A strong cold front barreled south and west across the eastern plains during the late evening into overnight hours of January 26-27. The cold front produced strong winds and areas of blowing dust immediately along the boundary.
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 strong cold front barreled south and west across the eastern plains during the late evening into overnight hours of January 26-27. The cold front produced strong winds and areas of blowing dust immediately along the boundary. Blowing dust resulted in visibilities as low as two miles at times.
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 Jan 26, 4:54 PM MST, 4 hours 6 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 454 PM MST SUN JAN 26 2014 .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE PRETTY QUIET WITH NO SIGNIFICANT AVIATION CONCERNS ROUGHLY WEST HALF OF NM THROUGH 00Z TUE...BUT FARTHER EAST ANOTHER ARCTIC COLD FRONT WILL IMPACT THE AREA WITH GUSTY WINDS AND SOME LOW CIGS AND EVEN SOME PATCHY LIGHT SNOW. FRONT TO ARRIVE IN KCAO BY APPROX 02Z...KTCC AND KLVS BETWEEN 04Z AND 0530Z...AND KROW BETWEEN 08Z AND 0930Z. LOW CLOUDS AND SOME PATCHY LIGHT SNOW WILL DEVELOP WITHIN 1 TO 3 HOURS OF FRONTAL PASSAGE EAST OF CENTRAL MT CHAIN. MVFR TO IFR CEILINGS CAN BE EXPECTED TO SPREAD FAIRLY QUICKLY NORTH TO SOUTH ACROSS EAST HALF OF THE FCST AREA...EAST SLOPES OF CENTRAL MT CHAIN ON EAST... LATER TONIGHT THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY MONDAY. AN EASTERLY GAP/CANYON WIND WILL ALSO DEVELOP NOT TOO LONG BEFORE DAYBREAK MONDAY WITH GUSTS TO 25 TO 32 KT POSSIBLE. 43 && .PREV DISCUSSION...259 PM MST SUN JAN 26 2014... THE WARMING TREND IS TOPPING-OUT THIS AFTERNOON WITH HIGHS REACHING 5-15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL UNDER SUNNY SKIES. AT THE SAME TIME...A COLD FRONT IS BARRELING SOUTH ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS OF COLORADO AND THE CENTRAL U.S. PLAINS. THE AIRMASS IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE WIND SHIFT IS A MODIFIED ARCTIC AIRMASS...BUT FURTHER NORTH ACROSS ALBERTA...SASKATCHEWAN AND THE NORTHERN U.S. PLAINS THE AIRMASS IS MUCH MORE TRUE TO IT'S ORIGIN. THE FIRST PIECE WILL ARRIVE IN THE NORTHEAST PLAINS THIS EVENING...THEN PUSH SOUTHWEST OVERNIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE EASTERN PLAINS AND BANK UP AGAINST THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN. WINDY CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST BEHIND THE FRONT AND MAY HIT WIND ADVISORY SPEEDS FOR AN HOUR OR TWO NEAR THE TEXAS BORDER. LESS CONFIDENT ON THE COLD AIR MAKING IT INTO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY GIVEN THE 12Z MODEL DATA...BUT STILL FORECASTING A WEAK PUSH RESULTING IN BREEZY EAST CANYON WINDS EARLY MONDAY MORNING BETWEEN SANTA FE AND ALBUQUERQUE. POPS TREND UP TONIGHT AND PEAK MONDAY ACROSS THE NORTHEAST...WHERE LIGHT SNOW IS FORECAST. ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL FAVOR AREAS FROM THE RATON RIDGE EAST ACROSS UNION COUNTY. AMOUNTS WILL RANGE FROM ONE TO A MAX OF TWO INCHES THERE...WITH AMOUNTS GENERALLY LESS THAN ONE INCH ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL PLAINS...AND EAST SLOPES OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTOS. SOME FOG IS POSSIBLE AT THE EDGE OF THE FRONTAL LAYER IN THE FAVORED EAST SLOPE AREAS AND CENTRAL/NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS MONDAY. SHORTWAVE ENERGY EMBEDDED IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT WILL PUSH SOUTHEAST