A strong storm system passed just north of New Mexico from November 10th to the 11th, producing mostly strong winds across the area. The strongest gusts were observed across portions of the east-central plains and east slopes of the central mountain chain where high sustained winds between 40 to 45 mph were reported.
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.
A strong storm system passed just north of New Mexico from November 10th to the 11th, producing mostly strong winds across the area. The strongest gusts were observed across portions of the east-central plains and east slopes of the central mountain chain where high sustained winds between 40 to 45 mph were reported. Snowfall accumulations in the northern mountains were mostly light with no significant impacts 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 Nov 10, 8:28 PM MST, 1 hour 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 828 PM MST TUE NOV 10 2015 .UPDATE... SOME SHRINKING OF THE NPW WAS THOUGHT TO BE NEEDED AND WHILE THIS WAS A TOUGH DECISION AS TO WHAT EXACTLY TO DO...AFTER DISCUSSION WITH ESTEEMED COLLEAGUE ON THIS EVE SHIFT...DECIDED TO CANCEL THE WIND ADVISORY FOR ALL THE AFFECTED WESTERN ZONES...THE JEMEZ MTNS ZONE...THESE 2 GROUPINGS DUE TO HOW BRIEF AND UNDERPERFORMING THE FRONTAL/POST FRONTAL WINDS HAVE BEEN OBSERVED TO BE. ALSO CANCELLED ADVISORY FOR THE EASTERN BORDER COUNTIES AND CHAVES COUNTY SINCE ABOVE CRITERIA WIND SPEEDS ARE NOT EXPECTED FOR THOSE AREAS TIL AFTER DAWN...WHICH SEEMED TOO LONG A DURATION TO KEEP ADVISORY GOING ALL NIGHT LONG. SNOW ADVISORY KEPT AS IS WITH SLIGHT DOWNWARD ADJUSTMENTS TO SNOW AMTS AS THE EVENT IS AT LEAST A THIRD OF THE WAY TOWARD THE FINISH LINE. 43 && .PREV DISCUSSION...510 PM MST TUE NOV 10 2015... .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE WIND WILL BE A AVIATION HAZARD THROUGH THE EVENING HRS ACROSS MOST OF THE FORECAST AREA. STRONG WINDS WILL BE ASSOCIATED WITH A COLD FRONT PASSAGE WHICH IS CURRENTLY DRAPED ACROSS THE WESTERN TIER BUT PROGRESSING EASTWARD. MVFR CONDITIONS DUE TO A MIX OF RA/SN WILL BE FOUND ACROSS THE NW THIRD AS THE UPPER LEVEL LOW TRANSLATES EASTWARD. CERTAINLY MTN TOP OBSCD ACROSS THE NW MTNS. GUP/FMN WILL BE IMPACTED WITH IMPROVING CONDITIONS AFTER 6Z. VFR CONDITIONS ON WED WITH GUSTY NW WIND SPEEDS IN AREAS. 50 && .PREV DISCUSSION...306 PM MST TUE NOV 10 2015... .SYNOPSIS... A DEEP LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL QUICKLY MOVE NORTH OF THE FOUR CORNERS REGION THIS EVENING BEFORE RAPIDLY MOVING INTO COLORADO AND THE CENTRAL PLAINS OF THE NATION BY WEDNESDAY. THIS WILL PRODUCE A VERY WINDY PATTERN OVER NEW MEXICO WHILE SOME RAIN AND SNOW SHOWERS TAKE SHAPE OVERNIGHT. A FEW INCHES OF SNOW ACCUMULATION WILL BE POSSIBLE IN THEN NORTHERN MOUNTAINS OF NEW MEXICO...BUT THE STRONG WINDS WILL BE THE BIGGER STORY. SOME GUSTS MAY REACH 60 MPH ALONG AND IMMEDIATELY EAST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN OF THE STATE TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY MORNING. IN ADDITION...MUCH COLDER AIR WILL SWEEP INTO THE STATE...MAKING IT FEEL VERY BRISK ON WEDNESDAY. MORE TRANQUIL CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED INTO THURSDAY...FRIDAY...AND SATURDAY AS TEMPERATURES REBOUND. INTO SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY...A TRANSIENT UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL PASS OVER NEW MEXICO...BRINGING SOME INCREASED CHANCES FOR PRECIPITATION...MOSTLY ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE INTERSTATE 40 CORRIDOR. && .DISCUSSION... CORE OF UPPER LOW IS DEEPENING RAPIDLY WITH HEIGHTS AT 500MB ALREADY FALLING BELOW 549 DECAMETERS. THE LOW HAS ALSO MADE A SHARP TURN EASTWARD OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS...PICKING UP SPEED. IT WILL PASS NORTH OF THE FOUR CORNERS THIS EVENING ON A FAST TRACK TO EASTERN CO/WESTERN KS BY DAYBREAK WEDNESDAY. SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS