Moderate to severe drought conditions across portions of western and central New Mexico at the end of November 2018 improved only slightly through December 2018. Unfortunately, extreme to exceptional drought conditions also persisted over the northwestern half of the state.
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.
Moderate to severe drought conditions across portions of western and central New Mexico at the end of November 2018 improved only slightly through December 2018. Unfortunately, extreme to exceptional drought conditions also persisted over the northwestern half of the state. Severe drought conditions remained at 36 percent of the state, of which around 20 percent was deemed extreme drought or worse. Exceptional drought remained at roughly 15 percent of New Mexico. Precipitation amounts for December 2018 ranged from around one half inch to two inches of parts of central and northern New Mexico. Several winter storm systems moved across the state and brought much needed snowfall to the region. Snow pack conditions continued to improve for the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
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 Nov 30, 10:27 PM MST, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1027 PM MST Fri Nov 30 2018 .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE Only a few light snow showers persist across northern and central NM this evening. However, mountain obscurations will persist through much of the overnight period. Brief MVFR cigs will be possible at KGUP as well as across far NE NM where cigs may drop into the IFR category. Strong westerly winds will continue overnight along and east of the central mountain chain. Wind gusts will generally be in the 30-35 kt range, but a few gusts may near 45kt. A decline in wind speeds remains possible near or just before sunrise, but winds will quickly ramp back up by late morning Saturday. W to NW winds of 25 to 30kts with gusts near 45 kts will be possible along and east of the central mtn chain once again. Breezy to windy conditions are likely across western NM as well, though speeds will not be as great as the east. Another storm system will approach NM late Saturday night. Snow will be possible Saturday night into Sunday across much of northern and central NM with low visibility and mtn obscurations likely. 34 && .PREV DISCUSSION...333 PM MST Fri Nov 30 2018... .SYNOPSIS... Snow showers on the backside of a Pacific storm system will continue over portions of central and especially northern New Mexico overnight. Drier air will push into the state Saturday, ending the showers and snow showers. Winds will continue to impact areas of the state from the central mountain chain eastward through Saturday. By Saturday night, another relatively cold Pacific storm system will approach from the west with snow moving into western New Mexico Saturday night and across the remainder of the area Sunday. Drier but cold weather is forecast for early next week. && .DISCUSSION... Upper-level trough axis over eastern NM this afternoon. This feature will continue to lift northeastward tonight. A trailing wave is expected to keep mainly orographic snow showers going along west facing slopes in the western and especially northern mountains overnight. Snow showers continue to develop but tough to see keeping the winter weather advisories past 5:00 pm MST. Drier air moves in from the west Saturday, ahead of the next upper- level trough on tap for Saturday night and Sunday. Most models agree that a killer (~16C) mid-level baroclinic (temperature gradient) zone sets up over/near I-40 Sunday. The exact location of this zone will determine where the longer lived snow swath/band sets up during the day Sunday. 12Z GFS develops the band along the I-40 corridor from near Gallup east to ABQ and Clines Corners. 18Z GFS is a tad farther south but consistent with developing this classic snow making feature. Will hold off on any winter highlights for now but Sunday is starting to look quite interesting for central and northern NM where accumulating snow could become an issue for travel along/near I-40 across the western two-thirds of the state. Dry northwest flow aloft moves over for Monday but temperatures remain cold, 10 to 20 degrees below average for the date. A slow warming trend gets underway Tuesday and continues into Thursday. GFS and ECMWF agree that the next storm system in the series will spread rain and snow into western NM sometime on Thursday and across the remainder of the forecast area Thursday night and Friday. 