An upper level impulse moving very slowly northeast over New Mexico after multiple days of heavy rainfall produced areas of flash flooding yet again. S.
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.
An upper level impulse moving very slowly northeast over New Mexico after multiple days of heavy rainfall produced areas of flash flooding yet again. A wave of heavy rainfall early in the day over Chaves County produced flash flooding along U.S. 285 north of Roswell. The most serious flash flooding occurred later in the day around Santa Fe as a slow-moving thunderstorm dropped more than 2 inches of rainfall. A 50-year-old man in the Santa Fe River was washed away and drowned by flood waters late in the evening of the 22nd.
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 Sep 22, 4:43 AM MST, 5 hours 2 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 543 AM MDT MON SEP 22 2014 .AVIATION... 12Z TAF CYCLE WIDESPREAD SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH THE DAY TODAY AND INTO MONDAY EVENING...WITH HEAVIEST RAINFALL AND GREATEST LIKELIHOOD OF PROTRACTED IFR/LIFR CIGS AND VIZ OVER THE EAST AND SOUTH...AND CARRIED IN TAFS FOR LVS...TCC..AND ROW. SHOWERS WITH SOMEWHAT REDUCED PERIODS OF IFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED ELSEWHERE. PERIOD OF EXTENDED MT OBSCURATION WILL LIFT FROM WEST TO EAST AFTER 06Z TUE MORNING...WITH LOW CIGS AND VIZ REMAINING OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS THROUGH 12Z. SHY && .PREV DISCUSSION...345 AM MDT MON SEP 22 2014... .SYNOPSIS... ONE MORE DAY OF SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND STORMS...SOME WITH LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN AND FLASH FLOOD POTENTIAL...ACROSS MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA AS MOISTURE REMAINS HIGH ACROSS THE AREA AND A LOW PRESSURE TROUGH REACHING THE CENTRAL ROCKIES BRUSHES THE NORTHERN PORTION OF THE STATE. CHANCES TO BE LOWEST ACROSS THE FAR NORTHWEST ESPECIALLY BY THIS AFTERNOON. DRIER WEATHER PATTERN WILL DEVELOP BY TUESDAY. SPOTTY SHOWER AND STORM POTENTIAL MAY INCREASE BY THURSDAY OR FRIDAY AND OVER THE WEEKEND AS FIRST A WEAK LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM ALOFT RETROGRADES SOME TOWARD EASTERN NEW MEXICO AND LATER ANOTHER AND STRONGER UPPER LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES TOWARD THE CENTRAL ROCKIES. && .DISCUSSION... FINALLY AFTER TODAY IT LOOKS LIKE NM WILL BE GETTING OUT OF THE HIGH RISK HEAVY RAIN BUSINESS FOR AT LEAST AWHILE AND UMBRELLA SALES MAY DIP A BIT. BUT TODAY AND TONIGHT...THE LATTER MAINLY EAST AND SOUTH...WILL STILL BRING HEAVY RAIN POTENTIAL. THE FLASH FLOOD WATCH AREA WILL BE KEPT AS IS FOR THIS EARLY MORN FCST PACKAGE...BUT DO HAVE SOME CONCERNS ABOUT THE EAST SLOPES OF SANDIAS AND ESPECIALLY NORTH TO THE SANGRE DE CRISTOS...ALONG WITH THEIR ADJACENT HIGHLANDS TO THE EAST. THE LATTER AREA GOT HAMMERED QUITE STRONGLY WITH HEAVY RAIN WITH CIMARRON VICINITY REPORTEDLY HIT THE HARDEST. WHILE STILL SOME SPOTTY RAINS ONGOING AS OF THIS WRITING...NO HEAVY RAIN IS CURRENTLY BEING NOTED ACROSS THE FCST AREA AND IT LOOKS AS THOUGH AREAS SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 40 IN CURRENT WATCH AREA WILL BE HIT THE HARDEST WITH ADDITIONAL RAINFALL LATER TODAY INTO THIS EVE. NEXT SHIFT WILL BE ACCESSING NEWER FCST MODEL DATA THROUGH THE DAY AND UPDATING WATCH CONFIGURATION IF NEEDED BASED ON ANY PROJECTED SHIFTS IN HEAVY RAINFALL. ANY LINGERING SIGNIFICANT EVE RAINFALL SHOULD GREATLY DIMINISH LATE TONIGHT WITH TUE THROUGH THU BEING MORE OF A RECYCLING MODE FOR MOISTURE AND PRECIP. AFTER WEAK TO MODERATE DRYING ACROSS NW HALF TO TWO THIRDS OF THE STATE TUE WITH THE PASSAGE OF THE MID AND UPPER TROUGH...SOME FURTHER DRYING SHOULD OCCUR MIDWEEK DUE TO SUBSIDENCE FROM A BUILDING RIDGE NEAR TO JUST WEST OF AZ LINE. CHANCES FOR CONVECTION MAY