CONTINUE TO STRENGTHEN...AND UPSTREAM AZ OBS ARE ALREADY SHOWING SIGNS OF THE DYNAMIC COOLING ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW. THE CORE OF THE JET ROUNDING THE LOW WILL BISECT NM TONIGHT WITH SPEEDS OF 140KT AT 300 MB AND MAXIMA OF 50-65 KT AT 700MB OVER AND JUST TO THE LEE OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN OF THE STATE. CLOSER ANALYSIS OF THE JET CORE AND THETA-E LAPSE RATES VIA CROSS SECTIONS LED TO A CONCERN OF MEETING HIGH WIND CRITERIA...SUSTAINED SPEEDS OF 40 MPH...SO THE HIGH WIND WARNING WAS EXPANDED EARLIER THIS AFTERNOON. HIGHEST WIND SPEEDS WILL GENERALLY BE DURING AND IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING FROPA. THE WIND ADVISORY/WARNING IS A LONG DURATION PRODUCT...AND WHILE SPEEDS MAY NOT MEET CRITERIA FOR THE ENTIRE DURATION...THERE WILL LIKELY BE PERIODIC GUSTS THAT DO FOR DIFFERENT TIMES AS THE FRONT ADVANCES EASTWARD...AND THIS LONG DURATION WILL HELP SIMPLIFY THE MESSAGE. WINTER WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS WERE LEFT AS IS. WHILE THERE MAY BE SOME BLOWING SNOW IN THE SANGRES...THE GREATER IMPACT WAS BELIEVED TO BE THE HIGH WINDS. HIGHS WEDNESDAY WILL RUN 10 TO 15 DEGREES BELOW AVERAGE IN THE CENTRAL TO WESTERN ZONES...AND CLOSE TO NORMAL IN THE EASTERN TIER OF ZONES. WITH THE STRONG WINDS...IT WILL BE A RUDE AND BRISK AWAKENING AFTER OUR VERY MILD START TO THE FALL SEASON. WINDS WILL LOSE SPEED INTO THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON...AND WITH CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHTER WINDS...A CHILLY NIGHT WILL BE ON HAND WEDNESDAY NIGHT. EXPECT SOME SINGLE DIGIT TEMPERATURE READINGS IN ISOLATED NORTHERN AND WESTERN LOCALES. THE FLOW TURNS ZONAL INTO THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...AND WHILE SPEEDS ALOFT WILL NOT NECESSARILY BE LIGHT...THE SPEEDS WOULD BE MUCH MORE TRANQUIL THAN CURRENT CONDITIONS. TEMPERATURES WOULD CREEP UPWARD EACH DAY...AND THE FORMER WIND SHIFT THAT WAS ADVERTISED FOR THE PLAINS ON FRIDAY HAS BECOME ABSENT. AN UPSTREAM TROUGH WILL TAKE SHAPE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WATERS THROUGH THIS TIME...AND THIS FEATURE WILL SHIFT INLAND AND OVER NM BY SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY. FORECAST MODELS HAVE HAD A LACK OF RUN-TO-RUN CONTINUITY WITH THIS DISTURBANCE...BUT THE PAST FEW RUNS MAKE IT APPEAR THAT THE TRAJECTORY WILL BE SUPPORTIVE OF SOME MOISTURE BEING INGESTED INTO AT LEAST SOUTH CENTRAL TO SOUTHEASTERN NM. THE PATTERN LOOKS VERY PROGRESSIVE AND UNSETTLED THEREAFTER WITH ANOTHER TROUGH/LOW ON THE HEELS OF THIS LATE WEEKEND SYSTEM. THE GFS HAS COME IN VERY ASSERTIVELY WITH THIS SYSTEM...BOTTOMING OUT THE CYCLONE TO 541 DAM BY TUESDAY WITH BLIZZARD-LIKE CONDITIONS PAINTED OVER CO AND PARTS OF NORTHEAST NM. THE EUROPEAN ON THE OTHER HAND IS FASTER PACED WITH LESS STRENGTH AND PRECIPITATION. OVERALL THE EUROPEAN HAS BEEN OUTPERFORMING THE GFS IN THE MEDIUM 5 TO 10 DAY RANGE...SO AM INCLINED TO DISCOUNT THE STRENGTH OF THE GFS SOLUTION AT THIS POINT. 52 && .FIRE WEATHER... A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR A PORTION OF THE NORTHEAST PLAINS AND WILL EXPIRE AT 6 PM MST WHEN RELATIVE HUMIDITY IS EXPECTED TO RISE BACK ABOVE CRITICAL THRESHOLD. THAT SAID...DRY AND WINDY TO VERY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THE EVENING HOURS ACROSS MUCH OF THE EAST CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST PLAINS. ELSEWHERE...EXPECT WINDY TO VERY WINDY CONDITIONS AND TURNING MUCH COLDER BEHIND A COLD FRONT TONIGHT. WIND ADVISORIES AND HIGH WINDS WARNINGS ARE IN PLACE THROUGH MID DAY WEDNESDAY. ACCUMULATING SNOW IS LIKELY IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND FAR NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS OVERNIGHT AS THE UPPER LOW MOVES EAST ACROSS SOUTHERN COLORADO...FAVORING HIGHER WEST FACING SLOPES. STRONG WINDS WILL PERSIST THROUGH WEDENSDAY MORNING ALONG AND