THROUGH THE CENTRAL/SOUTHERN ROCKIES MONDAY NIGHT AND TUESDAY...BRINGING ANOTHER SHOT OF LIGHT SNOW TO THE NORTHEAST AND HELPING A SECOND PUSH OF COLD ARCTIC AIR TO COME DOWN. TEMPERATURES WILL BE WELL BELOW NORMAL EASTERN PLAINS THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. IN FACT...MANY LOCATIONS IN NORTHEAST NEW MEXICO WILL GO BELOW FREEZING TONIGHT AND WON'T RISE BACK ABOVE FREEZING UNTIL LATE WEDNESDAY MORNING. WEST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN...SOME COOLING IS EXPECTED...ESPECIALLY TUESDAY WHEN THE SHORTWAVE MENTIONED EARLIER BRINGS IN A WEAK FRONT DOOR PUSH. ANOTHER WARMING TREND FORECAST TO CRANK-UP WEDNESDAY AS PRESSURE HEIGHTS INCREASE AND THE LEE SIDE TROUGH DEEPENS. HIGHS ON WEDNESDAY WILL BE AT OR ABOVE NORMAL AND 20-30 DEGREES WARMER ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS COMPARED TO TUESDAY. THE WARMING TREND LOOKS TO PEAK THURSDAY WITH WELL ABOVE NORMAL HIGH AND LOW TEMPERATURES AREA WIDE. LOWS WILL BE HELD WELL ABOVE NORMAL WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT THANKS TO INCREASING WINDS THROUGHOUT THE ATMOSPHERE AND INCREASING CLOUD COVER...ALL DUE TO THE BREAKDOWN OF THE WEST COAST RIDGE AND A SLIGHTLY DISTURBED ZONAL FLOW THAT SETS UP WITH A PACIFIC MOISTURE FETCH. TEMPS TREND DOWN GOING INTO THE WEEKEND AS AN UPPER LEVEL TROUGH...OR SERIES OF SHORTWAVE TROUGHS...APPROACH FROM THE WEST (DEPENDING ON YOUR MEDIUM RANGE MODEL PREFERENCE). BOTH THE 12Z ECMWF AND GFS AGREE ON AN UNSETTLED PATTERN NEXT WEEKEND...BUT DIFFER ON THE SPECIFICS. OUR POPS FORECAST HASN'T CHANGED MUCH FROM THE PREVIOUS FORECAST CYCLE...STILL KEEPING IN A SLIGHT CHANCE MENTION FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY...MAINLY FOR THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN HIGH TERRAIN. 11 .FIRE WEATHER... ...A COUPLE MORE HOURS OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS AND ADJACENT EAST CENTRAL PLAINS... NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT STRENGTHENED TODAY...AND GUSTY CONDITIONS ARE CURRENTLY IMPACTING AREAS BETWEEN CLINES CORNERS AND SANTA ROSA WHERE THE RH HAS PLUMMETED BELOW 15 PERCENT. TEMPERATURES HAVE ALSO RISEN ABOVE AVERAGE...ESPECIALLY IN THE EASTERN TIER OF NM. THESE CRITICAL CONDITIONS WILL SUBSIDE QUICKLY AROUND SUNSET...AND THE WEATHER PATTERN WILL ABRUPTLY SHIFT AS AN ARCTIC FRONT RACES TOWARD THE STATE. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL QUICKLY WITH GUSTY NORTH NORTHEAST WINDS SPILLING INTO THE EASTERN PLAINS OF THE STATE TONIGHT. GUSTY CANYON WINDS WILL ALSO MAKE A BRIEF APPEARANCE BEFORE DAWN TOWARD ALBUQUERQUE AND OTHER CENTRAL VALLEY LOCATIONS. LOW CLOUDS WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD BEHIND THE FRONT IN THE EASTERN HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA...BUT PRECIPITATION WILL BE LIGHT...GENERALLY AMOUNTING TO JUST SNOW FLURRIES. TEMPERATURES WILL FALL BELOW AVERAGE IN THE CENTRAL TO EASTERN ZONES OF THE FORECAST AREA MONDAY WHILE THE WESTERN AREAS REMAIN SLIGHTLY ABOVE AVERAGE. AREAS OF POOR VENTILATION WILL ALSO BE OBSERVED MONDAY AFTERNOON IN SOME OF THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL ZONES. CHILLY TEMPERATURES WILL PERSIST IN THE EASTERN HALF OF NEW MEXICO ON TUESDAY WHILE NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT PREVAILS. LOW MIXING HEIGHTS IN THE EAST WILL YIELD POOR VENTILATION RATES...BUT SOME STRONGER BOUNDARY LAYER BREEZES IN THE WEST CENTRAL TO NORTHWESTERN ZONES WILL BOOST VENTILATION. BY WEDNESDAY SOME BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS WILL TAKE SHAPE ALONG AND EAST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN AS A LEE SIDE SURFACE TROUGH DEVELOPS BENEATH THE PERSISTENT NORTHWESTERLY FLOW ALOFT. TEMPERATURES WILL QUICKLY RISE ABOVE AVERAGE OVER THE ENTIRE FORECAST AREA. FORECAST RH IS CLOSE TO CRITICAL THRESHOLDS...AND CENTRAL TO EASTERN AREAS WILL NEED TO BE MONITORED CLOSELY. STILL...ON WEDNESDAY SOME POOR VENTILATION WILL REMAIN...MOSTLY IN VALLEY AREAS SUCH AS THE SAN JUAN BASIN AND PORTIONS OF THE RIO GRANDE THAT WILL BE MORE SHELTERED FROM STRONGER BREEZES. STRONGER ZONAL WINDS ALOFT WILL BRING STRONGER SURFACE/20FT WINDS THURSDAY. BOTH RH AND WINDS ARE CURRENTLY FORECAST JUST WITHIN REACH OF CRITICAL THRESHOLDS...AND POTENTIAL FOR SOME DRIER/WINDIER CONDITIONS IS POSSIBLE. ANOTHER POTENTIALLY CRITICAL DAY COULD BE EXPECTED FOR FRIDAY AS WELL. THE ZONAL FLOW ALOFT MIGHT ALSO BEGIN TO SHOW SIGNS OF BUCKLING BY FRIDAY DUE TO THE ARRIVAL OF AN UPSTREAM TROUGH. 52 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... RED FLAG WARNING UNTIL 6 PM MST THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ107-108. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 544 AM MST SUN JAN 26 2014 NMZ501>540-271300- 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- 544 AM MST SUN JAN 26 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 6 PM MST FOR THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS ACROSS THE EAST CENTRAL PLAINS. THE AREA OF MOST CONCERN IS FROM ROUGHLY CLINES CORNERS TO SANTA ROSA. LOW HUMIDITIES COMBINED WITH STRONG WINDS WILL CREATE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. A STRONG BACK DOOR FRONT WILL BLAST SOUTH ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS AND WEST TO THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY LOW LEVEL MOISTURE AND UPSLOPE FLOW WILL RESULT IN LIGHT SNOW ACROSS THE NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL AREAS FROM EARLY MONDAY THROUGH EARLY TUESDAY. SNOW AMOUNTS THOUGH SHOULD BE LIGHT...WITH ONE TO TWO INCHES COMMON OVER THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS... RATON RIDGE AND JOHNSON MESA AREA...AND NORTHERN UNION COUNTY. WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS... WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. 40
6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Mesonet site UP363 - Matere in Quay County recorded high sustained winds speeds in the lower forties as a front moved through the area during the late evening into the overnight hours.
The Tucumcari ASOS recorded high sustained winds speeds in the lower forties with peak gust speeds up to 59 mph recorded as a front moved through the area during the late evening into the overnight hours.
The Cannon Air Force Base ASOS recorded high sustained wind speeds of 40 mph as a front moved through the area during the late evening into the overnight hours.
The Clovis AWOS recorded a peak gust to 61 mph as a front moved through the area during the late evening into the overnight hours.
The Fort Sumner Airport recorded a peak wind gust to 58 mph as a front moved through the area during the late evening into the overnight hours.
The White Sands Missile Range Phillips Hill Mesonet recorded a high sustained wind speed of 41 mph as a front moved through the area during the late evening into the overnight hours.
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, January 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: 487659, 487660, 487662, 487663, 487664, 487665.