An unseasonably potent upper level storm system moving southeast across the central Rockies pushed into the Four Corners region on the 11th. A deep area of surface low pressure over the eastern plains tapped strong winds aloft with this storm system and produced areas of strong winds and some blowing dust over south central New Mexico.
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.
An unseasonably potent upper level storm system moving southeast across the central Rockies pushed into the Four Corners region on the 11th. A deep area of surface low pressure over the eastern plains tapped strong winds aloft with this storm system and produced areas of strong winds and some blowing dust over south central New Mexico. The strongest winds occurred within the area from Carrizozo to Ruidoso and Clines Corners where gusts between 58 and 67 mph were reported.
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 11, 4:44 AM MST, 5 hours 11 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 544 AM MDT SUN MAY 11 2014 .AVIATION... 12Z TAF CYCLE VFR CIGS TO GRADUALLY SPREAD EAST ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA TODAY AHEAD OF AN UPPER LEVEL LOW AND ASSOCIATED COLD FRONT. ANY MVFR LIMITATIONS TODAY WILL BE DUE TO BLOWING DUST...MOSTLY LIKELY TO OCCUR BETWEEN 20-00Z AT KAEG...KABQ AND KTCC. THE OTHER TAF SITES MAY SEE VSBY LIMITATIONS IN BLOWING DUST...BUT FORECAST CONFIDENCE LOWER. STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL GET OFF TO AN EARLY START TODAY...WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 45-50KTS AT KLVS AND GENERALLY 35-45KTS ELSEWHERE. A WIND SHIFT IS FORECAST WITH THE FROPA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...HITTING KABQ AROUND 01Z. A FAIRLY STRONG BACKDOOR FROPA TO IMPACT KLVS AND KTCC OVERNIGHT. 11 && .PREV DISCUSSION...332 AM MDT SUN MAY 11 2014... .SYNOPSIS... UNSEASONABLY COLD UPPER LOW OVER SOUTHERN UTAH WILL CONTINUE TO MOVE EAST SOUTHEASTWARD TODAY. STRONG TO VERY STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS AHEAD OF THE LOW AND SURFACE COLD FRONT WILL DEVELOP BY LATE MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH ABOUT MID EVENING. AREAS OF BLOWING DUST ARE ALSO EXPECTED...MAINLY DURING THE AFTERNOON. BEST CHANCES FOR RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS AND PERHAPS A THUNDERSTORM WILL BE OVER NORTHERN NEW MEXICO...MAINLY NEAR THE COLORADO BORDER. MUCH COLDER AIR WILL MOVE IN TONIGHT WITH A REINFORCING SHOT OF COLD AIR EXPECTED MONDAY. SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ABOVE ABOUT 6000 FEET WILL DEVELOP MONDAY AFTERNOON...MAINLY ALONG AND NEAR THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS FROM THE SANDIA AND MANZANO MOUNTAINS NORTH TO THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. SEVERAL INCHES OF ACCUMULATION WILL BE POSSIBLE MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT ABOVE ABOUT 6000 FEET...PRIMARILY ALONG THE EAST FACING SLOPES. THE UNSEASONABLY COLD AIRMASS WILL MODIFY SOMEWHAT TUESDAY BUT TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN BELOW TO WELL BELOW AVERAGE UNTIL THURSDAY. THE WARMING TREND WILL CONTINUE INTO NEXT WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION... CLOSED UPPER LOW CENTER OVER SOUTH-CENTRAL UTAH MARCHING EASTWARD EARLY THIS MORNING. MODELS REMAIN IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT AT LEAST THE PRECIPITATION ASSOCIATED WITH THE INITIAL SHORT-WAVE/VORT-LOBE WILL REMAIN OVER FAR NORTHERN NEW MEXICO AND PRIMARILY IN COLORADO TODAY. STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS ALONG WITH AREAS OF BLOWING DUST WILL REMAIN THE MAIN SENSIBLE WEATHER IMPACT FOR CENTRAL AND NORTHERN NM TODAY. A LIGHTNING STRIKE OR TWO IS ALSO POSSIBLE AS THE -23C COLD CORE MOVES OVER FAR NW NM THIS AFTERNOON. SURFACE COLD FRONT PLOWS FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST THROUGH NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NM THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. IN BETWEEN SHORT- WAVES AND ASSOCIATED LARGE SCALE LIFT TONIGHT SO LOWERED PRECIP CHANCES. TRAILING SHORT- WAVE WILL COMBINE WITH A SECONDARY BACKDOOR SFC FRONTAL PUSH TO CREATE SFC CONVERGENCE AND SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS ABOVE ABOUT 6500 FT FOR THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND MONDAY NIGHT. NAM QUITE A BIT COLDER THAN THE GFS WRT 700MB TEMPS. BASICALLY SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SNOW LEVELS FROM THE MODELS BUT WOULD NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE LIGHT SNOW DOWN TO 5000 FT OR SO OVER EASTERN AND CENTRAL NM MONDAY NIGHT/TUESDAY MORNING BEHIND THE SECONDARY BACKDOOR COLD PUSH. MODELS IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT WEAK ELY UPSLOPE FLOW ALONG WITH AREAS OF LIGHT SNOW WILL LINGER PRIMARILY FROM THE EAST SLOPES OF THE SANGRE DE CRISTOS EAST AND SOUTHEAST ONTO THE PLAINS TUESDAY MORNING. UNSEASONABLY VERY COLD AIRMASS WILL LIKELY RESULT IN AT LEAST LOCAL LOWER ELEVATION FREEZING TEMPERATURES MONDAY AND PERHAPS WEDNESDAY MORNING. LINGERING BREEZES LIKELY TO LIMIT AREAL COVERAGE OF FREEZING TEMPERATURES BELOW 6500 FT MONDAY MORNING. SUSPECT THAT CLOUD COVER WILL KEEP TEMPERATURES IN CHECK TUESDAY MORNING AND THAT WEDNESDAY MORNING WILL BE THE COLDEST OF THE BUNCH. HEIGHTS SLOWLY BEGIN TO INCH UPWARD WEDNESDAY...SPELLING THE BEGINNING OF A WARMING TREND. GFS AND ECMWF IN GOOD AGREEMENT THAT ONE MORE SHORT- WAVE IN STRONG NW FLOW ALOFT WILL MOVE THROUGH NE NM THURSDAY OR THURSDAY NIGHT. KEPT SLIGHT CHANCE POPS GOING THERE AS A RESULT OF THE GOOD AGREEMENT. WARMING TREND CONTINUES THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. 