INCREASE AGAIN BY THU AFTN OR FRI. MODELS INDICATE THE CURRENT UPPER TROUGH NEARING THE N AND CENTRAL ROCKIES WILL MOVE THROUGH THAT AREA THEN SLOW DOWN AND PERHAPS EVEN RETROGRADE AROUND UPPER HIGH CIRCULATION...POSS INCREASING SHOWER CHANCES MAINLY CENTRAL MT CHAIN EASTWARD. ANOTHER VERY DEEP TROUGH STILL FORECAST TO MOVE INTO THE WEST COAST BY FRI...THOUGH CANADIAN AND EUROPEAN MODELS SOMEWHAT SLOWER WITH ITS ARRIVAL THERE. THIS COULD INCREASE CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION AGAIN OVER MUCH OF THE REGION BETWEEN SAT AND MON. 43 && .FIRE WEATHER... CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER...NOT EXPECTED THROUGH NEXT WEEKEND. MODELS...IN REASONABLE AGREEMENT THROUGH THE WORK WEEK AND UPCOMING WEEKEND...ALTHOUGH SOME MODEST DIFFERENCES EMERGE LATE SUNDAY IN FEATURE PLACEMENT WITHIN AGREEMENT ON THE BASIC WEATHER STORY. RIDGE EXTENDING FROM THE TROPICAL EAST PACIFIC ACROSS THE SOUTHWEST TO THE WESTERN GULF OF MEXICO IS RECEIVING A NORTHERN CLIP FROM SHORTWAVE MOVING THROUGH THE SALT LAKE AREA EN ROUTE TO THE NORTHERN PLAINS STATES. NORTHEAST CORNER OF NEW MEXICO WILL BE CLIPPED BY EXTREME SOUTHERN EXTENT OF THE SYSTEM IN TIME FOR AMPLIFICATION OF THE RIDGE ACROSS THE SOUTHWESTERN U.S. THROUGH MIDWEEK. UPSTREAM...SUBSTANTIAL NORTH PACIFIC TROUGH AMPLIFYING ABOUT CIRCULATION CENTER OFF THE CANADIAN WEST COAST WILL DIG TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA BY THE END OF THE WORK WEEK...AS UPSTREAM RIDGE HANGS TOUGH FROM BAJA CALIFORNIA ACROSS ARIZONA AND WESTERN NEW MEXICO ACROSS THE NORTHERN PLAINS STATES AND INTO WESTERN ONTARIO IN CENTRAL CANADA. WEST COAST TROUGH WILL START SLOW DRIFT TO THE EAST HEADING INTO THE WEEKEND...REACHING THE FOUR CORNERS LATE SATURDAY. DOMESTIC GFS SOLUTION AND EUROPEAN ECMWF SOLUTION BOTH AGREE ON THE IDEA...BUT GFS IS RUNNING SLIGHTLY AHEAD OF ECMWF IN PLACING CLOSED LOW OVER THE NORTHERN GREAT BASIN...AND MOVING TROUGH BASE INTO WESTERN NEW MEXICO BY SUNDAY. BOTH SYSTEMS MOVING ACROSS NORTHERN NEW MEXICO THROUGH MONDAY OF THE FOLLOWING WORK WEEK...WITH GFS SLOWER AND DEEPER AS CLOSED LOW MOVES ACROSS THE CENTRAL ROCKIES WHILE ECMWF IS MORE PROGRESSIVE AND LESS AMPLIFIED. GFS BUILDS TRAILING RIDGE OVER THE WESTERN U.S...WHILE ECMWF STILL ADVERTISING SERIES OF SHORTWAVE TROUGHS MOVING THROUGH MIDWEEK NEXT WEEK. STILL SOME TIME TO RESOLVE THE DIFFERENCES...BUT WILL KEEP FORECAST THINKING POINTED AT AN ACTIVE PATTERN FOR THE OUTER PERIODS. FOR TODAY...COOLER AND SHOWERY...WITH TEMPERATURES 3 TO 8 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL OVER MUCH OF THE STATE...A LITTLE CLOSER TO NORMAL OVER THE WEST AND NORTHWEST. HEAVIEST SHOWER FOCUS SOUTH AND EAST...WITH HEAVIEST RAINFALL OVER THE SOUTHEAST PLAINS OF EASTERN LINCOLN AND CHAVES COUNTIES...AND LOCALLY HEAVY RAINS OVER THE SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS. MINIMUM HUMIDITIES IN THE 60S EAST...AND 30S AND 40S IN THE WEST WITH GENERALLY GOOD VENTILATION FOR ALL BUT THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS...WHERE DEGRADED CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL. SOUTH WINDS WILL BECOME BREEZY THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE NORTHEAST PLAINS. EXCELLENT HUMIDITY RECOVERIES OVERNIGHT. FOR TUESDAY...TEMPERATURE REBOUND MOVES ALL BUT THE EXTREME SOUTH AND EAST BACK ABOVE NORMAL...WITH DRAMATIC DOWN TICK IN SHOWER COVERAGE...WHICH WILL FOCUS ON THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE STATE AT GREATLY REDUCED INTENSITY. SOLID DRYING OUT BRINGING WESTERN MINIMUM HUMIDITIES INTO THE 20S AND 30S PCT...WHILE THE EAST REMAINS IN THE 30S AND 40S PCT. GRADUAL DEGRADING OF VENTILATION...WITH BEST CONDITIONS IN THE EAST...AND CONDITIONS BECOMING MARGINAL IN THE WEST. GENERALLY LIGHT SURFACE WINDS. GOOD TO EXCELLENT HUMIDITY RECOVERIES OVERNIGHT...BEST IN THE SOUTH AND EAST. FOR