The second high wind event in less than a week impacted New Mexico as yet another strong upper level trough and deep surface low moved over the state. The strongest winds impacted western New Mexico and around the central mountain chain.
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 second high wind event in less than a week impacted New Mexico as yet another strong upper level trough and deep surface low moved over the state. The strongest winds impacted western New Mexico and around the central mountain chain. Peak wind gusts averaged 55 to 65 mph. Gusty winds around the Albuquerque west side caused more problems with tumbleweeds. Blowing dust was also reported to have lowered visibility below 5 miles at times across portions of the state. Fortunately no significant fires or damage resulted from this event.
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 29, 4:59 AM MST, 4 hours 30 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 559 AM MDT TUE MAR 29 2016 .AVIATION... 12Z TAF CYCLE GUSTY WINDS ALREADY IN PLACE THIS MORNING WITH THE MORNING SOUNDING SHOWING SOUTHWEST WINDS INCREASING STEADILY WITH HEIGHT. DEEP MIXING WILL RESULT IN STRONG WINDS AT THE SURFACE BY MID MORNING...INCREASING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON HOURS. SOME SHOWERS AND VIRGA ACROSS THE NORTHWEST THIRD OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL RESULT IN AREAS OF ERRATIC WIND...AS WELL AS LOCAL MOUNTAIN TOP OBSCURATIONS. WINDS PEAK THIS AFTERNOON WITH GUSTS BETWEEN 30 TO 45KT AND STRONGER WINDS OVER THE HIGHER TERRAIN. AREAS OF ELEVATED DUST LIKELY...BLDU INCLUDED AT KGUP BASED ON PREVIOUS STRONG WIND EVENT...NOT INCLUDED IN OTHER TAFS BUT DEFINITELY POSSIBLE. AN AWW WILL LIKELY BE POSTED FOR KABQ WITH WINDS REACHING CRITERIA BY EARLY AFTERNOON. WHILE WINDS RELAX OVERNIGHT...THEY WILL REMAIN STRONG OVER THE CENTRAL HIGH TERRAIN AND WILL SHIFT TO THE WEST AS A FRONT CROSSES THE FORECAST AREA. ALSO...LOW CLOUDS ALONG THE EXTREME EASTERN BORDER WITH IFR/MVFR CIGS AND VISIBILITIES WILL IMPACT KCVN THROUGH AROUND 15Z. THESE CLOUDS MAY REACH KTCC AND A TEMPO GROUP WAS INCLUDED. 05 && .PREV DISCUSSION...328 AM MDT TUE MAR 29 2016... .SYNOPSIS... STRONG SOUTHWEST WINDS AND PATCHY BLOWING DUST WILL IMPACT MUCH OF THE AREA TODAY AS A POTENT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH NEW MEXICO. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS THE STATE WITH A BRIEF ROUND OF SHOWERS POSSIBLE ACROSS WESTERN AREAS. WINDS WILL TURN TO THE WEST BEHIND THE FRONT AND TAPER OFF OVERNIGHT. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL RETURN WEDNESDAY AS COLDER AIR FILTERS INTO THE STATE. A FEW RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS THE NORTHERN HIGH TERRAIN WITH THIS SYSTEM THROUGH THURSDAY. ANOTHER ROUND OF SHOWERS IS POSSIBLE FRIDAY ACROSS THE SOUTH. && .DISCUSSION... A 538DM H5 LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM STRETCHING FROM THE GREAT BASIN INTO THE SOUTHERN ROCKIES WILL WOBBLE AROUND THE AREA AND FILL TO NEAR 552DM THRU WEDNESDAY. A POWERFUL 100-130KT UPPER JET IN THE BASE OF THE TROUGH WILL EJECT EASTWARD OVER NM TODAY AND INTERACT WITH A 990MB SFC LOW DEVELOPING OVER SE COLORADO. 