A powerful jet stream sliding over New Mexico ahead of an approaching storm system from southern California delivered a bout of strong to damaging winds to parts of northeastern New Mexico on February 13-14, 2019. Southwest winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph developed along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains into the eastern plains on the 13th.
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 powerful jet stream sliding over New Mexico ahead of an approaching storm system from southern California delivered a bout of strong to damaging winds to parts of northeastern New Mexico on February 13-14, 2019. Southwest winds of 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 55 mph developed along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains into the eastern plains on the 13th. Periodic high winds then focused in the area from the Raton airport to Cimarron, Rociada, and Las Vegas during the overnight hours and morning of the 14th. The strongest winds occurred around Raton where a peak wind gust up to 84 mph was reported. High winds slowly tapered off by noon across the entire area. A carport was destroyed in Cimarron, another was blown onto the roof of a home near Las Vegas, and two semi trailers were toppled on Interstate 25.
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 Feb 13, 10:43 AM MST, 3 hours 45 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1043 AM MST Wed Feb 13 2019 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE Strong westerly winds are the main concern with this TAF cycle. Winds across central and western NM will remain relatively tranquil, but the east plains will see the strongest winds with gusts up to 30 to 40 kts. The strong wind gusts along and east of the central mountain chain are forecast to continue overnight before gradually diminishing early Thursday afternoon. Moutain wave activity is likely to continue today along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Otherwise, mid to high clouds currently streaming over the state will thicken and lower through the TAF period. A couple light showers are possible tonight around the Four Corners region, but confidence was not high enough to include it in the TAFs. 15 && .PREV DISCUSSION...339 AM MST Wed Feb 13 2019... .SYNOPSIS... The recent warming trend will continue today. Critical fire weather conditions are expected from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains eastward and across east central areas where strong winds will develop. Winds will strengthen further in these areas tonight with gusts to 65 mph possible in the Sangres and near 50 mph across the plains. Precipitation chances will increase Thursday through Friday morning across western and north central areas, and to a lesser extent across central areas, as a moist storm system crosses from the west. Several inches to over 2 feet of snow will be possible in the northern mountains, with a few to several inches on the far northwest highlands, but rising snow levels should prevent much snow accumulation elsewhere. Additional strong wind events are expected Friday and Saturday in the mountains and across the eastern plains. Models depict a potentially powerful winter storm crossing New Mexico from the west late in the weekend and early next week with a strong back door cold front. && .DISCUSSION... The recent warming trend will continue today as brisk zonal flow aloft arrives and a potent lee trough develops south of a 995 mb surface low in eastern CO. High temperatures will reach near normal to 6 degrees above normal central and west, and as much as 14 degrees above normal across the east this afternoon. Strong west and southwest surface winds will also develop with critical fire weather conditions from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains eastward and also across the east central plains. Winds will only strengthen across the Sangres and plains tonight, when gusts at higher elevations may peak near 65 mph with readings near 50 mph at lower elevations. Speeds are forecast to gradually weaken Thursday morning as an upper level trough exits the northern and central Rockies. There will probably also be some rain and mountain snow showers across the northern mountains and northwest tonight with a few inches of snow accumulation possible around Chama and Dulce. A moist upper level trough on the west coast will move gradually eastward across the Rocky Mountain states Thursday through Friday morning. Models indicate the system will have a rich tap of subtropical moisture as it spreads a wave of persistent rain and mountain snow showers across western and north central NM. Westerly upslope flow will favor the central mountain chain westward for precipitation, but wetting precipitation over central areas (south of the northern mountains) is forecast to be fairly spotty. The snow level will be quite high with this system, starting out between 8000 to 11000 feet Thursday, then lifting some Thursday night, before falling 7500 to 10000 feet Friday morning as precipitation decreases in coverage and intensity. Therefore, snow accumulation with this event will favor the northern mountains and far northwest highlands, where a few inches to over 10 inches is possible. The Tusas mountains above Chama should be the big winners with over 2 feet of snow possible. Drier air will begin filtering in from the west on Friday. As the upper level trough crosses eastern areas, it is forecast to produce strong winds Friday morning into the early afternoon. Gusts could exceed 60 mph along the central mountain chain and across the east central plains. The GFS progs an area of 65 kt winds at 700 mb over the Clines Corners area. Yet another strong wind event is expected Saturday as another upper level trough crosses the Rocky Mountain States. West and northwest wind gusts over 50 mph will