EAST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN. TEMPERATURES WILL BE BELOW NORMAL WEDNESDAY BEHIND THE FRONT...BUT VENT RATES WILL STILL BE GOOD TO EXCELLENT WITH BREEZY TO WINDY CONDITIONS PERSISTING THROUGH THE DAYLIGHT HOURS. VENT RATES WILL DIP INTO THE POOR CATEGORY MOST AREAS THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AS WINDS RELAX IN WAKE OF THE DEPARTING UPPER LOW. BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE THROUGH FRIDAY WITH IMPROVEMENT OVER THE WEEKEND. AN ACTIVE SUBTROPICAL JET AND WEAK PACIFIC TROUGH WILL BE THE MAIN WEATHER FEATURES OVER THE WEEKEND...BUT THE 12Z MODEL SOLUTIONS CONTINUE TO KEEP THE BULK OF PRECIPITATION SOUTH OF OUR AREA ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO...NORTHERN MEXICO AND WEST TEXAS. THAT SAID...A MODEST INCREASE IN RELATIVE HUMIDITY IS FORECAST AND WILL RESULT MAINLY IN INCREASED CLOUD COVER ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE AREA. A POTENT UPPER LEVEL TROUGH/LOW LOOKS TO IMPACT NEW MEXICO EARLY NEXT WEEK WITH BOTH THE 12Z GFS AND ECMWF SIMILAR WITH THE TIMING. HOWEVER...THE TWO MEDIUM RANGE MODELS DEPART SIGNIFICANTLY BY TUESDAY. MODERATE FORECASTER CONFIDENCE IN A COLDER START TO NEXT WEEK WITH A BOUT OF STRONGER WINDS AND CHANCES FOR WETTING PRECIPITATION TRENDING UP NORTHEAST. 11 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM MST WEDNESDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ512-521-522-525-531>533-537. HIGH WIND WARNING UNTIL 1 PM MST WEDNESDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ513>515-523-524-526>529-539-540. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 11 AM MST WEDNESDAY FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ503-510. && 43
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 548 AM MST TUE NOV 10 2015 NMZ501>540-111300- 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- 548 AM MST TUE NOV 10 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SOUTHWEST WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE WEST AND INCREASE IN SPEED TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL BE ACROSS THE CENTRAL AND SOUTH CENTRAL HIGH TERRAIN WHERE GUSTS COULD REACH 60 MPH. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR THESE AREAS. WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 50 MPH WILL BE COMMON ACROSS THE WESTERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS ONTO THE EASTERN HIGHLANDS AND PLAINS. WIND ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THESE LOCATIONS. IN ADDITION TO THE WINDS...SOME SNOW WILL FALL MAINLY OVER THE WESTERN AND NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. WHILE ACCUMULATIONS WILL BE MAINLY LIGHT...STRONG WINDS WILL PRODUCE BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES LATE TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. HEAVIEST SNOW AMOUNTS OF 3 TO 5 INCHES WILL BE OVER THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAINS. ONE TO 3 INCHES WILL FALL ON THE FAR NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR THESE TWO ZONES. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY STRONG WINDS WILL DIMINISH AND SNOW WILL COME TO AN END DURING THE DAY WEDNESDAY. STRONGEST WINDS WILL SHIFT TO THE FAR NORTHEAST AS A SECONDARY FRONT SWEEPS THROUGH DURING THE DAY. WEATHER CAN CHANGE VERY RAPIDLY. ALWAYS USE THE LATEST FORECASTS... WATCHES AND WARNINGS FOR PLANNING PURPOSES. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT WIND SPEEDS AND SNOW AMOUNTS 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. 40
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Measured high sustained wind near Gascon.
Measured high sustained wind Dora Mesonet.
Large pine tree toppled at UNM Los Alamos due to strong wind gust. No damage to nearby buildings.
Measured high sustained wind CWOP station.
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, November 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: 602360, 602362, 602493, 602364.