The combination of strong winds aloft ahead of an approaching storm system and a large pressure gradient over New Mexico produced strong wind gusts around White Sands Missile Range. The strongest wind gust reported was 69 mph in the late afternoon hours.
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.
The combination of strong winds aloft ahead of an approaching storm system and a large pressure gradient over New Mexico produced strong wind gusts around White Sands Missile Range. The strongest wind gust reported was 69 mph in the late afternoon hours. No damage 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 Mar 2, 10:59 AM MST, 4 hours 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 1059 AM MST MON MAR 2 2015 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE UPPER LOW ALONG THE SOCAL COAST WILL SWING TO THE EAST AND SOUTHEAST DURING THE NEXT 24 HRS. IN THE MEANTIME...PLUME OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE STRETCHED FROM SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST OVER NEW MEXICO AND OVERRUNNING MODIFYING COOLER AIR ENTRENCHED OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS WILL BE SHUNTED EASTWARD. SFC CDFNT TO REACH AZ/NM STATE LINE AROUND 03/00Z AND PUSH EASTWARD. OTHER THAN MVFR TO IFR CIGS IN BR PERSISTING OVER MUCH OF THE PLAINS...MORE WIDESPREAD MVFR TO IFR CIGS/VSBYS IN -SN AND BR WILL DEVELOP ALONG AND IN THE WAKE OF THE CDFNT AND UPPER TROF AS THEY TRACK EAST INTO NM. SOUTH TO SW WND GUSTS TO AROUND 40 KTS WILL SPREAD OVER THE CONTDVD WWD IN ADVANCE OF THE CDFNT. WND GUSTS TO AROUND 40KTS WILL ALSO SPREAD OVER THE CENTRAL MT CHAIN AND ADJACENT HIGHLANDS AFT 00Z. && .PREV DISCUSSION...915 AM MST MON MAR 2 2015... .UPDATE... ALLOWED THE FREEZING FOG ADVISORY TO EXPIRE AT 9 AM MST. THE AREA OF FOG HAS REDUCED AND MAINLY RELEGATED TO AREAS IMMEDIATELY EAST OF THE CENTRAL MTN CHAIN. SURFACE TEMPERATURES WILL ALSO GRADUALLY TREND TO NEAR FREEZING IF NOT ABOVE THIS MORNING...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHERLY PORTIONS OF THE ADVISORY AREA DUE TO WARM AIR ADVECTION. DID LOWER SNOW AMOUNTS FOR TODAY PERIOD. TEMPS ARE RUNNING PRETTY HIGH AT MOST OF THE SNOTEL SITES. PRETTY HIGH ELEVATION SNOW TODAY AND WILL BLEED INTO TONIGHT SOME. TRICK WILL BE PLACING THE HIGHER QPF AMOUNTS SHOWN BY THE MODELS FOR THIS EVENING WITH APPROPRIATE SNOW LEVELS AND IMPACTS. 50 && .PREV DISCUSSION...334 AM MST MON MAR 2 2015... .SYNOPSIS... FREEZING DRIZZLE AND FREEZING FOG OVER EASTERN NEW MEXICO THIS MORNING WILL GIVE WAY TO A COUPLE RAIN SHOWERS THIS AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES WILL BE MILD AGAIN TODAY FOR CENTRAL AND WESTERN NEW MEXICO AHEAD OF ONE LAST BURST OF WINTER WEATHER TONIGHT. A LARGE AREA OF RAIN AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOW WILL PROGRESS SLOWLY EAST BY LATE TODAY AND CHANGE TO ALL SNOW WHILE LOWERING TO VALLEY FLOORS THROUGH THIS EVENING. WINDS WILL ALSO BE NOTICEABLY STRONGER WITH BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS FOR CENTRAL AND WESTERN NEW MEXICO. COLDER AIR WILL FILTER IN TUESDAY BEFORE A REINFORCING SHOT OF ARCTIC AIR SLIDES IN WEDNESDAY. CONDITIONS WILL BE BLUSTERY WITH VERY COLD WIND CHILLS. A SLOW WARMING TREND WILL DEVELOP THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK. && .DISCUSSION... AN IMPRESSIVE TAP OF SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE CONTINUES SURGING TO THE NORTHEAST OVER THE DESERT SW AHEAD