A traditional monsoon moisture plume over the state set the stage for showers and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall on the 22nd. A broken line of thunderstorms developed along the Continental Divide and marched eastward toward the Rio Grande Valley during the late afternoon.
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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 traditional monsoon moisture plume over the state set the stage for showers and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall on the 22nd. A broken line of thunderstorms developed along the Continental Divide and marched eastward toward the Rio Grande Valley during the late afternoon. These storms moved into the Albuquerque metro area with strong winds and heavy rainfall. A very strong storm developed on the leading edge of two outflow boundaries over Rio Rancho then trained over the area for over an hour. Rainfall rates near three inches per hour led to flash flooding on the northwest side of Rio Rancho.
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 Aug 22, 4:16 PM MST, 28 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 516 PM MDT Wed Aug 22 2018 .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE Upper high center remaining to the southeast of NM with tap of monsoon moisture continuing to flow over wrn and nrn NM. Brief MVFR cigs/vsbys are possible with terrain obscurations in heavy rain due to sct to nmrs showers and storms stretched from sw to ne over NM. A weak surface boundary near the ne NM/se CO border may also become a focus for thunderstorms before 23/06Z. At least isold convection to persist aft 23/06Z. An upper trough crossing over the central Rockies will shunt additional moisture into east central NM aft 23/15Z with storm motion becoming more west to east. && .PREV DISCUSSION...314 PM MDT Wed Aug 22 2018... .SYNOPSIS... Showers and thunderstorms with locally heavy rainfall will impact much of New Mexico again today and tonight. A quick 1 to 1.5 inches of rainfall is possible from the stronger storms. A slight decrease in the coverage of thunderstorms is expected Thursday but locally heavy rain is still possible. A noticeable decrease in storm coverage is on the way Friday as drier and more stable air arrives across the northern half of the state. There will however still be chances for storms over the Gila Region. A significant increase in coverage is expected Saturday and Sunday as moisture surges north back into New Mexico. && .DISCUSSION... An active monsoon plume is in place across NM today as evidenced by lines and clusters of convection marching northeast across the area. The 12Z KABQ PW value was 1.23 which was one of the highest observed so far this season. Rainfall is efficient with the deeper moisture as evidenced by the 0.43" rainfall in 15 minutes near Ruidoso. Flash flood potential will be elevated in areas with training cells and where storms become anchored on the higher terrain. Deep moisture will remain in place across NM Thursday ahead of an approaching upper level trough currently entering the Pac NW. This trough will cross CO Thursday evening and force stronger westerly steering flow over northern NM, shifting the monsoon plume into the southern half of the state. Drier air in the wake of this trough will generate a noticeable decrease in storm coverage Friday. The Gila region will still see storms with locally heavy rainfall as return flow increases through late day. Saturday and Sunday will be active again as guidance is latching onto an upper wave feature shifting north into NM while the upper high center rebuilds over TX. Whatever moisture we can squeeze out over the weekend will be the last for a while as model guidance is trending much drier and warmer for next week. Guyer && .FIRE WEATHER... Now that the upper high aloft has shifted over Texas, a more traditional monsoon flow has set up over western and central NM. Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms will persist into the evening with heavy rainfall possible due to the abundant moisture. Storms will generally move toward the northeast around 5 to 15 mph. Thursday will remain active, again mainly across western and central NM, as an upper level trough crosses the central Rockies. The trough passage will change the storm motion such that storms should move toward the east. After the trough passage, drier air will filter into northern NM for Friday. This should result in a downtick in storm coverage, though areas south of I-40 should remain fairly active. Storm motion will be very light. Moisture will rebound across northern NM quickly on Saturday as the monsoonal plume reorganizes. Storm coverage will increase accordingly. As an upper level trough moves in from the PacNW, the moisture plume across NM will start to be stretched and weakened on Sunday, and eroded more-so on Monday. As the trough passes to the north on Tuesday and Wednesday, much, much drier air will shift over NM. Thus, a significant downtrend in storm coverage is expected next week. Aside from lightning and erratic wind gusts from thunderstorms, the other main fire weather concern will be poor to fair ventilation across much of the area on Friday due to the lighter transport winds. 