A cold front approaching from the Great Basin raced across New Mexico on the 13th. Enough moisture and forcing along the frontal boundary combined to produce intense virga showers across many areas.
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 cold front approaching from the Great Basin raced across New Mexico on the 13th. Enough moisture and forcing along the frontal boundary combined to produce intense virga showers across many areas. Powerful wind gusts were reported at numerous locations, including 67 mph at Gallup and Santa Fe. A large tree was blown over near San Antonio as the cold front pushed through the area. Meanwhile, gusty winds also impacted isolated areas of eastern New Mexico as the back door front plowed south into the region.
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 13, 5:01 PM MST, 9 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 601 PM MDT SUN APR 13 2014 .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE HIGHLY VARIABLE AND UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL EXTEND ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO TONIGHT AND INTO MONDAY MORNING. PRECIPITATION IS CURRENTLY FAVORING THE NORTHERN PART OF NEW MEXICO WITH SOME EMBEDDED THUNDERSTORMS OBSERVED OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. MUCH OF THE SHOWERS AND STORMS ARE HURLING STRONG WIND GUSTS TO NEAR 50 KT WITH BLOWING DUST LOCALLY REDUCING VISIBILITY. SNOW LEVELS ARE QUITE VARIABLE AS THE DUAL SEGMENT FRONT OVERTAKES THE NORTHERN PART OF THE STATE. SNOW WILL BE MOST PREVALENT OVERNIGHT IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND INTO THE NORTHEASTERN HIGHLANDS AND ADJACENT NORTHEASTERN PLAINS WHERE MORE PERIODIC IFR TO LIFR CEILINGS AND VISIBILITIES WILL PERSIST. MOUNTAIN OBSCURATIONS WILL ALSO PLAGUE THE NORTHERN PEAKS. INTO THE MID TO LATE EVENING WIND CONCERNS WILL BEGIN TO FOCUS MORE WITH THE FRONT...STAYING GUSTY IN THE EASTERN PLAINS AND ALSO INTO THE CENTRAL PARTS BEYOND GAPS/CANYONS. THIS WILL INCLUDE THE ABQ AIRPORT WHERE AN AVIATION WEATHER WARNING IS CURRENTLY IN EFFECT...A LULL IN THE WINDS IS THEN EXPECTED BETWEEN 14/0400 TO 14/1000 WHEN THE EAST CANYON WINDS WILL ARRIVE. 52 && .PREV DISCUSSION...311 PM MDT SUN APR 13 2014... .SYNOPSIS... OVERALL ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN THROUGH THE NEXT WEEK. STORM NUMBER ONE IS NEAR THE FOUR CORNERS REGION AND MAKING ITS INFLUENCE FELT ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA WITH SHOWERS...THUNDERSTORMS AND STRONG WINDS. AT THE SAME TIME A POTENT BACK DOOR COLD FRONT HAS REACHED NE NM. PLUMMETING TEMPERATURES...MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW AND STRONG WINDS BEHIND THE FRONT WILL PRODUCE SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW TONIGHT MAINLY FROM THE UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY ACROSS THE SANGRE DE CRISTOS AND ALL OF NE NM. THE STORM WILL QUICKLY EXIT THE STATE MONDAY. A BREAK FROM MONDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY THEN TWO MORE STORMS COULD IMPACT THE LAND OF ENCHANTMENT FOR THE LATE WEEK AND WEEKEND TIME PERIOD. && .DISCUSSION... THE BIG WEATHER CHANGES ARE UNDERWAY AS THE UPPER LEVEL STORM REACHES THE FOUR CORNERS REGION AND BACK DOOR FRONT SLAMS INTO NE NM. THE FRONT HAS SLOWED DURING THE DAY...BUT WILL ACCELERATE S AND W TONIGHT. RAPIDLY FALLING TEMPERATURES...STRONG NORTH WINDS AND MOIST UPSLOPE FLOW WILL SET THE STAGE FOR A SHORT DURATION BUT INTENSE PERIOD OF SNOW TONIGHT. HAVE ADDED THE UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY...NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS AND HARDING COUNTY TO THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY. CONSIDERED UPGRADING TO A WARNING FOR RATON RIDGE...JOHNSON MESA AND FAR NE PLAINS ZONES DUE TO CONCERN FOR NEAR WHITEOUT CONDITIONS AT TIMES. MODERATE EAST CANYON WINDS INTO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY DURING THE NIGHT. STORM WILL QUICKLY DEPART NM ON MONDAY BUT PRECIPITATION WILL LINGER THROUGH AT LEAST THE MORNING AND CHILLY TEMPERATURES WILL BE NOTED OVER THE ENTIRE AREA. TUESDAY WILL BE DRY AND MILDER WITH ONLY SOME BREEZES ACROSS THE E. NEXT STORM SYSTEM THAT HAD BEEN FORECAST TO BE ONLY A MINOR PLAYER IN OUR WEATHER IS NOW MORE POTENT FOR THE LATE WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY TIME PERIOD. ANOTHER STRONG COLD FRONT AND SOME DECENT QPF IN THE NORTH LOOKING MORE LIKELY. A BREAK FRIDAY