A weak low pressure system moving through Colorado allowed scattered showers to move across far northern New Mexico during the late evening and overnight hours from April 7th into the 8th. A few of these showers raced eastward across San Juan County and allowed stronger winds aloft to mix to the surface.
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 weak low pressure system moving through Colorado allowed scattered showers to move across far northern New Mexico during the late evening and overnight hours from April 7th into the 8th. A few of these showers raced eastward across San Juan County and allowed stronger winds aloft to mix to the surface. A peak wind gust up to 60 mph impacted the Farmington Regional Airport shortly before 11 pm on the 7th. These showers moved into the Sangre de Cristo Mountains during the overnight hours and produced an inch or two of snow at a couple SNOTELs. Kachina Peak at Taos Ski Valley reported a peak wind gust to 63 mph.
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 7, 8:35 PM MST, 1 hour 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 935 PM MDT Sat Apr 7 2018 .UPDATE... Quick update to lower temps several degrees across portions of eastern NM as temps had already dropped below forecast minimums. Did not go much lower than current temps just east of the central mtn chain because as winds become more southwest and westerly, somewhat higher dewpoints should advect eastward. Adjusted wind forecast slightly too since winds have decreased for the time being - though still expect wind to increase overnight, especially across the high terrain. Sunday's winds near the Clines Corners area may warrant an upgrade to a High Wind Warning. Will wait for the rest of the 00Z models, but confidence is increasing that a HWW will be needed. Updates already out. 34 && .PREV DISCUSSION...551 PM MDT Sat Apr 7 2018... .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE Shortwave trough passing overnight tonight into Sunday will increase wind speeds overnight. Westerly winds with gusts near 30kts will be possible across western and central NM while southerly winds with gusts up to 20kts will be likely across the east. Westerly winds will continue to increase and expand eastward by early Sunday morning. By mid day Sunday, west to northwest winds of 20 to 35kts with gusts near 40 to 50kts will be common, with the strongest winds across east central NM. BLDU will be possible, especially Sunday afternoon across the eastern plains. In addition to the wind, rain and very high elevation snow showers will be possible overnight across NW and NC NM. A few thunderstorms will be possible as well. KFMN should be the only TAF site that is affected, but a few mt obscurations will be possible. This precipitation should largely dissipate by mid morning Sunday. Another back door cold front will arrive Sunday evening, switching winds around to the north and east once again. 34 && .PREV DISCUSSION...255 PM MDT Sat Apr 7 2018... .SYNOPSIS... Lots of wind but not much precipitation into next weekend. Windiest days will be Sunday, Thursday and Friday with strong winds likely. Showers, a few evening thunderstorms and wet snow on the highest northern mountain peaks tonight into Sunday. A little rain and high elevation snow is possible Thursday into Friday. A large majority of of the forecast area will be dry through the next seven days. Temperatures will be mostly above normal through Thursday, except near normal temperatures Monday. Below normal highs are forecast for next Friday and saturday. && .DISCUSSION... Weak ridge overhead will be flattened by a passing short wave trough tonight into Sunday. This disturbance will bring showers and a few thunderstorms to northwest and north central NM this evening, with showers and high elevation wet snow showers continuing later tonight in the same areas. Winds will be increasing tonight over the mountains and the east slopes of the central Mountains. They will continue to increase through Sunday morning, leveling off in the afternoon. A back door cold front will sneak into the far northeast Sunday and stall, making the temperature forecast for Clayton very tricky. Elsewhere highs will be well above normal. We will be issuing a wind advisory for many zones with this forecast package. A few showers and higher peak snow showers will continue Sunday over the northern mountains, with showers also possible along the frontal boundary in the far northeast. The back door front will slide south down the east Sunday night, probably not making it into the Rio Grande Valley. Winds will diminish. Precipitation will have ended by sunset. Another back door cold front will move south across the eastern plains Monday and Monday night, with another shot of cooler air. This front could spill into the Rio Grande Valley Monday night. Winds will be much less everywhere, but still moderate breezes on the eastern plains. Tuesday and Wednesday will be dry and warmer with above normal highs and moderate winds. That will change Thursday as a potent storm system slams onto the west coast Wednesday and races east across AZ Thursday and NM Thursday night. Strong winds aloft and a deepening surface low in northeast CO will bring strong to high winds to the area. It will turn cooler in the west but still be above normal Thursday. An isolated shower over the far northern mountains Thursday will expand and turn to snow Thursday night over the northwest. Friday will be much cooler area wide. Saturday will be breezy to windy and milder. CHJ && .FIRE WEATHER... ...WIDESPREAD CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS SUNDAY... ...WIDESPREAD CRITICAL TO POSSIBLY EXTREME FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS NEXT THURSDAY... An upper level ridge will be flattened over NM and the Rockies tonight, but the flow aloft will retain a stiff westerly component with strengthening speeds, as there will be a quick-moving shortwave trough immediately following. High dewpoints in the 40s and 50s are currently in southern CA and western AZ, and these will modify some before filtering into NM, and light rain and high elevation snow will break out over the northwestern to north central zones. The strongest winds aloft will be moving over NM Sunday morning into the noon hour with a mild cold front sweeping eastward during this time. Temperatures will cool just a few degrees in western and central zones, and then a pronounced dry slot aloft will race into the state and mix down to the surface, bringing very low RH, and thus widespread critical conditions over most of the forecast area Sunday afternoon. Will upgrade the Fire Weather Watch to a Red Flag Warning for tomorrow. In the wake of Sunday's disturbance, northwest flow will be rather strong Monday morning, but will be decreasing through the day as another weak perturbation drops over northeastern NM. Breezy northwest or northerly winds will be observed in several zones Monday with temperatures falling a few more degrees, but still hovering close to average for early April. Very low RH is projected for Monday, but fortunately winds are not expected to be critical except for localized parts of the central highlands for a brief time. The backdoor segment of the cold front will continue overtaking the plains Monday evening, eventually spilling westward beyond the Rio Grande valley overnight. After a rather tranquil day on Tuesday, the ingredients for critical fire weather will start to align better on Wednesday, as dry westerly flow increases across the eastern plains and temperatures warm. Conditions will ripen more Thursday into Friday as a stout trough of low pressure crosses the Intermountain West, bringing more wind to NM. Saturday won't exactly be quiet, but much less critical than Thursday and Friday. Any critical fire weather on Saturday would likely stay confined to the central highlands. 52 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning from noon to 9 PM MDT Sunday for the following zones... NMZ101-103>109. Wind Advisory from 9 AM to 8 PM MDT Sunday for the following zones... NMZ506>508-510>515-518-519-521>524-526-528-529-531>537-539. && 34
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 341 AM MDT Sat Apr 7 2018 NMZ501>540-081100- 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- 341 AM MDT Sat Apr 7 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday Strong west to northwest winds on Sunday combined with low afternoon relative humidity will bring the threat of critical fire weather conditions to much of northern and central New Mexico. Wind advisories are likely for Sunday. Warm temperatures, low humidity and strong southwest winds Thursday will have the potential to produce critical fire weather conditions and possible wind advisories across the entire area. At this time, it appears possible that critical fire weather conditions may persist across the eastern plains Friday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated. 28
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Rain showers mixed stronger winds aloft to the surface resulting in a peak wind gust up to 60 mph at the Farmington Regional Airport.
Kachina Peak at Taos Ski Valley reported a peak wind gust up to 63 mph along with an inch of snow.
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: 739449, 739450.