WEDNESDAY...RIDGE BUILDING SOLIDLY OVER THE DESERT SOUTHWEST WILL SHIFT ISOLATED TO SCATTERED SHOWER COVERAGE BACK TO THE EAST IN A STEADY TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY REGIME AND GENERALLY LIGHT WINDS. POOR TO FAIR VENTILATION WEST...WITH FAIR TO GOOD CONDITIONS IN THE EAST. CONTINUED GOOD TO EXCELLENT HUMIDITY RECOVERIES...BEST IN THE EAST. OUTLOOK...THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY...GRADUAL COOLING TREND WILL PUSH MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES BACK BELOW NORMAL BY THE WEEKEND AS LARGE WEST COAST TROUGH MAKES AGONIZINGLY SLOW APPROACH TO THE FOUR CORNERS...ARRIVING LATE SATURDAY. SHOWER COVERAGE WILL SHIFT OUT OF THE EAST AND BACK INTO THE WEST FRIDAY AND SATURDAY WITH GRADUAL BOOSTS IN MINIMUM HUMIDITIES INTO THE 30S WEST AND 40S PCT EAST. IMPROVING VENTILATION THROUGH THE PERIOD...WITH MOST SPOTS RUNNING GOOD OR BETTER...WITH VERY GOOD TO EXCELLENT VENTILATION ACROSS MUCH OF THE WEST...AND IN THE NORTHEAST...BY SATURDAY. SHY && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLASH FLOOD WATCH THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ508-509-520-523>526-533>540. && 43
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 549 AM MDT MON SEP 22 2014 NMZ501>540-231200- 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- 549 AM MDT MON SEP 22 2014 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS...SOME WITH VERY HEAVY RAIN...ARE EXPECTED AGAIN TODAY INTO THIS EVENING ACROSS MOST OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. THIS MAY LEAD TO LOCALIZED OCCURRENCES OF FLASH FLOODING...ESPECIALLY FOR AREAS THAT HAVE RECENTLY RECEIVED HEAVY RAIN AS WELL AS OVER AND NEAR BURN SCARS. THE HEAVIEST RAINS ARE MOST LIKELY TO FALL ACROSS AREAS FROM THE SOUTHEAST PLAINS WEST TO THE MANZANO AND NORTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS...LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY AND THE NORTHERN GILA REGION. ISOLATED LOCATIONS MAY RECEIVE UP TO 2 OR 3 INCHES OF RAINFALL. A FEW STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE SMALL HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO 50 MPH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. HOWEVER...WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS...WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT RAINFALL AMOUNTS AND ANY FLOODING THROUGH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/ABQ OR BY CALLING 1.888.386.7637. 43
The Cannon AFB radar (KFDX), 140 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 16:43 UTC.
4 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Water was reported running over Highway 285 at mile marker 137 north of Roswell. The road was closed due to high water and cleared for travel 5 hours later.
Schoolnet site recorded 3.64 inches of rain during the late evening hours.
Writer from the Santa Fe newspaper reported that there was damage to E.J. Martinez Elementary School from flash flooding. It was reported that there was damage to 3 classrooms, the gym, and an office.
Local news station reporting that the body of a 58 year old man was found in the Santa Fe River after heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Reports say that he may have been sleeping in or near the river and drowned when he was swept away from rushing waters.
Damage to culvert apron, retaining rock rip-rap, and metal fencing beneath Interstate 25 about 1 mile south of San Antonio exit. Flow was estimated to be at least 6 feet.
As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.
| Event | Date | Age | Sex | Where | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Flash Flood, Santa Fe | 2014-09-22 | 58 | Male | In Water | Direct |
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, September 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: 537285, 537288, 537286, 537287, 538580.