700-500MB LAYER FLOW NEAR 60KTS WILL IMPACT THE HIGH TERRAIN AND NEARBY EASTERN SLOPES AND RESULT IN HIGH WINDS TODAY. MUCH OF THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA WILL SEE WIND ADVISORY SPEEDS BY EARLY AFTERNOON. BLOWING DUST IS EXPECTED HOWEVER THICKER CLOUD COVER MAY LIMIT THE AREAL EXTENT. MADE NO CHANGES TO WIND HIGHLIGHTS EARLY THIS MORNING... HOWEVER THE DAY SHIFT WILL NEED TO WATCH FOR POTENTIAL HIGH WIND GUSTS ACROSS THE WEST AS A SHARP BAND OF PRECIP/VIRGA MOVES THRU ALONG THE PACIFIC FRONT. THE SPC-WRF INDICATES PRECIP MAY ACTUALLY MAKE IT INTO THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY ALONG THE FRONT BEFORE TAPERING ALONG THE CENTRAL MT CHAIN OVERNIGHT. RAISED POPS SLIGHTLY TO REFLECT THIS HOWEVER IT WILL LIKELY JUST END UP AS A DIRTY MESS ON THE CAR WINDOWS. MUCH COLDER AIR WILL FILTER IN FROM THE WEST BEHIND THE FRONT AS 700MB TEMPS FALL FROM NEAR +4C TO -8C WEDNESDAY. WINDY CONDITIONS WILL MAKE IT FEEL EVEN COLDER. THE STRONGEST WINDS WILL FOCUS ALONG THE I-40 CORRIDOR EAST OF THE CENTRAL MT CHAIN. A 1015MB SURFACE HIGH WILL BUILD DOWN THE EASTERN PLAINS WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND ALLOW FOR A VERY CHILLY MORNING THURSDAY. THE LARGE SCALE UPPER LOW IS EXPECTED TO MORPH INTO A SHEARED OUT TROUGH AXIS EJECTING INTO THE PLAINS WHILE A REMNANT UPPER LEVEL LOW HANGS BACK OVER NORTHERN SONORA/CHIHUAHUA FRIDAY. THIS PART OF THE MODEL EVOLUTION HAS BEEN WAFFLING AROUND FOR NEARLY A WEEK NOW. THE 00Z ECMWF IS WETTER AGAIN AS IT PHASES A PIECE OF ENERGY DIVING SOUTH DOWN THE FRONT RANGE WITH BETTER MOISTURE/DYNAMICS SHIFTING EAST ALONG THE NM/MEXICO BORDER. WILL CONTINUE WITH THE LOW END POP MENTIONS FRIDAY/FRIDAY NIGHT SINCE CONFIDENCE IS LOW. GUYER && .FIRE WEATHER... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER TO IMPACT MUCH OF CENTRAL TO EASTERN NM TODAY AND WEDNESDAY... UNSEASONABLY DEEP UPPER LOW OVER THE GREAT BASIN WILL SUPPORT WINDY AND MOSTLY DRY CONDITIONS TODAY AND AN AREA WIDE COOL DOWN WEDNESDAY AS CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER THRESHOLDS PERSIST IN THE EAST. LIGHTER WINDS ON THURSDAY AND FRIDAY WITH A BACK DOOR FRONT USHERING IN COOLER TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE EAST. RIDGING OVER THE GREAT BASIN OVER THE WEEKEND WILL BE ACCOMPANIED BY WARMING BOTH DAYS. THE DEEP UPPER LOW IS CURRENTLY CENTERED OVER NEVADA WITH A STRONG JET ROUNDING THE BASE OF THE TROUGH AND POSITIONED OVER ARIZONA AND NORTHWEST NEW MEXICO. RIDGE TOP WINDS OF 45 TO 55 MPH WILL BE COMMON TODAY AND WILL EASILY MIX TO THE SURFACE TODAY. SHOWERS AND VIRGA ACROSS THE NORTHWEST THIRD OF THE FORECAST AREA COULD ADD A SOMEWHAT ERRATIC COMPONENT TO THE WINDS THERE. WHILE SURFACE MOISTURE HAS INCREASED ACROSS THE EAST...DEWPOINTS WILL DECREASE TODAY AS RH FALLS BELOW 15 PERCENT IN THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY AND EASTERN ZONES. THUS A RED FLAG WARNING CONTINUES FOR THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. PACIFIC FRONT WILL CROSS THE STATE TONIGHT AS WINDS SHIFT TO THE WEST IN ITS WAKE AND REMAIN RELATIVELY STRONG OVER AND JUST EAST OF THE CENTRAL HIGH TERRAIN. COOLER AIR BEHIND THE FRONT WILL RESULT IN MUCH COOLER TEMPERATURES WEDNESDAY...WITH MAX TEMPERATURES OF 10 TO 15 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL WEST AND 5 TO 10 BELOW EAST. CRITICAL THRESHOLDS OF WIND AND RH WILL BE MET OVER MUCH OF THE EAST BUT WITH COOLER AIR IN PLACE RED FLAG CONDITIONS ARE SOMEWHAT UNCERTAIN SO THE WATCH WAS NOT UPGRADED TO A WARNING AT THIS TIME. ENERGY ASSOCIATED WITH THE CLOSED LOW MOVES RAPIDLY TO THE EAST ON WEDNESDAY...BUT A TROUGH REMAINS STRETCHED OVER THE SOUTHWEST STATES. MODELS NOW