An unseasonably deep upper level storm system responsible for the widespread, strong southwest winds on April 12th exited slowly into the Great Plains through April 13th. Day two of the multi-day wind event cranked up early on the 13th as winds turned out of the northwest behind the exiting storm system.
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.
An unseasonably deep upper level storm system responsible for the widespread, strong southwest winds on April 12th exited slowly into the Great Plains through April 13th. Day two of the multi-day wind event cranked up early on the 13th as winds turned out of the northwest behind the exiting storm system. Blowing dust was confined to the far southeast plains and much of southern New Mexico. Wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph were common over nearly the entire area. High temperatures in the 80s and 90s from the 12th fell into the 40s and 50s on the 13th. These colder temperatures combined with strong winds made for a very chilly day. The wildfires that began on the 12th continued to burn through the 13th despite cooler temperatures and slightly higher humidity.
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 Apr 12, 4:59 PM MST, 5 hours 46 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 559 PM MDT Thu Apr 12 2018 .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE Cold upper-level low/trough over UT/AZ will continue to bring strong winds with gusts to between 40 and 50kts to NM through evening and through the overnight in the higher terrain. Areas of blowing dust will limit visibility to the MVFR category through around sunset. Mountain obscurations associated with a frontal band of clouds and a few showers may develop overnight across the western and northern high terrain. Strong northwest winds will continue Friday behind the associated cold front. 33 && .PREV DISCUSSION...344 PM MDT Thu Apr 12 2018... .UPDATE... Decided to add the Northwest Plateau including Farmington and the Far Northwest Highlands to the High Wind Warning for this afternoon and early evening. NAM MOS forecast of high wind gusts is verifying well at FMN. Impacts include widespread blowing dust and at least one accident on Highway 491 potentially attributable to cross winds and blowing dust noted on NMRoads.Com. Will update the NPW now, and the Zone Forecast shortly thereafter. SPS also on the way for the blowing dust in the NW. 44 && .PREV DISCUSSION...330 PM MDT Thu Apr 12 2018... ...WINDY TO VERY WINDY CONDITIONS TO PERSIST IN SOME PLACES TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY... .SYNOPSIS... A potent upper level low pressure system slowly passing north of New Mexico will continue to steer the jetstream across the state tonight through Friday with strong to very strong winds. Significant blowing dust and wind damage will be possible this afternoon and early evening, when wind gusts will peak from 55 to 70 mph across much of northern and central New Mexico. Widespread critical fire weather conditions are also expected for the remainder of today. After wind speeds weaken some late tonight, they will restrengthen on Friday with gusts from 40 to 55 mph, except for gusts over 60 mph again from around Farmington to around Clines Corners. A Pacific cold front crossing late Thursday will cause high temperatures to fall well below normal on Friday and Saturday. A back door cold front will then cause strong winds to persist late Friday through Saturday across the northeast and far east central plains. A few to 4 inches of snow are expected in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains tonight through Friday night. A warming trend will commence early next week, but windy conditions will redevelop Monday and especially Tuesday with more fire weather concerns. && .DISCUSSION... The nose of a polar jet stream is arriving over NM this afternoon as a 988 mb surface low over eastern CO continues to deepen. Well above normal high temperatures with ample atmospheric mixing and instability are all working with the strong pressure gradient to produce very strong winds across most of northern and central NM. An area of broken cloud cover over central areas is probably inhibiting mixing there, but this is expected to shift eastward and thin out some as the afternoon progresses. The surface low in eastern CO will shift gradually eastward onto the Great Plains tonight as an attendant 500 mb low deepens to 545 dam (or so). These features will cause windy conditions to persist through tonight and Friday. Winds will shift out of the northwest overnight, before strengthening again on Friday. Blowing dust is again expected on Friday, but the dust and fire weather concerns won't be as high because the cooler atmosphere will be more stable. MOS guidance suggests wind speeds behind the back door cold front could again gust over 60 mph in Union County late Friday through Saturday, with gusts up to 50 mph possible as far south as Clovis and Portales. A ridge of high pressure will cross from the west on Sunday with a break from wind and fire weather concerns. However, another upper level low pressure system will move over the northwest US Sunday night through Tuesday steering the jet stream over Colorado and New Mexico again. The surface low in eastern CO may drop to about 990 mb. Surface winds will become windy again Monday when gusts up to 45 mph will be possible. Gusts may reach up to 60 mph in some areas again on Tuesday. There will probably be widespread critical fire weather conditions both days. 44 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...EXTREMELY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS TODAY... ...STRONG WINDS AND LOW HUMIDITY FRIDAY ACROSS THE EAST CENTRAL PLAINS AND LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY... ...WIDESPREAD CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED MONDAY AND POSSIBLY TUESDAY... An extreme fire weather event is underway ahead of an approaching Pacific trough and associated cold front. Strong cold air advection is forecast tonight behind the Pacific cold front, but winds will still be strong and humidity recovery will be poor across a majority of the area. This sets the stage for more critical fire weather potential Friday as strong winds and low humidity persists. However, cold air advection will hold temperatures 15 to 20 degrees below normal and Haines values will come down from today's 5-6 to values of 4-5. May need to pull the trigger on a warning for the lower portions of the Rio Grande Valley and southern portions of the East Central Plains for Friday. Breezy to locally windy conditions will persist into Saturday as the upper low slowly pulls away from the region, but a