S. Highway 550 resulted in a double fatal accident.
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.
A slow-moving thunderstorm that produced localized heavy rainfall along U.S. Highway 550 resulted in a double fatal accident. Officials said a Ford pickup traveling northbound from Rio Rancho crossed into the path of a Toyota truck that was traveling southbound from Aztec and caused a head-on collision. Both vehicles caught fire and burned as a result. Law enforcement determined the cause of the accident was a result of hydroplaning in an area where water was ponding across the roadway.
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 18, 2:06 PM MST, 54 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 306 PM MDT THU AUG 18 2016 .SYNOPSIS... Showers and thunderstorms will continue into this evening, with a similar crop of thunderstorms expected for Friday afternoon. However, a back door cold front will slide down the plains Friday night increasing the potential for thunderstorms and heavy rain. The front will push westward through the gaps of the central mountain chain early Saturday morning, with some breezy gap winds likely in the Rio Grande Valley. Focus for storm coverage will shift back to central and western New Mexico on Saturday. Sunday and Monday may be the most active days of the upcoming week with numerous storms, locally heavy rain, and perhaps some small hail as well. A downtrend in storm coverage may be in store mid week. && .DISCUSSION... A decent crop of thunderstorms is ongoing across western and northern NM, and a similar story is expected for Friday afternoon. Although, a prefrontal trough across the eastern plains may provide an additional focus for storm development. The bigger increase in storm coverage will be Friday evening and overnight when the main back door front plows through the plains. Numerous showers and thunderstorms are expected along and behind the front with locally heavy rain and small hail possible with the stronger storms. Breezy to locally windy conditions are also expected behind the front. The front, perhaps convectively aided, will push westward through the gaps of the central mountain chain early Saturday morning. Canyon winds in the Rio Grande Valley should be at least in the 15-25 mph range with gusts to 35 mph, if not higher. The influx of low level moisture behind the front to the ContDvd should set the stage for a somewhat more active Saturday, particularly btw the ContDvd and the central mtn chain. The eastern plains will be tricky on Saturday as instability remains a question. Much cooler temperatures are expected behind the front, generally 70s and low 80s, so the atmosphere is not likely to be as unstable, thus, less storms. Most models agree there may be a more significant uptick in storm coverage on Sunday and Monday, particularly across western and central NM, though storm motion may take storms into the plains. Continued low level southeasterly flow through the period should continue to draw up low level moisture from the Gulf perhaps as far west as the ContDvd. Additionally, southwesterly flow should increase, particularly Monday, as a baggy trough/low over SoCal/AZ shifts E/NE. Thus, plenty of moisture and lift will be in place for numerous showers and thunderstorms to develop. Adding in some weak shear could allow for a few strong to briefly severe storms as well. Trough axis should cross NM on Tuesday and Tuesday night which should shift the best moisture plume east and southeast. Though there will still be storms, a downtrend is possible, particularly across the norhtwest third to half of the state. The downtrend may continue on Wednesday, but may increase again by Friday with another back door cold front. Stay tuned as models are not in agreement on the timing of the front. 34 && .FIRE WEATHER... Showers and storms fired over the northern and western high terrain again this afternoon, and will track generally to the east and into the valleys and highlands. Some may survive long enough to reach the northeast and east central plains by this evening. Brief and locally heavy rain will be possible from a few of the cells. Low level moisture to increase in the east central and southeast plains this evening, and may result in some low clouds by early Friday morning. A weak northerly wind shift in the northeast and east central during the day Friday will be followed by a more vigorous northerly wind Friday night associated with the anticipated cold front. Some drier air may attempt to push into the northwest Friday so the focus for wetting showers and storms will shift to the north central and northeast Friday and Friday night. The front looks to push low level moisture westward toward the Continental Divide Friday night and Saturday. Temperatures will fall below average overall Saturday, but the greater deviation from average will be across the eastern plains. Conditions may be too stable for thunderstorms over the east Saturday, so the focus for wetting rain from showers and storms will stretch from the Continental Divide to the central mountain chain. Spotty fair to poor vent rates are forecast for the northeast Friday and may become more widespread along and south of Interstate 40 Saturday. Sunday and Monday storm chances appear greatest across central and western NM, and these days may be the most active of early to mid next week. High temperatures will linger below average for most locales. Chances for wetting rain may taper down mid to late next week, but confidence is low in the model solutions. && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE Weak upper trof to inch from west to east over nrn and central NM through 19/12Z with sfc lee trof. Expect at least sct convection to develop aft 18Z and drift from west to east. The stronger cells to produce outflow winds to 40kt as well as small hail and brief heavy rain, which may locally reduce cigs/vsbys to MVFR and briefly obscure mts. At least isolated activity may survive aft 00Z to reach the northeast and east central plains. Expect the majority of storms to taper off aft 19/03Z but sct showers and isold storms may persist thereafter. