Persistent high pressure over New Mexico caused a prolonged period of near record to record high temperatures for central and eastern areas. Very warm temperatures on the 9th combined with low humidity values and windy conditions to create critical fire weather conditions for portions of east 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.
Persistent high pressure over New Mexico caused a prolonged period of near record to record high temperatures for central and eastern areas. Very warm temperatures on the 9th combined with low humidity values and windy conditions to create critical fire weather conditions for portions of east central New Mexico. A grass fire started around 145pm 60 miles west of Roswell, or near Hondo. Forestry officials were able to contain the 10 acre fire about an hour later, but not before an outbuilding was destroyed. No other injuries or property damages 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 Feb 9, 11:01 AM MST, 2 hours 44 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 1101 AM MST MON FEB 9 2015 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED NEXT 24 HRS. SOME BREEZES ANTICIPATED ACROSS THE EASTERN PLAINS THROUGH SUNDOWN BUT SPEEDS WILL GENERALLY BE LESS THAN 25 KT. 50 && .PREV DISCUSSION...335 AM MST MON FEB 9 2015... .SYNOPSIS... ABOVE TO WELL ABOVE AFTERNOON HIGH TEMPERATURES AND NIGHTTIME LOWS WILL THROUGH TUESDAY NIGHT BEFORE MORE SIGNIFICANT...BUT NOT DRASTIC...COOLING TAKES PLACE. TODAY THOUGH EXPECT NO SIGNIFICANT TEMPERATURE CHANGES FROM SUNDAY. WINDS TO INCREASE SOME TODAY COMPARED TO SUNDAY...MAINLY ALONG AND NEAR INTERSTATE 40 CORRIDOR EAST FROM CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN. APPROACHING UPPER LEVEL LOW WILL DROP SOUTHWARD A LITTLE WEST OF NEW MEXICO ARIZONA STATE LINE WEDNESDAY INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING...BRINGING CLOSER TO SEASONAL TEMPERATURES AND INCREASING CHANCES FOR SPOTTY PRECIPITATION LATER TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. THERE REMAINS SOME FORECAST MODEL DISAGREEMENT AS TO HOW MUCH AND HOW WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION WILL BE...THOUGH AGAIN EARLY THIS MORNING THE FORECAST MODELS TREND COMPARED TO 24 HOURS PREVIOUS IS TOWARD A LITTLE LESS OVERALL PRECIPITATION. EXPECT AT LEAST A COUPLE OF DAYS DRYING THEREAFTER. && .DISCUSSION... UPPER LEVEL HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE OVER NM TO FLATTEN OUT SOME TODAY AND MORE SO TUE...THOUGH STILL THE DOMINANT FEATURE WEATHERWISE THROUGH THIS PERIOD. TEMPS WILL REMAIN WELL ABOVE SEASONAL NORMS THROUGH TUE NIGHT AND AT LEAST A FEW RECORDS MAY BE...OR COME CLOSE TO BEING...THREATENED...THOUGH RECORD HIGHS NOT LIKELY ENOUGH TO BE BROKEN TO WARRANT THE USE OF RECORD HIGH HIGHLIGHTS IN THE HAZARD GRIDS. SFC WINDS TO BE SOMEWHAT LIGHTER MUCH OF THE DAY COMPARED TO SUNDAY ACROSS THE EAST HALF OF NM. WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BEGIN TO INCREASE SLIGHTLY TODAY AND PERHAPS EVEN MORE TUE AS A FAIRLY MODEST UPPER LOW DROPS INTO THE GREAT BASIN VICINITY. WESTERLY SFC BREEZES WILL PICK UP A LITTLE TODAY AND PERHAPS TUE...BUT STRONGEST WINDS WILL LIKELY BE BEHIND A SOUTH TO SOUTHWEST BOUND COLD FRONT WED. MODEST...AND TO A FAIR DEGREE MOISTURE IMPAIRED UPPER LOW TO MOVE SOUTH A LITTLE WAYS WEST OF AZ NM LINE WED INTO WED NIGHT AND THE ATTENDANT COLD FRONT WILL MOVE SOUTH OVER NM MORE OR LESS AT THE SAME TIME. HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL THEN FINALLY COOL TO VALUES CLOSER TO SEASONAL NORMS. PRECIP WITH THIS FEATURE COMBO LOOKS EVEN A LITTLE MORE LACKING THAN WAS THE CASE 24 HOURS AGO WITH MOST