Texas, 2016

High Wind in Texas, September 10, 2016

September 10, 2016 · NWS EPZ · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An area of high pressure at the surface was located over the front range of the Rockies which pushed a strong back door cold front through the region. East winds gusted to 59 mph along the west slopes of the Franklin Mountains.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
1

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS EPZ wrote it up.

An area of high pressure at the surface was located over the front range of the Rockies which pushed a strong back door cold front through the region. East winds gusted to 59 mph along the west slopes of the Franklin Mountains.

What forecasters said that day

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 El Paso, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 10, 2:37 AM MST, 3 hours 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 10, 2:37 AM MST, 3 hours 23 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service El Paso Tx/Santa Teresa NM
337 AM MDT SAT SEP 10 2016

.SYNOPSIS...
A strong backdoor front will push through the area this morning
and bring gusty east winds, especially along western slopes.
Afternoon temperatures will be down about 12 to 15 degrees east of
the Rio Grande from yesterday, with less cooling as you approach
the Arizona border. Moisture will begin to increase in the coming
days, with thunderstorms returning areawide by early next week.
Storms could be severe around midweek.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Active weather can be expected this forecast period. We'll start
out with a vigorous (for September at least) backdoor front
pushing southwestward across the CWA this morning. A wind advisory
is in effect for zones containing western slopes, mainly along and
east of Rio Grande. Could get windy along the I-10 corridor west
of Las Cruces as well. Max temps will be down from yesterday,
ranging from 15 degrees cooler far east to 7 degrees cooler toward
the AZ border. A few storms are possible this afternoon where the
moisture is deepest, mainly eastern portion of Hudspeth & Otero
counties and perhaps the NM bootheel.

As a trough deepens along the Pacific coast and high pressure
aloft migrates farther east, moisture will move in from the south
and southwest Sunday through Thursday. This of course will
increase thunderstorm coverage, peaking around Wednesday and
Thursday. Those two days need to be watched as 1) dynamics from
the approaching Pacific trough increase, 2) another east push
settles a surface boundary across the area and provides southeast
surface winds, 3) veering wind profile (southeast low level to
southwest mid level) brings potential for supercells, and 4) left
exit region of 250 mb jet max (encouraging atmospheric lift) noses
in from the west. Should this all occur as the 00z GFS indicates,
we could have one of our early Fall severe weather scenarios. The
00Z ECM does not indicate this though, so confidence is not high.

Toward the weekend the Pacific trough weakens and sort of settles
overhead, with the moisture concentrated east of us. Thus most of
the storms would be east of the Rio Grande by then, maybe even
east of our CWA.

&&

.AVIATION...Valid 10/12Z - 11/12Z. Back door cold front will be
moving through the region by 15z which will shift winds to E to
NE 15-25G35KTS and bring in a FEW- SCT050-070 mid deck of clouds.
Isold 3SM -TSRA BKN040-060 after 18Z E of Rio Grande.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
A back door front will be moving through the region this morning
with gusty east winds over 30 mph possible. Temperatures will be
about 10 degrees cooler today with an increase in moisture. Any
thunderstorm activity will likely remained confined to the
mountains and far eastern areas through Monday. An upper trough
will be cutting off over Northern California early next week which
will allow for moisture to be tapped from the south with a better
chance for showers and thunderstorms areawide starting Monday
night and continuing through much of the week. Temperatures will
return to near normal Sunday and remain within a few degrees of
that through remainder of period.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
El Paso                 80  63  86  68 /   0   0   0  10
Sierra Blanca           74  60  83  64 /  20  10  10  20
Las Cruces              79  61  85  63 /   0   0   0  20
Alamogordo              74  58  85  63 /   0   0   0  10
Cloudcroft              58  47  66  49 /  20  10  20  20
Truth or Consequences   78  60  84  62 /   0   0  10  20
Silver City             76  55  78  57 /  10  10  20  20
Deming                  83  61  85  63 /   0   0   0  20
Lordsburg               84  61  85  63 /   0  10  10  20
West El Paso Metro      80  63  86  68 /   0   0   0  10
Dell City               74  60  84  64 /  20  10  20  10
Fort Hancock            80  65  86  68 /  20  10  10  10
Loma Linda              70  59  80  63 /  10   0   0  10
Fabens                  80  63  86  66 /   0   0   0  10
Santa Teresa            80  63  86  66 /   0   0   0  20
White Sands HQ          78  61  84  64 /   0   0   0  20
Jornada Range           80  58  84  61 /   0   0   0  20
Hatch                   80  61  84  63 /   0   0   0  20
Columbus                82  62  87  64 /   0   0   0  20
Orogrande               75  59  85  65 /   0   0   0  10
Mayhill                 61  49  72  53 /  20  10  20  20
Mescalero               66  50  75  54 /  10  10  20  10
Timberon                64  48  72  51 /  20  10  20  20
Winston                 74  50  77  52 /   0   0  20  30
Hillsboro               77  56  81  58 /   0   0  20  20
Spaceport               78  59  82  61 /   0   0   0  20
Lake Roberts            77  49  78  52 /  10  10  20  20
Hurley                  78  55  80  56 /   0   0  20  20
Cliff                   79  53  84  58 /  10  10  20  20
Mule Creek              77  50  81  53 /  10  10  10  20
Faywood                 78  55  82  57 /   0   0  20  20
Animas                  84  59  86  60 /   0  10  20  20
Hachita                 83  58  85  60 /   0  10   0  20
Antelope Wells          82  60  84  60 /   0  10  20  30
Cloverdale              81  59  80  59 /   0  10  30  30

&&

.EPZ Watches/Warnings/Advisories...
NM...Wind Advisory until 1 PM MDT this afternoon for NMZ417.

TX...Wind Advisory until 1 PM MDT this afternoon for TXZ418-420-421.

&&

01 Fausett

In the hours before

Local storm report, Sep 10, 3:56 AM MST, 2 hours 4 minutes before
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX
456 AM MDT SAT SEP 10 2016

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0441 AM     NON-TSTM WND GST 2 N ALAMOGORDO          32.93N 105.96W
09/10/2016  M50 MPH          OTERO              NM   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TRAINED SPOTTER REPORTED NE WIND 26 MPH GUSTING TO 50
            MPH SHORTLY AFTER FRONTAL PASSAGE.

&&

EVENT NUMBER EPZ1600325

FAUSETT

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Western El Paso County

When
September 10, 6:00 AM MST to 9:00 AM MST
Where
Western El Paso County forecast zone
Measured
51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
Reported by
Mesonet
Coordinates
31.769, -106.235 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A peak gust of 59 mph was reported at two locations about 8 miles northwest of downtown El Paso.

What these are

High Wind
Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Texas in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, September 2016

Sources

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: 659965.