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 58 88 58 88 / 20 10 10 10 Dulce........................... 47 81 46 80 / 30 20 20 20 Cuba............................ 50 80 50 75 / 40 20 20 30 Gallup.......................... 51 84 50 83 / 30 30 20 20 El Morro........................ 51 78 51 77 / 40 30 30 30 Grants.......................... 51 82 51 79 / 30 30 20 30 Quemado......................... 55 80 54 78 / 30 40 30 40 Glenwood........................ 63 88 62 86 / 10 20 10 40 Chama........................... 46 75 45 73 / 40 40 40 30 Los Alamos...................... 56 78 56 74 / 40 30 30 50 Pecos........................... 52 78 52 70 / 30 40 40 50 Cerro/Questa.................... 50 74 50 71 / 40 40 50 30 Red River....................... 43 66 44 63 / 50 60 60 60 Angel Fire...................... 39 70 42 66 / 40 50 60 60 Taos............................ 48 78 50 73 / 30 30 30 30 Mora............................ 51 73 50 67 / 40 50 50 60 Espanola........................ 55 84 57 78 / 30 20 20 30 Santa Fe........................ 55 79 56 73 / 30 20 30 40 Santa Fe Airport................ 55 83 55 76 / 20 10 20 30 Albuquerque Foothills........... 61 85 62 80 / 20 10 20 40 Albuquerque Heights............. 62 88 63 82 / 20 10 10 20 Albuquerque Valley.............. 59 89 61 83 / 20 10 10 20 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 60 88 62 82 / 20 10 10 20 Los Lunas....................... 60 89 61 85 / 20 10 10 20 Rio Rancho...................... 60 88 61 82 / 20 10 10 20 Socorro......................... 62 89 63 85 / 30 10 20 30 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 56 79 56 74 / 30 20 30 50 Tijeras......................... 57 85 56 78 / 30 10 20 40 Moriarty/Estancia............... 52 82 53 76 / 30 20 20 40 Clines Corners.................. 54 80 52 72 / 30 20 30 40 Gran Quivira.................... 56 82 55 75 / 20 20 10 40 Carrizozo....................... 60 86 59 80 / 20 10 10 40 Ruidoso......................... 53 80 53 72 / 20 40 30 60 Capulin......................... 52 76 50 71 / 40 50 70 30 Raton........................... 53 81 52 74 / 30 40 60 30 Springer........................ 54 81 55 75 / 30 40 50 30 Las Vegas....................... 52 81 50 71 / 30 40 40 40 Clayton......................... 60 83 53 74 / 20 30 60 10 Roy............................. 57 83 56 74 / 30 40 60 20 Conchas......................... 62 90 61 79 / 20 30 50 20 Santa Rosa...................... 61 91 61 81 / 20 30 40 20 Tucumcari....................... 64 93 61 80 / 10 30 50 20 Clovis.......................... 62 91 59 80 / 10 20 40 20 Portales........................ 63 90 59 80 / 10 20 30 20 Fort Sumner..................... 63 90 60 80 / 10 20 30 20 Roswell......................... 66 95 65 84 / 10 10 10 30 Picacho......................... 59 87 60 77 / 10 20 20 40 Elk............................. 56 81 57 74 / 20 30 20 60 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 34
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 534 AM MDT THU AUG 18 2016 NMZ501>540-191200- 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- 534 AM MDT THU AUG 18 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE FOUND ACROSS NORTHERN AND WESTERN NEW MEXICO THROUGH EARLY TONIGHT. STORMS WILL BE MOST NUMEROUS OVER AND NEAR THE HIGHER TERRAIN. STORM MOTIONS WILL GENERALLY BE TOWARD THE EAST OR NORTHEAST AT 10 TO 20 MPH. SMALL HAIL...WIND GUSTS TO AROUND 40 MPH AND BRIEF LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL CAN BE EXPECTED WITH THE STRONGEST STORMS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...FRIDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY AIR MASS DRYING WILL DECREASE OVERALL THUNDERSTORMS COVERAGE ON FRIDAY...WITH THE FOCUS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN BUT ALSO SHIFTING TO EASTERN AREAS OF THE STATE. A STRONG BACKDOOR FRONT FOR THE SEASON WILL SURGE SOUTH AND WEST BEGINNING FRIDAY NIGHT...BRINGING INCREASED THUNDERSTORM CHANCES MAINLY NEAR AND EAST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN SATURDAY AND MUCH OF THE CENTRAL AND WEST ON SUNDAY. A FEW STRONG STORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE EAST OF THE CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TO THE EAST SLOPES OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN THIS WEEKEND. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT HAZARDOUS WEATHER 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 NMWX. 41
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.
Water over roadway from heavy rainfall resulted in a hydroplaning accident along U.S. Highway 550 near the National Guard Armory north of Rio Rancho. Accident resulted in drivers of both vehicles being killed.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heavy Rain, Sandoval | 2016-08-18 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect | ||
| Heavy Rain, Sandoval | 2016-08-18 | Vehicle/Towed Trailer | Indirect |
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, August 2016
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: 645493.