An area of showers and thunderstorms developed over southeastern New Mexico during the late afternoon of the 3rd. This area of storms produced gusty winds and heavy rainfall.
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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.
An area of showers and thunderstorms developed over southeastern New Mexico during the late afternoon of the 3rd. This area of storms produced gusty winds and heavy rainfall. One particularly heavy storm south of Roswell toppled an 18-wheeler on U.S. Highway 285. The driver was injured in the crash and transported to a local hospital. A more potent cluster of severe thunderstorms developed over far northeast New Mexico during the early evening hours and delivered large hail and high winds. Quarter size hail and 58 mph winds were reported as the cluster moved slowly east from Grenville to Clayton and Seneca. Very heavy rain also fell in the area however no flooding was 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 Aug 3, 10:30 AM MST, 3 hours 15 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 1130 AM MDT MON AUG 3 2015 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE AIR MASS DRYING WEST TO EAST WILL GREATLY LIMIT -SHRA/-TSRA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING...ESPECIALLY WEST OF THE CENTRAL MTN CHAIN WHERE NO MENTION OF VCSH/VCTS AT TERMINAL SITES. BETTER POTENTIAL FOR CONVECTION OVER SC/SE AND NE QUARTER WHERE MOISTURE AND INSTABILITY PROFILES MORE FAVORABLE. HIGH RESOLUTION MODELS SUGGEST STRONG TO BRIEFLY SEVERE TSRA IMPACTING THE FAR NE CORNER. WILL ALSO KEEP VC PLACEHOLDER AT KROW AS -SHRA/-TSRA ROLL EASTWARD OFF THE TERRAIN. KJ && .PREV DISCUSSION...1015 AM MDT MON AUG 3 2015... .UPDATE... FORECAST UPDATED TO LOWER SHOWER/THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE FOR THIS AFTERNOON. SINGLE DIGIT RH VALUES AT/NEAR 500MB SIMPLY TOO DRY FOR TOWERING CUMULUS/CUMULONIMBUS TO SURVIVE FOR VERY LONG...ESPECIALLY OVER WRN NM. 33 && && .PREV DISCUSSION...315 AM MDT MON AUG 3 2015... .SYNOPSIS... THE RECENT PERIOD OF ACTIVE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL TREND TOWARDS DRIER AND WARMER WEATHER THROUGH MID WEEK. DRIER AIR IS FORECAST TO OVERSPREAD NEW MEXICO FROM WEST TO EAST...BUT MAINLY AFFECTING THE WEST TODAY. PORTIONS OF THE NORTHEAST PLAINS COULD SEE ISOLATED STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WITH HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS THIS AFTERNOON. SHOWERS AND STORMS WILL BE MUCH MORE LIMITED TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY BEFORE MOISTURE BEGINS TO WORK BACK INTO THE STATE FROM THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST. THEREFORE A RETURN TO MORE ACTIVE WEATHER IS ANTICIPATED FRIDAY AND SATURDAY. && .DISCUSSION... DRIER AIR EVIDENT ON SATELLITE IMAGERY TO OUR WEST...IN CONTRAST TO THE SHOWERS AND ISOLD TSTMS ONGOING ACROSS PORTIONS OF CENTRAL AND EASTERN NEW MEXICO AT THIS TIME. STILL UNSURE WHETHER MOISTURE OVER THE WEST WILL MIX OUT ENTIRELY THIS AFTERNOON...THOUGH 00Z SOUNDINGS TO OUR WEST INDICATE DECENT MID LEVEL DRIER AIR...AND TPW PRODUCT VALUES TO OUR WEST SLOWLY DECREASING. THEREFORE HOLDING ONTO THE ISOLD POPS ALONG/WEST OF THE CONTDVD FOR THIS AFTERNOON. IN THE NORTHEAST...A FEW STRONG STORMS WITH HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS ARE POSSIBLE. MODELS CONTINUE TO INDICATE THE DRIER AIR WILL OVERSPREAD THE REGION TUESDAY/WEDNESDAY...SHUTTING DOWN RAIN CHANCES TO ISOLD AT BEST. HIGH TEMPERATURES WARM TO SEVERAL DEGREES ABOVE AVERAGE...WITH WEDNESDAY THE WARMEST DAY. THAT SAID...WATCHING ANOTHER STREAM OF MOISTURE TO OUR WEST NOSE TOWARD THE CA COAST...BUT SO FAR THIS IS PREDICTED TO BE SHUNTED TO OUR NORTH. TOWARDS THE END OF THE WORK WEEK...HIGHS ACROSS THE WEST BEGIN TO FALL BELOW AVERAGE...AS MOISTURE REMAINS FORECAST TO RETURN FROM THE SOUTH AND SOUTHWEST AS A STRONGER TROUGH MOVES INTO THE WEST COAST AND THE UPPER HIGH CENTER RELOCATES TO OUR EAST. BY EARLY NEXT WEEK...THE GFS HINTS THE MOISTURE TAP MAY BE DIMINISHED. && .FIRE WEATHER... A GENERAL DOWNTREND IN THUNDERSTORM COVERAGE IS EXPECTED FOR THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK...BEFORE INCREASING AGAIN NEXT WEEKEND. DRY SLOT IS SLOWLY PUSHING INTO WESTERN NM