33 && .FIRE WEATHER... As the storm system which brought rain and snow to western and central New Mexico today passes to the east of the region tonight, winds will be gusty overnight along and east of the central mountains and in the middle Rio Grande Valley. Winds will gust to between 20 and 25 mph in the Rio Grande Valley tonight and to between 40 and 50 mph along and east of the central mountains. Despite the increase in low level moisture after the storm, higher winds tonight will mix drier air aloft with air near the surface across these areas, and relative humidity recovery will only be fair to good. Across the rest of the region, relative humidity recovery will be very good to excellent. Strong surface low pressure in eastern Kansas and strong winds aloft Saturday will generate strong west winds east of the central mountains with gusts ranging between 35 and 45 mph. Downsloping, drying winds east of the central mountains will reduce afternoon relative humidity to 20 to 30 percent in the eastern plains and adjacent highlands. Afternoon relative humidity will be higher across central and western New Mexico, where values will range from 30 to 40 percent in central New Mexico and 40 to 50 percent in western New Mexico on Saturday. Ventilation rates Saturday will be excellent east of the central mountains and fair to good to the west. A low pressure area will move southeastward from the Great Basin late Saturday night and cross Colorado and northern New Mexico Sunday and Sunday night. This storm system will being rain and snow to western and central New Mexico Saturday night and to much of the region Sunday and Sunday night. Precipitation will be mainly snow north of I-40, and wetting amounts of precipitation are likely in these areas. Afternoon relative humidity will be 30 to 40 percent across the Middle Rio Grande Valley and the eastern plains Sunday, and 40 to 60 percent across the rest of the area. Winds will be breezy south of I-40 Sunday and generally light to the north. Ventilation rates will be good to excellent south of I-40 on Sunday and poor to fair to the north. Cold, strong surface high pressure will move southeastward across New Mexico from the central and northern Rockies Monday and Tuesday with temperatures 10 to 20 degrees below normal. Winds will be light Monday and Tuesday with ventilation rates poor on both days. && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until 3 AM MST Saturday for the following zones... NMZ515-521-523-526-529-533>540. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 313 AM MST Fri Nov 30 2018 NMZ501>540-011200- 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- 313 AM MST Fri Nov 30 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight A winter storm system will bring a band of snow to western New Mexico this morning, impacting travel along the continental divide. Several inches of snow accumulation atop the western high terrain with light accumulations for surrounding lower elevations is likely through the end of today. Strong west winds will also produce periods of blowing snow at higher elevations of western and northern New Mexico, reducing visibility. While wintry precipitation will be limited to the western half of the state, eastern New Mexico will also see strong west winds likely producing patchy blowing dust this afternoon. Snow will become more tethered to the high terrain tonight. Travelers should take caution driving, with slick roads and temporarily reduced visibility being the main hazards today. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday A secondary storm system will bring another round of snow to northern New Mexico late Saturday night through Sunday. Roads may be slick and hazardous across the high terrain. Temperatures will fall well below normal for the weekend and into early next week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report snowfall amounts through the National Weather Service Albuquerque web site at weather.gov/abq or by calling 1.888.386.7637. 24
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
638 PM MST FRI NOV 30 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0853 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 1 SSE CLINES CORNERS 35.00N 105.66W
11/30/2018 M60 MPH TORRANCE NM ASOS
KCQC ASOS.
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201801135
JLSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
648 PM MST FRI NOV 30 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0641 PM SNOW 3 N FENCE LAKE 34.70N 108.67W
11/30/2018 E2.0 INCH CIBOLA NM TRAINED SPOTTER
0647 PM SNOW 13 E FENCE LAKE 34.64N 108.45W
11/30/2018 E2.0 INCH CIBOLA NM TRAINED SPOTTER
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201801136
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201801137
JLSPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
707 PM MST FRI NOV 30 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0600 PM SNOW 6 WNW TERERRO 35.76N 105.78W
11/30/2018 E2.0 INCH SANTA FE NM OTHER FEDERAL
SANTA FE SNOTEL.
&&
EVENT NUMBER ABQ201801138
JLS23 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018 for areas around Gallup.
Severe drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Severe drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Severe drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Extreme drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Exceptional drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Severe drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Severe drought conditions over northwest portions of the area from November continued through December 2018.
Severe drought conditions over southern Santa Fe from November continued through December 2018.
Severe drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
Severe drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.
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, December 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: 791379, 791380, 791381, 791382, 791383, 791384, 791385, 791386, 791387, 791388, 791389, 791390, 791391, 791392, 791393, 791394, 791395, 791396, 791397, 791398, 791399, 791400, 791401.