CLOSE A LOW SOUTH OF ARIZONA ON THURSDAY AS A BACK DOOR FRONT MOVES INTO THE EAST. LOOK FOR LIGHTER WINDS BOTH THURSDAY AND FRIDAY...WITH MODEST WARMING WEST BUT COOLER TEMPS AND INCREASED MOISTURE EAST. SLIGHT CHANCES OF SNOW WILL EXTEND FROM THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS TO THE NORTHEAST PLAINS. VENTILATION DECREASES BOTH DAYS WITH POOR TO FAIR VALUES ACROSS NORTHERN ZONES BY FRIDAY. OVER THE WEEKEND...THE CLOSED LOW LOOKS TO TRACK SOUTH OF THE STATE AS RIDGING BUILDS OVER THE GREAT BASIN. TEMPERATURES WARM EACH DAY AND RH STEADILY DROPS. BREEZY WEST WINDS OVER THE EAST CENTRAL HIGHLANDS ON SUNDAY COULD RESULT IN A FEW HOURS OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS. 05 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WIND ADVISORY FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ505>507-509>511-518>520-522-523-525-530>540. HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 8 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ502-508-514-515-521-524-526>529. RED FLAG WARNING FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 PM MDT THIS EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ103-104-106>108. FIRE WEATHER WATCH FROM WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING FOR THE FOLLOWING ZONES... NMZ103-104-107-108. &&
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM 348 AM MDT TUE MAR 29 2016 NMZ501>540-301200- 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- 348 AM MDT TUE MAR 29 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTH AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT A RED FLAG WARNING IS IN EFFECT TODAY FOR AREAS ALONG AND EAST OF THE RIO GRANDE VALLEY WHERE LOW HUMIDITIES WILL BE COMBINED WITH STRONG WINDS. A HIGH WIND WARNING IS IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF THE HIGH TERRAIN AND NEARBY HIGHLANDS TODAY WHERE WIND GUSTS WILL TOP OUT NEAR 60 MPH. WIND ADVISORIES ARE IN EFFECT FOR MOST OF THE REMAINDER OF THE AREA FOR WIND GUSTS NEAR 50 MPH. BLOWING DUST WILL RESULT IN REDUCED VISIBILITIES NEAR DUST PRONE AREAS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE AGAIN WEDNESDAY FOR AREAS ALONG AND EAST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. GUYER
8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Sources around Red Hill reported numerous peak wind gusts of 58 mph while the Magdalena Ridge Observatory peaked out at 66 mph.
Carrizozo station reported peak wind gust of 65 mph.
A weather station in the upper reaches of Juan Tabo Canyon reported sustained winds of 46 mph with a peak gust of 60 mph during the early afternoon.
Gallup Municipal Airport reported several wind gusts between 58 mph and 63 mph during the early afternoon.
Several White Sands Missile Range stations reported peak winds near 60 mph during the early afternoon.
Several stations around the Ruidoso area reported peak wind gusts between 58 mph and 68 mph for several hours during the afternoon. A 125 acre fire burning on Moon Mountain in Ruidoso was fortunately contained during these high winds. The Ruidoso High School was closed for 2 days due to fire suppression activities.
Dunken RAWS reported a peak wind gust to 59 mph.
Clines Corners reported peak wind gusts between 58 mph and 59 mph for a couple hours.
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, March 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: 617664, 617669, 617666, 617665, 617668, 617670, 617671, 617667.