLE WITH WIDESPREAD 5 HAINES. ACROSS THE NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS AND THE NORTHWEST PLATEAU...HUMIDITIES AND INSTABILITY REMAIN TOO MARGINAL TO UPGRADE ATTM. AFTER THE FIRST SYSTEM EXITS NM OVERNIGHT...ANOTHER SYSTEM WILL MOVE IN FROM THE NORTH SUNDAY. CLOUD COVER AND POSSIBLY SOME LIGHT PRECIP...IN ADDITION TO A COLD FRONT MOVING THROUGH LATE IN THE AFTN MAY KEEP TEMPS LOWER AND HUMIDITIES HIGHER THAN CURRENTLY EXPECTED. THESE ARE GOOD ARGUMENTS TO KEEP ZONES 101 AND 105 IN A WATCH ATTM...THOUGH LATER SHIFTS MAY DECIDE TO CANCEL THE WATCH ALTOGETHER. SUNDAY NIGHT WILL BRING POTENTIAL FOR SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...MAINLY ACROSS THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS EASTWARD TO THE OKLAHOMA BORDER. THE AFOREMENTIONED SYSTEM WILL SLIDE ACROSS NORTHERN NM AS AN ASSOCIATED STRONG BACK DOOR COLD FRONT QUICKLY MOVES DOWN THE PLAINS. TEMPERATURES WILL TURN MUCH COLDER...WITH MOST AREAS SEEING FREEZING TEMPS...AND EVEN A HARD FREEZE ACROSS MUCH OF THE NORTHEAST. THE COMBINATION OF UPSLOPE FLOW BEHIND THE BACK DOOR FRONT AND LIFT AHEAD OF THE UPPER LEVEL TROUGH AXIS WILL FAVOR THE SANGRE DE CRISTOS FOR SOME DECENT SNOW ACCUMS. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN A WHILE...GOOD TO VERY GOOD HUMIDITY RECOVERIES ARE EXPECTED FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN AND EASTERN NM. FAIR HUMIDITY RECOVERIES ELSEWHERE. TEMPERATURES WILL BE 5 TO 15 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL ACROSS THE WEST...AND BETWEEN 15 AND 25 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL ACROSS THE EAST ON MONDAY. LESS WIND AND HIGHER HUMIDITIES ARE ALSO ON TAP...THOUGH FAR WESTERN NM MAY SEE HUMIDITIES DROP BELOW 15 PERCENT. NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL BECOME MORE WESTERLY ON TUESDAY WITH TEMPERATURES BOUNCING BACK TOWARDS NORMAL FOR MID APRIL. HUMIDITIES WILL ONCE AGAIN FALL BELOW 15 PERCENT ACROSS MUCH OF THE AREA BUT WINDS WILL LIKELY ONLY BE A CONCERN ACROSS THE EAST CENTRAL PLAINS. A FEW HOURS OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE. WINDS LOOK TO PICK UP AGAIN ON WEDNESDAY AHEAD OF THE NEXT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. MOST AREAS SHOULD FALL BELOW 15 PERCENT HUMIDITY IN THE AFTERNOON AS TEMPS RISE JUST ABOVE NORMAL. WIDESPREAD 6 HAINES IS ALSO LIKELY...THUS...WIDESPREAD CRITICAL CONDITIONS MAY MAKE A RETURN TO THE STATE WEDNESDAY AFTN AND EVENING. MODELS DO DISAGREE ON THE STRENGTH OF THE APPROACHING SYSTEM...THUS...IF THE ECMWF IS RIGHT...WINDS MAY BE WEAKER THAN CURRENTLY PROJECTED. WHAT BECOMES OF THE SYSTEM LOOKS TO SCOOT ACROSS NORTHERN NM WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY...PERHAPS PROVIDING A LITTLE PRECIPITATION TO AREAS NEAR THE COLORADO BORDER. A BACK DOOR COLD FRONT ALSO LOOKS TO BE ON TAP FOR THURSDAY. MEANWHILE...FROM THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY WESTWARD...CONTINUED DRY CONDITIONS LOOK TO BE ON TAP. 34 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ104-106>109. RED FLAG WARNING FROM 11 AM TO 8 PM MDT SUNDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ106>109. WINTER STORM WATCH FROM SUNDAY EVENING THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ512>515-527-530. FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ101-105. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 10 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ526. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 604 AM MDT SAT APR 12 2014 NMZ501>540-131215- 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- 604 AM MDT SAT APR 12 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY FROM 11 AM TO 8 PM MDT FOR THE EASTERN PLAINS AND MUCH OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO WHERE LOW HUMIDITIES COMBINED WITH STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. IN ADDITION BRIEF INSTANCES OF STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS CAN BE EXPECTED FROM STRONGER...BUT VERY SPOTTY...HIGH BASED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING ACROSS ROUGHLY THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF THE STATE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE LOOKING INCREASINGLY LIKELY SUNDAY NIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS AND PLAINS...ESPECIALLY THE SANGRE DE CRISTOS...PORTIONS OF THE NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS AND FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS. A STRONG BACK DOOR COLD FRONT WILL USHER IN A MUCH COLDER AND MOIST NORTH TO NORTHEAST FLOW INTO THIS AREA AS AN APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL TROUGH GENERATES ENOUGH LIFT TO HELP PRODUCE THE SNOWFALL. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS ROUGHLY THE NORTH HALF OF THE STATE SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING MAY AGAIN PRODUCE BRIEF STRONG GUSTY WIND EPISODES. ALSO A FIRE WEATHER WATCH HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING ACROSS WEST...CENTRAL AND EAST CENTRAL NEW MEXICO DUE TO THE COMBINATION OF BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS AND LOW HUMIDITIES. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS MAY REAPPEAR AGAIN BETWEEN TUESDAY AND THURSDAY OF NEXT WEEK...WITH WEDNESDAY AT THIS TIME LOOKING TO BE THE MOST FAVORED DAY. WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS... WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. 43
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 107 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 00:57 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Clines Corners ASOS recorded a peak gust to 77 mph during the evening associated with virga from nearby dry thunderstorms.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2014Every state in 2014This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2014
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: 500375.