OF THE FCST MODELS. EVEN THE MOST BULLISH MODEL STILL LOOKS TO BE PRODUCING SUB ADVISORY SNOWS PRETTY MUCH ALL OF THE FCST AREA. THEREAFTER... THE GFS AND ECMWF SOLUTIONS FOR LATE NEXT WEEK INTO SAT ARE PROMISING DRY WX WITH ANOTHER GENERALLY MILD TEMP REGIME. THERE IS AN INDICATION THAT SOME PRECIP MAY ENTER W TO SW HALF OR SO OF NM LATE MON. 43 && .FIRE WEATHER... ANOTHER COUPLE DAYS OF NEAR RECORD HEAT FOR SOME AREAS BEFORE HIGH TEMPERATURES FALL TO NEAR OR EVEN A FEW DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE WEDNESDAY. SOME WESTERLY BREEZES THIS AFTERNOON EAST CENTRAL THANKS TO A LEE SURFACE TROUGH BUT NO CRITICAL CONDITIONS ANTICIPATED...ALTHOUGH THE DEW POINT FORECAST MAY BE A BIT ON THE HIGH SIDE ESPECIALLY OVER THE PLAINS. NOT MUCH CONFIDENCE IN DEW POINT FORECAST TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY NIGHT EITHER. DESPITE A LOW LEVEL EAST TO WEST FLOW...AND THE UPPER LOW CIRCULATION...THEY ARE FORECAST TO BE RELATIVELY DRY GIVEN THE POTENTIAL FOR PRECIPITATION AT LEAST IN UPSLOPE AREAS. THE EXCEPTION APPEARS TO BE THE FAR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL REGIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA WHERE IT LOOKS AS IF SOME MOISTURE WILL BE ADVECTED. HOWEVER...ANY PRECIPITATION IMPACTS SHOULD BE SHORT LIVED GIVEN THE CURRENTLY FORECAST TRACK OF THE UPPER LOW...WHICH IS GENERALLY FARTHER WEST THAN IT WAS FORECAST TO BE 24 HRS AGO. GUSTY NORTHEAST TO EAST WINDS MAY END UP BECOMING THE MORE SIGNIFICANT FEATURE OF THE MID WEEK PERIOD. WIND SHIFT ASSOCIATED WITH THE FRONT TUESDAY NIGHT SLIGHTLY FASTER NOW...WITH POTENTIAL FOR THE EAST WIND TO REACH THE RGV POSSIBLY BY 12Z WEDNESDAY. ENDED UP INCREASING THE EAST WIND INTO THE RGV ESPECIALLY THE MIDDLE RGV WITH GUSTS TO AROUND 45 MPH BELOW CANYONS...LEANING TOWARD THE GFS/ECWMF GUIDANCE. H7 WINDS FORECAST TO BE EAST AND FORECAST SURFACE GRADIENT ALSO SEEMS TO SUPPORT A STRONGER WIND. VENT RATES WILL BE GOOD FOR MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY. SOME EXCEPTIONS WILL BE THE NORTHWEST AND NORTH CENTRAL AS WELL AS PORTIONS OF THE RGV TODAY AND TUESDAY. WHAT EVENTUALLY HAPPENS WITH THE UPPER LOW STILL QUESTIONABLE. THURSDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY REMAIN DRY. THERE ARE A COUPLE OF WIND SHIFTS IN THE PLAINS FRIDAY/SATURDAY BUT AFFECTS MAINLY FOR WINDS AND TEMPERATURES. THE LOW IS FORECAST TO CIRCULATE MOISTURE INTO THE WEST AND SOUTH LATE SUNDAY AND OVER A WIDER AREA MONDAY...THEREFORE POPS RETURN TO THE GRIDDED FORECAST EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 558 AM MST MON FEB 9 2015 NMZ501>540-101300- 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- 558 AM MST MON FEB 9 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY NO SIGNIFICANT HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. SOME SPOTTY...MOSTLY LIGHT...RAIN AND SNOW CAN BE EXPECTED MAINLY ACROSS THE NORTHWEST HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA LATE TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY EVENING WITH THE HIGHER TERRAIN SEEING MOSTLY SNOW AND THE LOWER TERRAIN MORE RAIN THAN SNOW. MOST FORECAST MODELS HAVE CONTINUED TO TREND A LITTLE LIGHTER WITH PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS...SUCH THAT A MAJOR HAZARD IS NOT EXPECTED. HOWEVER...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
1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
NM State Forestry reported 10 acre fire through Twitter. KOAT later confirmed fire and burning of one building.
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, February 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: 551378.