33 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EAST CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST PLAINS TODAY... A POTENT UPPER LOW AND ATTENDANT COLD FRONT WILL IMPACT THE AREA TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT WITH VERY WINDY AND DRY CONDITIONS FOLLOWED BY MUCH COLDER TEMPERATURES WITH INCREASING CHANCES FOR WETTING PRECIPITATION NORTH AND EAST. AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT...STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS ALOFT WILL MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE WHILE A LEE SIDE TROUGH OVER THE NORTHEAST PLAINS DEEPENS TO 990MB. VERY WINDY AND DRY CONDITIONS ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS WITH ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES...PRECEDED BY POOR HUMIDITY RECOVERY THIS MORNING... WILL COMBINE TO PRODUCE CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS TODAY. WILL ALSO HIT CRITICAL THRESHOLDS IN THE MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY AND ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS...BUT TEMPERATURES ARE FORECAST TO BE AT OR BELOW NORMAL WITH HAINES VALUES OF 3-4...SO WILL HOLD OFF ON ISSUING A RED FLAG WARNING FOR THOSE ZONES. MUCH COLDER CONDITIONS TO FOLLOW BEHIND THE COLD FRONT TONIGHT... WITH TEMPERATURES TRENDING WELL BELOW NORMAL AND STAYING THERE THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. CHANCES FOR WETTING PRECIPITATION WILL BE ON THE UPTREND AS WELL...PEAKING LATE MONDAY INTO TUESDAY WHEN A TRAILING SHORTWAVE TROUGH WILL MOVE SOUTHEAST ACROSS NORTHERN NEW MEXICO. WETTING PRECIPITATION LOOKS TO HAVE THE BIGGEST IMPACT OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT EASTERN HIGHLANDS WHERE ACCUMULATING SNOW IS LOOKING MORE LIKELY...WITH RATHER SIGNIFICANT TOTALS ABOVE 7500 FEET. VENT RATES LOOK TO TAKE A HIT BEHIND THE FRONT...ESPECIALLY TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY WHEN WINDS RELAX SIGNIFICANTLY AND THE UPPER TROUGH PULLS EAST OF THE AREA. A WARMING/DRYING TREND TO BEGIN WEDNESDAY AND CONTINUE INTO THE WEEKEND...WITH TEMPERATURES BACK ABOVE NORMAL BY FRIDAY. A WEST COAST RIDGE WILL SHIFT EAST AND FLATTEN GOING INTO THE WEEKEND... GIVING WAY TO MODERATE WESTERLY FLOW BY SUNDAY WITH AT LEAST SOME POTENTIAL FOR THE RETURN OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. 11 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ508-521-523>526-529. WIND ADVISORY FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 7 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ501>507-509>520-522-528-530>540. RED FLAG WARNING FROM 10 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ104-108. && 33
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 515 AM MDT SUN MAY 11 2014 NMZ501>540-121200- 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- 515 AM MDT SUN MAY 11 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AS AN UNUSUALLY COLD UPPER LOW MOVES EAST ALONG THE COLORADO BORDER TODAY...STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL DEVELOP LATE THIS MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH MID EVENING. STRONG WINDS MAY CREATE AREAS OF REDUCED VISIBILITY IN BLOWING DUST. SCATTERED RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP PRIMARILY NEAR THE COLORADO BORDER THIS MORNING...ALONG WITH THE POTENTIAL FOR A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY A SECONDARY BACKDOOR COLD FRONT WILL RESULT IN SCATTERED RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS...ABOVE ABOUT 6500 FEET...MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING OVER THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...SOUTH TO THE SANDIA AND MANZANO MOUNTAINS. SOME SNOW ACCUMULATION IS POSSIBLE MONDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING...PARTICULARLY ABOVE ABOUT 7500 FEET ALONG EAST FACING SLOPES OF THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND SANDIA/MANZANO MOUNTAINS. WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS... WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. 33
6 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Both the Sierra Blanca airport and the Smokey Bear fire site reported peak winds up to 67 mph throughout the day.
Sandia tram 61 mph around noon. Many public reports including Tijeras and Chilili of strong winds in the 50 to 55 mph range throughout the day.
White Sands observing sites at Stallion and Sulf reported peak winds between 61 and 62 mph.
White Sands observing sites at Phillips Hill reported 62 mph and Carrizozo weather net reported 60 mph.
Columbia Scientific instrument north northeast of Encinoso.
Pedernal estimated peak wind gust to 60 mph with some light damage to tree limbs.
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, May 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: 505941, 505939, 505943, 505944, 505949, 505961.