OF A QUASI-STATIONARY 547DM H5 UPPER LOW OFF THE SOCAL COASTLINE. A SHALLOW AND VERY MOIST COLD AIRMASS IN PLACE AT THE SURFACE OVER THE EAST IS RESULTING IN AREAS OF FZFG/FZDZ BENEATH WARMER AIR ALOFT. WILL CONTINUE THE FREEZING FOG ADVISORY. THE 09Z WATER VAPOR LOOP SHOWS AN UPPER WAVE RACING SOUTH ALONG THE WEST COAST WITH A POTENT COLD CORE DRY SLOT. THE SOCAL LOW WILL BE KICKED EASTWARD AND SHEAR ALONG THE SUBTROPICAL JET AXIS. NAM CROSS SECTIONS FROM FLAGSTAFF TO ABQ SHOW FRONTOGENESIS BETWEEN WINSLOW AND GALLUP THROUGH ABOUT 00Z TUESDAY WITH A WELL- DEFINED LINE OF MODERATE TO LOCALLY HEAVY PRECIP ALONG THE FRONT. FRONTOLYSIS THEN TAKES SHAPE AS MID AND UPPER LEVEL FORCING IS LOST. COLD ADVECTION WILL SLIDE EAST WITH THE FRONT AND DROP SNOW LEVELS QUICKLY TO VALLEY FLOORS. THE BIG CONCERN IS LOSS OF FORCING AS THE BAND OF PRECIP MOVES EASTWARD SO WILL NOT UPGRADE WINTER STORM WATCH. THE SAN JUAN/TUSAS RANGE WILL SEE ADDITIONAL WARNING SNOWFALL. THE IMPACT WINDOW WILL BE FROM 00Z TO 09Z OVER THE NORTHERN MTS. THIS MAY BE CONSIDERED AN IMPACT-BASED WARNING SINCE BLOWING SNOW WILL BE MUCH MORE A THREAT THIS GO AROUND THAN THE PAST WEEK. WIND ADVISORIES WILL ALSO GO IN EFFECT FOR PARTS OF THE WEST TODAY. TUESDAY WILL TREND COLDER WITH BREEZY AND DRIER WEST WINDS. PRECIP MAY LINGER OVER THE WEST SLOPES OF THE NORTHERN HIGH TERRAIN AS A WEAKER WAVE SHIFTS EAST SOUTHEAST OVER THE CENTRAL ROCKIES. THERE ARE STILL SOME UNCERTAINTIES ON HOW MUCH THIS WAVE MAY SLIDE INTO OUR AREA WITH THE LARGER TROUGH CARVED OUT OVER SOUTHERN AZ AND NORTHERN MEXICO. NONETHELESS...THE ARCTIC PLUNGE WILL BE THE MAIN STORY AS 700MB TEMPS HOVER BETWEEN -8 AND -12C THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. THE REINFORCING COLD FRONT WILL SLIDE SOUTH AND USHER IN VERY BLUSTERY CONDITIONS WEDNESDAY WITH BITTER WIND CHILLS ALL AREAS. HIGH TEMPS WILL AVERAGE 25-35F BELOW NORMAL OVER THE EAST. SOME UPSLOPE LIGHT SNOWS/FZDZ MAY REDEVELOP IN THE NORTHEAST WITH THE BACK DOOR FRONT AS WELL. AGAIN CONFIDENCE ON THE OVERALL SCENARIO IS ONLY MODERATE AT THIS TIME IN THE PRECIP DEPARTMENT DEPENDING ON HOW THE UPPER PATTERN EVOLVES THRU THURSDAY MORNING. GUIDANCE DOES INDICATE A SLOW WARMING TREND BY FRIDAY INTO THE WEEKEND WITH AN UPPER HIGH BUILDING OVER THE WEST COAST. PERIODIC BACK DOOR FRONTS WILL WAVER TEMPS IN THE EAST...BUT OVERALL MORE SPRING-LIKE TEMPS WILL IMPACT THE REGION. NO SIGNIFICANT RAIN OR SNOW CHANCES APPEAR ON THE HORIZON FOR QUITE SOME TIME. GUYER && .FIRE WEATHER... THE ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL PERSIST ACROSS NORTH AND CENTRAL NM THROUGH AT LEAST TUE NIGHT OR WED...BUT THE BIGGEST IMPACT WITH WINDS AND PRECIP SHOULD BE THE NEXT 36 HOURS OR SO. NO CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED THROUGH THE WEEK. FOR TODAY MUCH OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL SEE WIND INCREASE SIGNIFICANTLY LATE MORNING INTO THIS AFTN. SPEEDS WILL BE HIGHEST IN THE ELEVATED TERRAIN OF WEST CENTRAL NM WHERE SOME GUSTS BETWEEN 40 AND NEARLY 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE. WHILE WINDS THERE AND PERHAPS EAST THROUGH PORTIONS OF SOCORRO...VALENCIA AND SOUTHERN TORRANCE COUNTIES WILL BE IN THE CRITICAL RANGE...MIN RH LEVELS SHOULD STAY FAR ENOUGH ABOVE CRITICAL VALUES TO AVOID RED FLAG CONDITIONS. SURFACE FLOW WILL BE BRISK INTO TONIGHT AND A LITTLE FARTHER EAST TUESDAY AS THE PACIFIC FRONT ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW PUSHES THROUGH NM...SHIFTING WINDS TO MORE WESTERLY DIRECTION. VENTILATION RATES WILL BE POOR IN THE EASTERN TIER OF NM TODAY AND GOOD TO EXCELLENT MOST AREAS WEST FROM THE CENTRAL MTN CHAIN. VENT RATES TO BE GOOD TO EXCELLENT...MAINLY THE LATTER...ACROSS ROUGHLY 97 PERCENT OF THE AREA TUESDAY THEN COMING DOWN A BIT WEST HALF TO TWO THIRDS WED...MORE SO FARTHER EAST. THEREAFTER INTO THE WEEKEND RATES WILL BE MUCH LOWER...GENERALLY POOR TO FAIR MOST AREAS. PRECIPITATION WILL RAMP UP SOME LATER TODAY MAINLY WEST...WEST AND SOMEWHAT CENTRAL TONIGHT. SOME PERIODIC SNOW WILL IMPACT THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS...NAMELY THE SAN JUAN/TUSAS RANGE NEAR THE CO/NM BORDER...BEFORE THE INCREASE ELSEWHERE. SNOW LEVELS WILL LIKELY BE AT THEIR HIGHEST TODAY BEFORE LOWERING QUICKLY LATE THIS AFTN AND EVEN...FALLING FROM BETWEEN 8500 TO 9000 FEET NORTH...HIGHER ELSEWHERE...TO THE SFC MOST OF THE NORTH AND WEST CENTRAL THIS EVE. INTO TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS WILL REMAIN FAVORED FOR LARGE SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS. ADDITIONAL MORE MODEST PRECIP POTENTIAL POSS IN A COUPLE WAVES TUE MAINLY NW AND N CENTRAL NM AND WED NORTH CENTRAL AND EAST. 43 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER STORM WATCH FROM 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TUESDAY AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ511>515. WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 5 PM MST THIS AFTERNOON FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ502-505-506-508. WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 5 PM MST TUESDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES...NMZ510. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 536 AM MST MON MAR 2 2015 NMZ501>540-031300- 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- 536 AM MST MON MAR 2 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AREAS OF FREEZING FOG AND FREEZING DRIZZLE OVER EASTERN NEW MEXICO WILL TAPER OFF FROM WEST TO EAST THIS MORNING. SOUTH SOUTHWEST WINDS OF 25 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH WILL THEN IMPACT WEST CENTRAL NEW MEXICO THIS AFTERNOON. RAIN AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOW SHOWERS WILL BECOME WIDESPREAD AGAIN LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT AS A COLD FRONT SLIDES EAST INTO THE STATE. SNOW LEVELS WILL FALL TO ALL LOCATIONS AND THE POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW WILL INCREASE OVER THE NORTHERN HIGH TERRAIN THROUGH TUESDAY. THE WEIGHT OF HEAVY SNOW FROM THE PAST WEEK MAY COMPROMISE WEAKENED STRUCTURES ACROSS THE NORTHERN HIGH TERRAIN. THE POTENTIAL FOR AVALANCHES CANNOT BE RULED OUT ON STEEP MOUNTAIN PEAKS ALONG THE COLORADO BORDER. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY SNOW WILL SLOWLY TAPER OFF TUESDAY OVER THE NORTHERN HIGH TERRAIN. THE POTENTIAL FOR AVALANCHES WILL CONTINUE ON STEEP MOUNTAIN PEAKS ALONG THE COLORADO BORDER THROUGH TUESDAY. WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS... WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOW AND RAINFALL REPORTS 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. GUYER
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Wind gusts reached between 58 and 65mph periodically for many hours on the 2nd.
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, March 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: 553876.