be possible in the mountains and across the eastern plains. There may also be a few inches of snow in the northern mountains with lighter amounts across the west central mountains and northwest plateau. Late this weekend through early next week models depict a big storm system crossing the southern Rockies from the west with the potential for widespread and potentially heavy snow accumulation. A back door cold front with the system should provide easterly upslope flow with a focus for snow accumulation east of the central mountain chain as well. 44 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...RED FLAG WARNING FOR THE NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS BELOW SNOWPACK TO THE NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL PLAINS FROM LATE THIS MORNING INTO THE EARLY EVENING... Near record dry conditions this morning and a deepening surface low over eastern NM will make way for critical fire weather today. A few hours of single digit humidity, above normal temperatures, and an unstable atmosphere will impact eastern NM with this first event of the 2019 season. The coverage of marginal critical conditions also expanded for parts of central and eastern NM around the Red Flag Warning. Winds will actually increase tonight and become northwest however humidity increases with cooling temperatures. Nonetheless, if a fire develops today management efforts will contend with strong winds through tonight. Northwest winds will taper off early Thursday afternoon while much higher moisture arrives from the west. Rain and high terrain snow will develop over the northern and western high terrain through the day then become more widespread Thursday night into Friday morning. This system will produce the most significant wetting rainfall in several weeks for the lower elevations of central and western NM. The San Juan/Tusas Mts may pick up in excess of 2 feet above 9,000'. Drier and cooler air with more wind will gradually move into the state Friday in the wake of this system. A potent jet stream will then shift across NM Saturday with colder temperatures and another bout of widespread strong winds. An active pattern will continue as winds turn to the southwest Sunday ahead of the next system arriving for Monday and Tuesday. This next system looks much colder with the potential for snowfall across many areas of northern and central NM. Guyer && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 7 PM MST this evening for the following zones... NMZ103-104-108. Wind Advisory from midnight tonight to noon MST Thursday for the following zones... NMZ523-528>534-537-539. High Wind Warning until noon MST Thursday for the following zones... NMZ513>515-527. Winter Storm Watch from Thursday evening through Friday morning for the following zones... NMZ510. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 453 AM MST Wed Feb 13 2019 NMZ501>540-141200- 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- 453 AM MST Wed Feb 13 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Strong winds and low humidities will produce critical fire weather conditions late this morning through early evening across the northeast highlands and eastern plains. West and southwest wind gusts will peak around 50 mph today in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, then up to 65 mph tonight as gusts climb to 50 mph on the eastern plains. Wind speeds will weaken below hazardous thresholds around mid day Thursday. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday Thursday through Friday, an upper level trough with a rich tap of Pacific moisture will cross Thursday through Friday with wetting precipitation over much of western and north central New Mexico. Snow levels will be high with the system, but they will be low enough for potentially over 10 inches of snow in Chama, and over 18 inches in the Tusas Mountains above Chama. The remainder of the northern mountains may receive over 6 inches of snow with lighter amounts in the Chuska Mountains and upper Rio Grande Valley. Most of the snow will fall Thursday night into Friday morning. In addition, the storm system will produce strong west winds with gusts from 45 to potentially over 55 mph along and east of the central mountain chain; starting Thursday night in the northern mountains, but not until Friday across the eastern plains. Saturday, another strong wind event will be possible along and east of the central mountain chain where gusts could again exceed 55 mph in some areas. Sunday night through Monday night, models are in fairly good agreement on an upper level low pressure system crossing from the west with the potential for widespread and potentially heavy snow accumulation. A back door cold front is forecast to arrive just before the upper level storm does, delivering cold air and moist easterly upslope flow to the eastern plains. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Contact your local law enforcement at 911 and the National Weather Service at 1.888.386.7637 to report wildfire outbreaks or wind damage. 44
5 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A public weather station near Rociada reported a peak wind gust up to 72 mph.
The Raton airport reported around 12 hours of sustained winds in excess of 40 mph. A peak sustained wind of 64 mph was reported at 12:40 am MST.
The Raton airport reported wind gusts between 60 and 70 mph for around 12 hours. A peak wind gust of 84 mph was reported at 12:48 am MST. Interstate 25 was closed at mile marker 399 for several hours due to a semi trailer rollover. NMDOT reported low visibility from blowing dust between mile markers 402 and 434.
A public weather station near Tecolotito reported a peak wind gust up to 58 mph.
A mesonet site near Vaughn reported a peak wind gust up to 58 mph.
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: 797273, 797271, 797272, 797274, 797753.