EARLY THIS MORNING...AND ON THE NOSE OF A WEAK JET...STORMS CONTINUE TO TREK EASTWARD ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NM. THESE SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS SHOULD SLOWLY DIMINISH EARLY THIS MORNING AS THEY MOVE ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS. LATER TODAY...AS THE DRIER AIR ALOFT CONTINUES TO NUDGE INTO WESTERN NM...THE MOISTURE PLUME WILL BE SHUNTED EASTWARD. THUS...SHOWER AND TSTM COVERAGE ACROSS THE WEST SHOULD WANE SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE PAST FEW DAYS...AND BEST STORM CHANCES WILL BE ALONG/EAST OF THE CENTRAL MTN CHAIN. MODELS SHOW DEWPOINTS DRYING OUT INTO THE UPPER 30S OR LOW 40S ACROSS WESTERN NM...BUT GIVEN RECENT HEAVY RAINS AND EXPECTED EVAPOTRANSPIRATION TODAY...SUSPECT THAT MAY BE A LITTLE TOO BULLISH. THUS... THE DEWPOINT...AND HENCE RH....FORECAST IS ON THE HIGH SIDE OF GUIDANCE. NONETHELESS... MINIMUM HUMIDITIES THIS AFTERNOON WILL BE 10 TO 20 PERCENT LOWER THAN YESTERDAY. SIMILAR READINGS TO YESTERDAY ACROSS THE EAST. THE DRY AIR CONTINUES TO FILTER IN ON TUESDAY...AND LINGERS AROUND THROUGH THURSDAY AS THE UPPER HIGH WOBBLES OVERHEAD AND DISTURBS THE TYPICAL MONSOONAL FLOW PATTERN. DUE TO THE DRYING TREND...TEMPERATURES WILL WARM...AND HUMIDITIES WILL LOWER. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE A FEW TO NEAR 10 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL TUES- THURS. HUMIDITIES WILL LOWER EACH DAY...BUT MINIMUMS BETWEEN 14 AND 24 PERCENT WILL BE COMMON AREAWIDE. FAIR TO GOOD HUMIDITY RECOVERIES WILL BE COMMON. WIDESPREAD HAINES VALUES OF 5 WILL ALSO RETURN...WITH 6 HAINES PREVAILING ON THURSDAY. ANY STORMS THAT DO DEVELOP WILL FAVOR THE MOUNTAINS. THE UPPER LEVEL HIGH WILL START TO SHIFT EASTWARD ON FRIDAY AS THE NEXT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH MOVES ONTO THE CALI COAST. THUS...SOUTHERLY FLOW...AND MONSOONAL MOISTURE...SHOULD RETURN FOR FRIDAY AND THE WEEKEND. BEST STORM CHANCES ON FRIDAY LOOK TO BE ACROSS WESTERN NM AS THE UPPER HIGH WILL STILL HAVE A GRIP ON THE EAST. BUT BY THE WEEKEND...THE MONSOONAL PLUME SHOULD MOVE OVERHEAD INCREASE PRECIP CHANCES ONCE AGAIN. VENTILATION WILL BE GOOD TO EXCELLENT MUCH OF THE WEEK. HOWEVER...COULD SEE A FEW POCKETS OF POOR ACROSS THE WEST CENTRAL HIGHLAND AND PORTIONS OF THE NE PLAINS DUE TO VERY LOW TRANSPORT WINDS. 34 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 530 AM MDT MON AUG 3 2015 NMZ501>540-041200- 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 CRISTOS ABOVE 9500 FEET/RED RIVER-SOUTHERN SANGRE DE CRISTOS ABOVE 9500 FEET-EAST SLOPES SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS-UPPER RIO GRANDE VALLEY-LOWER CHAMA RIVER VALLEY- SANTA FE METRO AREA-MIDDLE RIO GRANDE VALLEY/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- 530 AM MDT MON AUG 3 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT PATCHY DENSE FOG IS POSSIBLE EARLY THIS MORNING OVER PORTIONS OF WESTERN NEW MEXICO. ISOLATED STRONG STORMS WITH HAIL AND WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 50 MPH AS WELL AS LOCALLY HEAVY RAIN ARE POSSIBLE OVER THE NORTHEAST THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. .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...WIND GUSTS OR HAIL THROUGH THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/ABQ OR BY CALLING 1.888.386.7637. YOU CAN ALSO SUBMIT STORM REPORTS AND PHOTOS ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE OR VIA TWITTER USING THE HASHTAG N M W X.
The Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 156 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:43 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Power lines downed from high winds resulted in power outage at the Roswell Correctional Facility between Hagerman and Dexter.
Spotter reported overturned 18-wheeler along U.S. Highway 285 from severe thunderstorm winds. The driver was injured in the crash and transported to a local hospital.
Spotter reported a severe wind gust moved through the area with a thunderstorm on the 3rd.
Quarter size hail near Grenville. Light accumulations were noted.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, August 2015
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: 586077, 585888, 585889, 585887.