A very hot, relatively dry, and unstable atmosphere on the afternoon of the 10th provided the necessary ingredients for any fires that developed to spread. A structure fire that started in the bosque north of Socorro quickly spread to nearby fuels.
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 very hot, relatively dry, and unstable atmosphere on the afternoon of the 10th provided the necessary ingredients for any fires that developed to spread. A structure fire that started in the bosque north of Socorro quickly spread to nearby fuels. The fire then ripped through the bosque along the Rio Grande and jumped the river early on the 11th. The fire grew to at least 500 acres through June 16th. Several structures ended up scorched along the bosque, including one house, a barn, and several outbuildings.
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 Jun 10, 2:48 PM MST, 12 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 348 PM MDT FRI JUN 10 2016 .SYNOPSIS... Storms will continue to roll off the high terrain this afternoon and evening. Saturday will be quite active with numerous storms expected. Some storms may produce heavy rain as moisture over the state increases through Saturday morning. Another round of storms is expected for Sunday, though less coverage is expected across the west. The drying trend will continue through Tuesday, where very few if any storms are expected. Near normal temperatures are expected Saturday through Tuesday, but will warm back above normal thereafter. && .DISCUSSION... Not quite as active this afternoon as it was this time yesterday. Nonetheless, storms have fired over the higher terrain as expected. Storm motion is slow today as the upper high slowly moves over north central NM. Thus, storms will hug the high terrain for awhile until gust front collisions can aid in new storm development over lower elevations. Storm motion should also move any storms that develop over the Sandia/Manzanos into the Rio Grande Valley. Another interesting feature is the MCV that is shifting westward along the AZ/Mexico border. As this shifts northward overnight, convection should increase across much of AZ but may also clip far western NM as well. If nothing else, there should be quite a bit of cloud cover overnight across the west which will keep overnight lows quite warm. Otherwise, moisture will be on the increase overnight from both the southwest, aided by the MCV, and from the southeast, from the Gulf of Mexico. Thus, PWATs are expected to rise substantially overnight and into Saturday morning. The 12z Sat and 00z Sun ABQ Soundings may near 1 inch which would be right around record values for the date. Thus, there will be plenty of moisture to work with for heavy rain producing storms. Storm motion will generally be from the SSW to NNE. Both the NAM and the GFS are showing a small vort max moving across western or central NM within the flow which should aid in convective development. All-in-all, Saturday looks to be a busy day nearly areawide. By Sunday, drier air aloft begins to move in from the west which will begin to taper precipitation chances. Given the amount of moisture that will remain available, models may be under-doing QPF amounts and storm coverage Sunday afternoon, especially across the east where the drier air infiltration will have less of an impact. Convective coverage decreases considerably more on Monday as the Pacific low/trough moves into AZ, and the associated dry slot starts to punch in from the southwest. Precip chances look to favor areas across the far northeast where a weak boundary briefly drops into the area Monday morning. The trough will pass over northern NM Monday night, and a few showers or tstms will remain possible across the far north. Much drier conditions will be in store starting Tuesday as the dry slot punches through the remainder of the state as the trough shifts eastward. Though Tuesday, temperatures will fall back toward normal values but after Tuesday, expect temps to rise back above normal as ridging re-develops overhead. 34 && .FIRE WEATHER... Upper high center will continue to migrate across NM tonight and to our north and east Saturday, opening the door to what appears a short but more moist period into Sunday. Steering flow has shifted with cells moving to the south and southwest this afternoon and evening. Later tonight cell motion should be to the west and northwest, then to the north and northeast Saturday. High haines central and west today will transition to low overall Saturday. Min humidities will increase Saturday and overnight recoveries will be good to excellent most areas Saturday night. Areas most favored for wetting rain tonight through Sunday will be from the contdvd to the central mt chain and portions of the eastern plains. Drier air is still forecast to work into the state from the west starting Sunday, becoming more vigorous Monday and Tuesday. Breezy to windy conditions may develop each afternoon from the central highlands to the east central plains where some critical conditions are possible. Humidities trend downward and fair to poor recoveries become widespread from the northwest plateau through the middle RGV. High haines becomes widespread by next Wednesday, with poor humidity recoveries and sub 10 percent min rh values dominating the west and central. The GFS and ECMWF agree a hot and dry pattern with highs typical of the later half of June could persist through the end of next week and into the weekend. && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE Upper high center shifting over nrn NM and then into the midwestern u.s. next 24 hrs allowing a surge of moisture from the south and west into NM. Therefore convection will become more widespread but storm motion will vary with the upper circulation and at times outflow dependent. Mts to be briefly obscured in mvfr cigs/vsbys in clouds and precipitation with the stronger showers and thunderstorms...which could produce gusts to around 40kt. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 62 87 58 89 / 10 20 20 10 Dulce........................... 50 84 48 83 / 20 40 40 20 Cuba............................ 54 82 52 84 / 40 40 50 20 Gallup.......................... 57 81 50 84 / 30 40 20 10 El Morro........................ 53 76 50 79 / 40 50 30 10 Grants.......................... 55 82 51 85 / 30 50 30 20 Quemado......................... 58 78 54 83 / 40 50 30 10 Glenwood........................ 62 86 58 90 / 30 40 20 10 Chama........................... 48 78 47 77 / 30 50 50 20 Los Alamos...................... 59 83 56 81 / 30 60 60 30 Pecos........................... 55 82 54 83 / 40 50 50 30 Cerro/Questa.................... 51 78 51 77 / 30 60 50 40 Red River....................... 46 69 46 69 / 40 70 50 50 Angel Fire...................... 42 73 43 74 / 40 70 50 40 Taos............................ 49 83 50 83 / 20 50 50 20 Mora............................ 53 79 52 81 / 40 60 50 40 Espanola........................ 60 87 56 85 / 20 30 50 20 Santa Fe........................ 59 83 56 82 / 40 60 60 20 Santa Fe Airport................ 58 87 57 86 / 30 40 50 20 Albuquerque Foothills........... 65 87 62 88 / 40 50 40 20 Albuquerque Heights............. 67 89 63 91 / 30 40 40 20 Albuquerque Valley.............. 65 90 63 92 / 30 40 40 10 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 65 90 62 92 / 30 40 40 10 Los Lunas....................... 65 90 63 91 / 30 50 40 10 Rio Rancho...................... 64 90 61 91 / 30 40 40 10 Socorro......................... 66 92 64 92 / 30 50 40 20 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 59 82 57 84 / 50 60 50 30 Tijeras......................... 61 88 58 89 / 50 50 50 20 Moriarty/Estancia............... 57 83 55 84 / 40 50 50 30 Clines Corners.................. 56 82 56 84 / 30 60 50 30 Gran Quivira.................... 59 84 58 85 / 30 60 40 30 Carrizozo....................... 62 88 62 89 / 30 50 30 20 Ruidoso......................... 56 82 57 82 / 30 70 30 30 Capulin......................... 55 81 56 82 / 30 40 40 30 Raton........................... 55 86 55 85 / 30 30 40 30 Springer........................ 54 86 56 87 / 30 30 50 30 Las Vegas....................... 54 83 54 86 / 30 40 50 30 Clayton......................... 61 88 61 89 / 20 30 40 30 Roy............................. 58 84 58 87 / 30 30 50 30 Conchas......................... 65 91 66 93 / 20 30 50 30 Santa Rosa...................... 63 93 64 95 / 30 40 50 30 Tucumcari....................... 66 93 66 97 / 20 30 50 30 Clovis.......................... 64 88 65 93 / 20 30 40 30 Portales........................ 65 88 66 94 / 20 30 30 30 Fort Sumner..................... 64 91 66 95 / 20 30 40 30 Roswell......................... 66 96 68 98 / 20 40 30 30 Picacho......................... 62 88 63 91 / 20 50 30 30 Elk............................. 60 83 61 84 / 20 60 30 30 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 34
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 519 AM MDT FRI JUN 10 2016 NMZ501>540-111200- 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- 519 AM MDT FRI JUN 10 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS TODAY WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING BRIEF HEAVY RAINFALL...SMALL HAIL...GUSTY OUTFLOW WINDS...AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING STRIKES. SOME ACTIVITY ACROSS WESTERN NEW MEXICO WILL BE DRY IN NATURE WITH STRONG DOWNBURST WINDS POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SCATTERED TO NUMEROUS SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS OVER THE WEEKEND WILL BE CAPABLE OF PRODUCING LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL AND MINOR FLOODING. STRONGER THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE LOCALIZED FLASH FLOODING...ESPECIALLY AROUND MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN AND FLOOD PRONE AREAS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. GUYER
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
253 PM MDT FRI JUN 10 2016
NMZ515-102130-
EAST SLOPES SANGRE DE CRISTO MOUNTAINS-
253 PM MDT FRI JUN 10 2016
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN COLFAX COUNTY UNTIL
330 PM MDT...
AT 253 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 16 MILES NORTHEAST OF UTE PARK...OR 30 MILES WEST
OF RATON...MOVING SOUTHWEST AT 5 MPH.
NICKEL SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM.
THIS STORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF NORTHWESTERN COLFAX
COUNTY.
&&
LAT...LON 3682 10491 3681 10489 3678 10486 3675 10482
3671 10480 3657 10499 3670 10519 3686 10496
3686 10494
TIME...MOT...LOC 2053Z 050DEG 6KT 3677 10497
SHOEMAKESPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
253 PM MDT FRI JUN 10 2016
NMZ508-102130-
SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS-
253 PM MDT FRI JUN 10 2016
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CATRON COUNTY UNTIL 330 PM MDT...
AT 252 PM MDT...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A
STRONG THUNDERSTORM 14 MILES WEST OF GILA HOT SPRINGS. THIS STORM WAS
NEARLY STATIONARY.
NICKEL SIZE HAIL AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH WILL BE POSSIBLE WITH
THIS STORM.
HEAVY RAIN WILL ALSO BE POSSIBLE WITH THIS STORM.
THIS STORM WILL REMAIN OVER MAINLY RURAL AREAS OF SOUTHERN CATRON
COUNTY.
IF THREATENING WEATHER APPROACHES YOUR AREA...TAKE SHELTER IN A
STURDY BUILDING.
&&
LAT...LON 3331 10832 3320 10834 3320 10843 3321 10860
3334 10861
TIME...MOT...LOC 2052Z 333DEG 1KT 3324 10846
341 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
One house, a barn, and several outbuildings burned between the 10th and the 11th.
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, June 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: 629986.