34 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 309 AM MDT Wed Aug 22 2018 NMZ501>540-231130- 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- 309 AM MDT Wed Aug 22 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms will continue over the the northwest two-thirds of the state this afternoon and evening. Locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding are possible as the potential for several storms moving over the same area exists. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms continues over the northwest two-thirds to three-quarters of the state Thursday. Locally heavy rainfall is likely once again. Storm motion is forecast to change to west to east Thursday afternoon. Drier air moves in across far northern New Mexico Friday with scattered coverage forecast elsewhere. Shower and storm coverage ramps back up again over the weekend. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report rainfall amounts and any flooding through the National Weather Service Albuquerque web site at weather.gov/abq or by calling 1.888.386.7637. 33
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 252 PM MDT WED AUG 22 2018 NMZ506-507-222130- West Central Mountains-West Central Highlands- 252 PM MDT WED AUG 22 2018 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTH CENTRAL CIBOLA AND EAST CENTRAL MCKINLEY COUNTIES UNTIL 330 PM MDT... At 252 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along a line extending from 6 miles north of Milan to 14 miles southwest of Grants. Movement was northeast at 15 mph. Half inch hail and wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible with these storms. Heavy rain will also be possible. Locations impacted include... Grants, Milan and San Rafael in Cibola County. This includes Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 74 and 90. If threatening weather approaches your area, take shelter in a sturdy building. && LAT...LON 3540 10763 3493 10781 3492 10814 3530 10794 TIME...MOT...LOC 2052Z 247DEG 11KT 3527 10791 3502 10804 DPorter
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 324 PM MDT WED AUG 22 2018 NMZ506-507-222200- West Central Mountains-West Central Highlands- 324 PM MDT WED AUG 22 2018 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL CIBOLA COUNTY UNTIL 400 PM MDT... At 323 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 12 miles south of Grants, moving southeast at 15 mph. Nickel size hail and wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible with this storm. Heavy rain and frequent and dangerous cloud to ground lightning will also be possible with this storm. Locations impacted include... McCartys, Skyline-Ganipa and Acomita Lake. This includes Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 88 and 99. If threatening weather approaches your area, take shelter in a sturdy building. && LAT...LON 3488 10799 3510 10792 3511 10760 3480 10764 TIME...MOT...LOC 2123Z 298DEG 14KT 3497 10788 DPorter
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Albuquerque NM
510 PM MDT WED AUG 22 2018
NMZ507-519-521-222345-
Sandia/Manzano Mountains-West Central Highlands-Middle Rio Grande
Valley/Albuquerque Metro Area-
510 PM MDT WED AUG 22 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHEASTERN VALENCIA...SOUTH
CENTRAL SANDOVAL AND BERNALILLO COUNTIES UNTIL 545 PM MDT...
At 510 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking strong thunderstorms along
a line extending from 17 miles southeast of Marquez to 9 miles west
of South Valley to near Los Chaves. Movement was northeast at 30 mph.
Half inch hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with
these storms.
Locations impacted include...
Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Valencia, Los Lunas, Corrales, Bernalillo,
Los Ranchos De Albuquerque, Bosque Farms, Peralta and Tijeras.
This includes the following highways...
Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 133 and 177.
Interstate 25 between Mile Markers 200 and 241.
These storms may intensify, so be certain to monitor your preferred
media outlets and NOAA Weather Radio for additional information and
possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
&&
LAT...LON 3535 10664 3522 10635 3492 10633 3468 10700
3487 10702 3509 10712
TIME...MOT...LOC 2310Z 236DEG 28KT 3516 10706 3500 10684 3472 10680
DPorterThe Albuquerque radar (KABX), 15 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:43 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
PNM reported power outages due to trees on lines near I-40 and 12th and Central and Coors. AFD also received calls of power lines down. Extent of line damage is unknown.
Several roads closed west of Unser due to arroyos flowing out of bank. Graders were needed to clear roads and repair damage. Several folks posted videos to social media that showed water flowing through yards. Damage amounts are a very rough estimate for repairs to roadways and landscaping.
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, August 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: 767654, 767656.