more stable atmosphere should significantly limit fire growth. An upper level ridge will move east across New Mexico on Sunday, with a renewed warming/drying trend. Mostly poor humidity recovery Sunday night will set the stage for another critical fire weather event on Monday, as another potent Pacific trough and associated cold front approach from the west. Moderate southwest flow, a deepening lee side trough, excellent mixing and many hours of single digit humidity will contribute to critical fire weather conditions Monday. Critical fire weather conditions will likely persist into Tuesday, but may be confined to the eastern half of the area depending on the timing of the frontal passage. Yet another critical fire weather event may be shaping-up for late next week as an upper level low approaches from the west. The timing/orientation of the upper level feature will largely determine how much, if any, of our area hits critical threshold. A compromise of the 12Z ECMWF and GFS solutions would place the western two- thirds of our area in a critical fire weather scenario by Thursday. 11 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning until midnight MDT tonight for the following zones... NMZ512>515-520>522-524-525-527>529-531>534-537-539-540. Red Flag Warning until midnight MDT tonight for the following zones... NMZ103-104-106>108. Wind Advisory until midnight MDT tonight for the following zones... NMZ530-535-536-538. High Wind Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ501>508-510-511-516-518-519. Red Flag Warning until 9 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ101-102-105-109. Wind Advisory until 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ509-517. High Wind Warning until 6 PM MDT Friday for the following zones... NMZ523-526. && 44
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 426 AM MDT Thu Apr 12 2018 NMZ501>540-131200- 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- 426 AM MDT Thu Apr 12 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Westerly winds will become very strong to damaging today with gusts to between 60 and 70 mph, and persist this evening. Extremely critical fire weather conditions and areas of reduced visibilities in blowing dust will also be widespread. Travel will be difficult and even hazardous for high profile vehicles, especially on north to south oriented highways. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday Very strong to damaging winds persist over the Central Highlands and South Central Mountains Friday, while strong winds redevelop elsewhere with some areas of blowing dust. Friday through Saturday night will be significantly cooler, with temperatures about 10 to 20 degrees below average. Snow fall amounts of 1 to 5 inches are possible over portions of the north, with the higher amounts over the Sangre de Cristo mountains and far northeast New Mexico Friday and Friday night. Interstate 25 from the Las Vegas area to Raton Pass may be impacted by minor amounts of snow as well. Windy, dry and warmer weather expected next Monday and Tuesday with critical fire weather conditions. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report wind speeds and impacts as well as precipitation 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 nmwx.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
625 PM MDT THU APR 12 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0510 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 2 E FORT SUMNER 34.48N 104.20W
04/12/2018 M66 MPH DE BACA NM PUBLIC
ROSS HAYS AT THE FORT SUMNER AIRPORT.
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201800482
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
628 PM MDT THU APR 12 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0454 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 3 WNW GALLUP 35.54N 108.78W
04/12/2018 M67 MPH MCKINLEY NM ASOS
KGUP ASOS.
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201800483
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
716 PM MDT THU APR 12 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0534 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 9 ESE MESITA 34.98N 107.17W
04/12/2018 M65 MPH CIBOLA NM MESONET
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201800484
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
720 PM MDT THU APR 12 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0545 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 10 S BINGHAM 33.75N 106.37W
04/12/2018 M58 MPH SOCORRO NM MESONET
WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE - NORTH OSCURA PEAK.
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201800485
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
722 PM MDT THU APR 12 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0345 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 5 NW NOGAL 33.61N 105.77W
04/12/2018 M58 MPH LINCOLN NM APRSWXNET/CWOP
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201800486
TRMPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
726 PM MDT THU APR 12 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0620 PM NON-TSTM WND GST 1 SSE CLINES CORNERS 35.00N 105.66W
04/12/2018 M62 MPH TORRANCE NM ASOS
KCQC ASOS.
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201800487
TRM11 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Peak wind gusts between 55 mph and 65 mph were reported around Sandia Park for several hours.
The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility Transwestern Pump station reported sustained winds between 40 mph and 47 mph periodically for several hours.
The Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility reported sustained winds at Fort Sumner between 40 mph and 48 mph periodically for several hours.
Clovis Municipal Airport reported sustained winds between 40 mph and 44 mph periodically for a couple hours.
The Dora mesonet reported sustained wind speeds between 40 mph and 43 mph periodically for a couple hours.
A weather station near Deer Canyon Preserve reported sustained winds of 40 to 41 mph periodically for a couple hours.
Cannon Air Force Base reported a peak wind gust up to 61 mph.
Eight Mile Draw RAWS reported peak wind gusts up to 58 mph.
The Dora mesonet reported a peak wind gust up to 61 mph.
Farmington Regional Airport reported a peak wind gust up to 60 mph.
A weather station near the Texas and New Mexico state line northeast of Clayton reported sustained wind speeds between 40 mph and 48 mph periodically for several hours.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2018
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: 740012, 740029, 740027, 740021, 740024, 740016, 740019, 740028, 740025, 740014, 740017.