Moderate to severe drought conditions across portions of western and central New Mexico at the end of January 2019 improved only slightly in February. Severe drought conditions slightly improved to 32 percent of the state, of which around 13 percent was deemed extreme drought or worse.
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 January 2019 improved only slightly in February. Severe drought conditions slightly improved to 32 percent of the state, of which around 13 percent was deemed extreme drought or worse. Exceptional drought improved to less than 1 percent of New Mexico. Precipitation amounts for February 2019 ranged from around less than one half inch across the east to three to four inches for parts of northern and northwest New Mexico. Several winter storm systems that moved across the state in February continued to bring much needed snowfall to portions of northern and central New Mexico. However, conditions were drier than normal in the southeast, and portions of the region became abnormally dry in February.
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 Jan 31, 10:54 PM MST, 1 hour 6 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1054 PM MST Thu Jan 31 2019 .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE VFR conditions and light winds will prevail during the next 24 hours. An increase clouds is forecast overnight with cloud bases lowering, especially across western and central NM where a few light rain and high elevation snow showers will develop Friday morning. Lcl MVFR to IFR cigs/vsbys and mountain obscurations are possible Friday, mainly for western NM. 33 && .PREV DISCUSSION...322 PM MST Thu Jan 31 2019... .SYNOPSIS... Clouds will increase from the west this evening then spread over the entire region Friday. Temperatures will still be above normal however clouds will make conditions feel chillier than today. A couple rain showers and perhaps a thunderstorm are possible over the Gila region and the high terrain of Lincoln County Friday. Saturday will be a transition day to southwest winds over New Mexico with more cloud cover ahead of a pattern change Sunday. Rain and high terrain snow will develop over the northwestern half of the state Sunday while strong westerly winds develop over eastern New Mexico. Much of next week will feature more wind, periodic cloud cover, chances for rain and mountain snow over the northern mountains, and gradually cooling weather. Temperatures by Wednesday and Thursday will be below normal once again. && .DISCUSSION... Today will be the last really pleasant, quiet weather day for quite some time as a definitive pattern change is in store for the next few weeks. Current temps are 5 to 10F above normal with light winds in most areas under abundant sunshine and low humidity. Thick cloud cover over AZ will move into western NM tonight then spread over the entire area Friday. Temperatures will still be mild however it will not feel as nice as today with mostly cloudy skies. 12/18Z NAM model instability parameters indicate the potential for scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms over the west central and southwest high terrain Friday afternoon. Clouds will exit the region Friday night. Saturday will be a transition day with increasing zonal flow aloft and more high clouds spreading over the state. Deepening surface low pressure over northeastern NM will generate breezy southwest winds in the afternoon. Flow aloft will continue backing to the southwest as a 541dm H5 low moves into CA. Very impressive vapor transport in association with this system will spread well above normal PWATs and widespread rainfall into the Great Basin into Saturday night. Models eject the low across the central Rockies while filling into an open wave. A strong Pacific front will race eastward across NM Sunday while the precip shield breaks apart and focuses along west facing slopes of the central and western high terrain. The San Juan/Tusas Mts will wring out the most precip with the potential for several inches of snow. The other aspect of this system will be widespread strong westerly winds. Wind advisories are looking more likely for eastern NM where 700-500mb layer winds approach 50 kts and a 993mb surface low deepens over southeastern CO. The active pattern will persist through next week as fast, west to southwest flow positions over NM and periodic upper waves traverse the southern Rockies. This will allow precip chances to continue over the northern high terrain with gradually cooling temperatures behind each wave. By Wednesday and Thursday high temperatures will trend below normal with more wind. The extended pattern still looks active with another significant impulse of moisture arriving over the southwest CONUS next weekend. Guyer && .FIRE WEATHER... Mostly clear, relatively warm, and tranquil conditions will finish up the day today. This will be followed by a pattern shift with a few disturbances aloft bringing periodic weather disruptions. Showers will develop late tonight into Friday over the southwestern mountains with a couple degrees of cooling observed there due to the clouds/precipitation associated with the remnants of a weak Pacific low passing over southern NM. Elsewhere, locales will observe another degree or two of warming, nudging daytime highs farther above normal. Light to moderate breezes will prevail Friday afternoon, and poor smoke ventilation is expected in most of the forecast area. A quick-moving ridge of high pressure will keep dry conditions in the forecast for Saturday along with more above normal temperatures. Moderately breezy conditions will be found along the I-40 corridor of eastern NM Saturday afternoon, and humidity will be lowest in the far northeastern corner of the state, dropping just below 20 percent. The next Pacific trough will move inland and over northern NM by Sunday, bringing stout winds aloft and a strengthening surface gradient. This will lead to windy conditions across most of NM with cooler temperatures working in from the west. Many areas will still stay within a few degrees of seasonal averages, but the eastern plains will still remain several degrees above normal with humidity falling toward 20 percent. The winds will certainly elevate fire weather concerns, but at this time humidity is expected to stay above established critical conditions. Breezy conditions will linger on Monday with another upward surge in speeds on Tuesday. 52 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && 42
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 304 AM MST Thu Jan 31 2019 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- 304 AM MST Thu Jan 31 2019 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...Friday through Wednesday A Pacific storm will move across New Mexico late Saturday and Sunday and bring the potential for accumulating snow to the higher elevations of western and north central New Mexico. Strong west to west southwest winds are expected to develop Sunday with gusts of 35 to 45 mph common and gusts to around 55 mph possible east of the central mountains. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated. 28
20 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme drought conditions from January 2019 for areas around Gallup improved to severe drought in February.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February. Far western portions of the area improved to severe drought.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Extreme drought conditions from January 2019 improved to severe drought through February.
Extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February. Far northwestern Taos County improved to extreme drought in February.
Extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
Severe drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, February 2019
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: 799298, 799299, 799300, 799301, 799302, 799303, 799304, 799305, 799306, 799307, 799308, 799309, 799310, 799311, 799312, 799313, 799314, 799315, 799316, 799317.