WILL BE FOLLOWED BY YET ANOTHER STORM...THIS ONE FROM THE WEST. CHJ && .FIRE WEATHER... RED FLAG WARNING FOR ZONE 101 HAS BEEN CANCELLED. HUMIDIITES WILL REMAIN MARGINAL IN ZONE 105...BUT AREAS BELOW 7500 FEET WILL HAVE THE BEST CHANCE AT REACHING RED FLAG CRITERIA THROUGH THE EVENING. OTHERWISE...REMAINDER OF THE RED FLAG WARNING IS ON TRACK WITH STRONG AND GUSTY WESTERLY WINDS... SUB-15 PERCENT HUMIDITIES...AND UNSTABLE CONDITIONS. BACK DOOR COLD FRONT STRETCHING FROM RATON TO TUCUMCARI AS OF 2 PM WILL QUICKLY PUSH SOUTHWARD TONIGHT USHERING IN HIGHER HUMIDITIES...GUSTY N/NE WINDS...AND MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES. ADDITIONALLY...SNOW WILL DEVELOP FROM THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS EASTWARD TO THE OKLAHOMA AND TEXAS BORDER. SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE...ESPECIALLY AT HIGHER ELEVATIONS. MEANWHILE...THE PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL BEGIN TO MOVE FROM NW TO SE ACROSS WESTERN NEW MEXICO AND ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY THIS EVENING. STRONG AND GUSTY WINDS WILL ALSO BE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FRONT... AS WELL AS COOLER TEMPERATURES. ALL BUT SOME AREAS IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY WILL SEE SUB-FREEZING TEMPERATURES...AND HARD FREEZES ARE EXPECTED FOR THE NORTHERN MTNS AND NORTHEAST PLAINS. GOOD TO EXCELLENT HUMIDITY RECOVERIES ARE EXPECTED ACROSS THE NORTH AND EAST...WHILE MAINLY FAIR RECOVERIES ARE ANTICIPATED FROM THE RGV WESTWARD. TEMPERATURES ON MONDAY WILL BE 10 TO 20 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL CENTRAL AND WESTERN AREAS WHILE EASTERN AREAS WILL BE 20 TO 30 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL. LESS WIND AND HIGHER HUMIDITIES ALSO EXPECTED...THOUGH LOCATIONS ALONG THE ARIZONA BORDER MAY DROP BELOW 15 PERCENT FOR A FEW HOURS. VENTILATION WILL TAKE A DIP DOWN INTO THE GOOD TO VERY GOOD CATEGORIES. MAINLY FAIR RECOVERIES ARE EXPECTED MONDAY NIGHT. TEMPERATURES WILL REBOUND TUESDAY TO VALUES CLOSE TO NORMAL FOR MID APRIL AS NORTHWESTERLY FLOW BECOMES MORE WESTERLY AND SOME BREEZES DEVELOP IN THE AFTN...ESPECIALLY ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS. HUMIDITIES WILL FALL BELOW 15 PERCENT FOR MOST AREAS AS WELL. THOUGH LOW HUMIDITIES AND CRITICAL WINDS WILL BE PRESENT ACROSS THE EAST CENTRAL PLAINS...TEMPERATURES UP TO 8 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL AND HAINES INDICES GENERALLY AROUND 3 TO 4 WILL PRECLUDE A WATCH ATTM. THE NEXT SYSTEM WILL APPROACH NM ON WEDNESDAY AND SLIDE ACROSS NORTHERN NM WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY. THE GFS HAS COME CLOSER IN LINE TO THE ECMWF...THUS THE SYSTEM IS NOT EXPECTED TO STRENGTHEN AS MUCH AS WHAT WAS THOUGHT POSSIBLE THIS TIME YESTERDAY. THEREFORE...WINDS DO NOT LOOK TO BE AS STRONG FOR WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. HOWEVER...A STRENGTHENING SURFACE LOW ACROSS NORTHEAST NM WILL ALLOW FOR SOME CRITICAL CONDITIONS TO DEVELOP FROM NEAR CLINES CORNERS ACROSS THE EAST CENTRAL PLAINS. SPOTTIER CRITICAL CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WEST CENTRAL AND NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS. TEMPERATURES WILL BE RIGHT NEAR NORMAL WITH A FEW HOURS OF SINGLE DIGIT HUMIDITIES...MAINLY ACROSS THE LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY. MEANWHILE...NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST AREAS WILL SEE SOME PRECIPITATION WITH THIS SYSTEM...ESPECIALLY WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND EARLY THURSDAY AS A STRONG BACK DOOR COLD FRONT SLIDES DOWN THE PLAINS. SHORTWAVE RIDGING WILL BE IN STORE FOR THURSDAY NIGHT AND EARLY FRIDAY BEFORE A BAGGY UPPER LEVEL TROUGH SLIDES OVER THE STATE FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SOME WETTING PRECIP MAY BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS SYSTEM. 34 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ105>109. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 7 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ502-505>508-519-521>523. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 6 AM MDT MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ534>536. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL NOON MDT MONDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ512>516-527>531. