Dry thunderstorms that developed over the Sandia and Manzano mountains during the late afternoon hours of July 12, 2019 produced strong downburst winds at the Albuquerque Sunport shortly after 5 pm. A collapsing thunderstorm a few miles southeast of the Sunport resulted in a peak wind gust up to 59 mph.
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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.
Dry thunderstorms that developed over the Sandia and Manzano mountains during the late afternoon hours of July 12, 2019 produced strong downburst winds at the Albuquerque Sunport shortly after 5 pm. A collapsing thunderstorm a few miles southeast of the Sunport resulted in a peak wind gust up to 59 mph. These winds were highly localized as several nearby weather stations only peaked near 30 mph. Blowing dust was also observed with these winds at the airport.
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 Jul 12, 4:27 PM MST, 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 527 PM MDT Fri Jul 12 2019 .AVIATION... 00Z TAF CYCLE A marginally moist airmass beneath strong upper level high pressure has led to a meager crop of -SHRA/TSRA late today. Storm motions are clockwise centered over northern NM. Erratic and gusty outflow winds with brief rain are the main impacts from any direct hits. Mid level clouds will linger over central and western NM overnight with light, terrain dominated surface winds. Very little change is in store for Saturday with mainly isolated -SHRA/TSRA developing near the higher terrain before pushing into nearby valleys on erratic outflow winds. Guyer && .PREV DISCUSSION...405 PM MDT Fri Jul 12 2019... .SYNOPSIS... High pressure is currently located over northwestern New Mexico. Showers and thunderstorms that fired up over the northern terrain this afternoon will continue into the evening hours. Gusty winds, lightning, small hail, and locally heavy rainfall are all potential hazards associated with these storms. Shower and thunderstorm activity to the west will be relatively dry. The main story heading into mid- next week will be warmer than normal temperatures by day and chances for thunderstorm activity almost every afternoon and evening across the western and central portions of the state. && .DISCUSSION... Moisture associated with a backdoor cold front earlier this week continues to be recycled beneath an upper high that is located over northwestern New Mexico. The 12z sounding from this morning shows precipitable water (PWAT) values at 0.78 inches for the ABQ metro area, which is right around normal for this time of year. Forecast soundings west of the central mountain chain show the classic "inverted-V" sounding and DCAPE values around 1100 J/kg, so gusty erratic winds won't be out of the question for this evening's activities. Thunderstorms will taper off shortly before midnight tonight. The northeast to southwest storm motion will keep the eastern Plains relatively dry over the next several days. Slower storm motion to the north may pose a concern for very localized flooding concerns, especially over recent burn scars. By Saturday, there will be a slight uptick in shower activity and wetting footprints, but the chance for shower and thunderstorm activity continues throughout the next work week. Once again, showers and thunderstorms will favor higher terrain before filling into valley locations. The future position of the upper high is largely in question, but is forecast to shift into its most-favorable monsoon position over Texas by Monday, shortly after Barry makes landfall and moves northward. By mid- next week, the high may migrate back to its position over the state, but several differences exist between the GFS and ECMWF with a slight bias towards the wetter solution into next week. High temperatures will generally be stable throughout the next week with the Albuquerque metro area in the mid- to high 90s and near to above 100 across the eastern plains. Due to shower and thunderstorm activity, the west will remain several degrees below normal through the next week. 31 && .FIRE WEATHER... With moderate surface moisture remaining beneath an upper high meandering over northern/northwestern NM, daily rounds of afternoon storms will continue to favor the high terrain first before falling off to adjacent valley locations. Outflow bdrys producing sudden erratic wind shifts and gusts, coupled with lightning will be the main fire concern through the forecast period. Storms along and west of the divide will likely be more dry than wet. Ventilation and overnight recoveries will be fair to good, with pockets of poor ventilation each day. Storm coverage will look to increase across the east again early next week as the upper high shifts to the southwest, pushing storms off the Sangres to the east. Models show the upper high shifting east of the region by mid-to-late next week allowing some hope for additional moisture to work up from the EPAC. 24/RJH && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 400 AM MDT Fri Jul 12 2019 NMZ501>540-131200- 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- 400 AM MDT Fri Jul 12 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Scattered thunderstorms are expected today through the overnight. Storm motions will be slow and rainfall could become heavy at times. This may lead to localized areas of flash flooding, especially over and near recent and older burn scars. Isolated locations may receive up to 1 inch of rainfall. A few storms may also produce small hail and wind gusts to 50 mph. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday Scattered to numerous thunderstorms are expected this weekend into Monday. Storm motions will be slow and rainfall could become heavy. This may lead to localized areas of flash flooding, especially over and near recent and older burn scars. Isolated locations may receive up to 2 inches of rainfall. A few storms may also produce small hail and wind gusts to 50 mph. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report through the National Weather Service Albuquerque web site at weather.gov/abq or by calling 1.888.386.7637. You can also submit storm reports and photos on our Facebook page or via Twitter using the hashtag nmwx. 41
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 22 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:39 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Albuquerque Sunport reported a brief, localized wind gust up to 59 mph from a |nearby collapsing thunderstorm.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
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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: 825798.