The combination of a weak back door frontal boundary draped over northeastern New Mexico and northwest flow aloft over the state set the stage for severe thunderstorms on the first day of summer. A long-track supercell produced hail damage during the early morning hours of the 21st across Union County.
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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.
The combination of a weak back door frontal boundary draped over northeastern New Mexico and northwest flow aloft over the state set the stage for severe thunderstorms on the first day of summer. A long-track supercell produced hail damage during the early morning hours of the 21st across Union County. The hardest hit areas stretched from near Grenville to Amistad and Sedan. A man was injured from flying glass as hail large slammed his residence. Quarter size hail five inches deep reportedly killed nearly 100 birds. A nearby rancher reported hail drifts of one to two feet at his residence. Another round of thunderstorms that developed during the afternoon hours produced golf ball size hail east of Ruidoso.
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 Jun 20, 10:48 PM MST, 42 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1148 PM MDT Wed Jun 20 2018 .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE A few thunderstorms will continue to impact far northeast NM through the early morning hours. Some storms may be severe with large hail and damaging winds. These storms are forming along a back door frontal boundary which will continue to sag southward overnight. Localized MVFR cigs are possible from along the east slopes of the central mountain chain to the OK/TX borders. Elsewhere, VFR conditions and light winds will prevail. Another round of convection is possible late Thursday night across far northeast NM. 34 && .PREV DISCUSSION...330 PM MDT Wed Jun 20 2018... ...NEAR RECORD WARMTH AND FIRE WEATHER CONCERNS DEVELOPING FRIDAY... .SYNOPSIS... There will be a chance for showers and thunderstorms over northeast and east central areas tonight through Thursday night as a back door cold front waivers in and out of New Mexico and weak disturbance clip the northeast corner of the state aloft. An axis of higher pressure extending eastward from Arizona will induce record and near record high temperatures over west central and southwest New Mexico on Thursday, then over south central and southeast areas as well on Friday. An upper level trough crossing the northern and central Rockies on Friday will cause breezy conditions to develop as well with fire weather concerns over north central, northeast and east central parts of the state. Excessive heat will be possible Friday and possibly into Saturday east of the south central mountains. A Pacific cold front will drop temperatures a few to 8 degrees on Saturday afternoon from Friday's readings, with the least cooling in the southeast. The chance for showers and thunderstorms will return daily Sunday into early next week along and east of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, where weak back door fronts will periodically increase low level moisture. && .DISCUSSION... A broad ridge of high pressure centered over southern AZ will decrease in amplitude during the latter half of the work week as an upper level trough crosses the northern and central Rockies, with a ridge axis stretching eastward across southern NM. This will lead to a couple of hot days Thursday and Friday, and possibly also Saturday across the southeast. Record and near record warmth over the southwest Thursday won't quite reach Heat Advisory criteria, but it will Friday and possibly Saturday across the southeast (especially Chaves, eastern Lincoln, and possibly De Baca Counties). The system passing north of NM on Friday is forecast to steer a Pacific cold front southeastward across the state Friday night with cooler temperatures Saturday. Only a degree or two of cooling will be possible across southeast areas, where Heat Advisory criteria could again be reached. An upper level low pressure system will cross the central Rockies during the early part of the coming weak causing further suppression of the subtropical Ridge until Tuesday, when the system will exit and the high will build back over NM with warming temperatures. 44 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS LIKELY FRIDAY EAST SLOPES SANGRES AND ADJACENT NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS POSSIBLE FRIDAY ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE EASTERN PLAINS...CENTRAL HIGHLANDS...NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND NORTHWEST PLATEAU... A warming/drying trend is in play as a strong and expansive upper high over the northern Gulf of California shifts east toward New Mexico. A hot, dry and unstable atmosphere currently prevails across western New Mexico and will gradually expand east across the state through Friday and into Saturday. Winds will be on the uptrend by Friday as the ridge axis shifts south and allows the westerlies to penetrate northern New Mexico. Friday is looking like a critical fire weather day for portions of northern and eastern New Mexico, with winds being the only potential limiter. Will issue a Fire Weather Watch for the northeast highlands and east slopes of the Sangres where forecast confidence is highest on hitting critical threshold, but will opt to let subsequent shifts add other zones based on forecast trends. Northwest flow will bring late day breezes to much of the area Saturday, making for elevated to near critical fire weather conditions. The exception on Saturday will be the eastern plains, where a backdoor cold front will bring a moist airmass which may fuel a round of wetting storms late day across the northeast. Look for more elevated to near critical fire weather conditions Sunday, especially across northern New Mexico, as a trough moves slowly east across the southern Rockies. An upper level high will build over the area early next week and result in more hot, dry and unstable conditions but with less wind. The only exception might be across the eastern plains where Gulf moisture may fuel more daytime heating triggered wetting storms. 11 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Fire Weather Watch from Friday afternoon through Friday evening for the following zones... NMZ103. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 312 AM MDT Wed Jun 20 2018 NMZ501>540-211200- 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- 312 AM MDT Wed Jun 20 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight No hazardous weather is expected. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday A few strong to severe thunderstorms with large hail and damaging winds are possible over northeast and east central New Mexico Thursday afternoon and evening. Critical fire weather conditions are possible Friday afternoon and early evening along and east of the central mountain chain. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated.
The Pueblo radar (KPUX), 209 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 06:28 UTC.
5 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
Hail ranging from the size of peas to quarters was reported eight miles northeast of Grenville.
Quarter size hail.
A severe thunderstorm with quarter size hail and strong winds busted out the windows of a home 11 miles west of Sedan. A resident inside the home was injured by flying glass and required stitches.
A severe thunderstorm with strong winds and hail up to the size of quarters produced damage to a skylight and partially flooded a barn near Amistad. The observer also reported that nearly 100 birds were killed in the storm. Damage amounts are estimated.
Hail up to the size of ping pong balls near Tinnie.
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, June 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: 751825, 751828, 751827, 751826, 751829.