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 617 AM MDT SUN APR 13 2014 NMZ501>540-141200- 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- 617 AM MDT SUN APR 13 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 FROM 11 AM TO 8 PM MDT FOR WEST... CENTRAL AND MUCH OF EAST CENTRAL NEW MEXICO WHERE LOW HUMIDITIES COMBINED WITH STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED TONIGHT ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS AND PLAINS...ESPECIALLY THE SANGRE DE CRISTOS...PORTIONS OF THE NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS AND FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS. SEVERAL INCHES ARE EXPECTED WITH THE GREATEST AMOUNTS MOST LIKELY ACROSS THE HIGHER EAST SLOPES OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTOS AND ACROSS COLFAX COUNTY AND NORTHERN UNION COUNTY. 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. BLOWING DUST AFTER FRONTAL PASSAGE AND UNTIL SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION FALLS MAY WELL REDUCE VISIBILITIES INITIALLY WITH SNOW LATER BECOMING THE MAIN VISIBILITY REDUCER. A FEW THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS ROUGHLY THE NORTH HALF OF THE STATE THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING MAY AGAIN PRODUCE BRIEF STRONG GUSTY WIND EPISODES...BUT NOT A LOT OF RAIN. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY SNOW OR A RAIN SNOW MIX WILL DIMINISH MONDAY MORNING WITH GENERALLY DRY CONDITIONS IN THE AFTERNOON. CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE POSSIBLE ACROSS PORTIONS OF EASTERN NEW MEXICO TUESDAY AND AREAS NEAR AND SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 WEDNESDAY. SOME RAIN AND SNOW WITH GUSTY WINDS IS POSSIBLE ACROSS NORTHEAST AND FAR NORTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO LATE WEDNESDAY INTO THURSDAY. 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
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
310 PM MDT SUN APR 13 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0244 PM HIGH SUST WINDS 3 WNW GALLUP 35.54N 108.78W
04/13/2014 M40 MPH MCKINLEY NM ASOS
KGUP ASOS. VIRGA RELATED.
0244 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 WNW GALLUP 35.54N 108.78W
04/13/2014 M67 MPH MCKINLEY NM ASOS
KGUP ASOS. VIRGA RELATED.
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ1400708
EVENT NUMBER ABQ1400709
50PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
328 PM MDT SUN APR 13 2014
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0314 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 NNE LA CIENEGA 35.60N 106.11W
04/13/2014 M67 MPH SANTA FE NM ASOS
KSAF ASOS.... KSAF ASOS.
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ1400710
RJOJOLASPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 511 PM MDT SUN APR 13 2014 NMZ507-518-519-521-140100- ALBUQUERQUE METRO AREA-SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS-SANTA FE METRO AREA- WEST CENTRAL HIGHLANDS- 511 PM MDT SUN APR 13 2014 ...STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WINDS TO IMPACT THE ALBUQUERQUE AND SANTA FE METRO AREAS THROUGH 7 PM MDT... VIRGA SHOWERS ARE EXPANDING AND MOVING EAST FROM THE WEST CENTRAL HIGHLANDS ACROSS THE WEST MESA AND INTO THE ALBUQUERQUE AND SANTA FE METRO AREAS. STRONG AND POTENTIALLY DAMAGING WIND GUSTS TO BETWEEN 55 AND 65 MPH WILL BE COMMON AS THESE SHOWERS WORK OVER THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY. IN ADDITION...BLOWING DUST MAY REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO ONE MILE OR LESS AT TIMES WITH THE ONSET OF THE STRONGER WIND GUSTS. DRIVERS OF VANS...CAMPERS...TRAILERS...AND OTHER HIGH-PROFILE VEHICLES SHOULD BE ALERT TO THE DANGER OF THESE WINDS...ESPECIALLY WHEN DRIVING ALONG NORTH TO SOUTH ORIENTED ROADS. 11
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 183 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 02:45 UTC.
2 high wind, 2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Strong wind gust reported with near whiteout conditions in snow as back door cold front moved through Texico.
Large 2 ft diameter tree blown over with frontal passage around 830pm local time very close to emergency managers home near San Antonio. Damage estimate for tree removal.
Dry showers produced intense wind gusts up to 67 mph and blowing dust.
Dry showers produced intense wind gusts up to 67 mph. Blowing dust reduced the visibility down to 2 miles.
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: 501225, 501223, 501212, 501214.