Strong mountain wave activity impacted the area along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on March 1, 2019. A strengthening jet stream combined with a strong pressure gradient across the higher terrain and warm overnight temperatures led to localized wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph before sunrise on the 1st.
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.
Strong mountain wave activity impacted the area along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on March 1, 2019. A strengthening jet stream combined with a strong pressure gradient across the higher terrain and warm overnight temperatures led to localized wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph before sunrise on the 1st. Winds continued through the early afternoon hours with peak gusts at the Raton airport reaching 69 mph.
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 Mar 1, 4:22 AM MST, 1 hour 8 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 422 AM MST Fri Mar 1 2019 .AVIATION... 12Z TAF CYCLE High level cirrus is streaming over much of northern NM this morning and will continue to bring in mid to high level cigs with VFR prevailing. Westerly winds will reach 15-25kts strength through the East Plains and east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. KRTN may see a strong gust of wind to near 40kts from time to time. Winds will quickly diminish after sunset. A northerly wind shift behind a backdoor bdry slipping into northeast NM will reach KCAO and KTCC late in the TAF period, a prelude to a much stronger and colder backdoor cold front expected late Saturday through Sunday. 24/RJH && .PREV DISCUSSION...157 AM MST Fri Mar 1 2019... .SYNOPSIS... Zonal flow today with breezy to windy conditions in the east. A back door cold front will slip into the northeast tonight. A short wave trough will approach NM Saturday and cross the state Saturday night with a decent amount of precipitation, including snow in the high elevations of the northern mountains. A potent arctic cold front will plunge into the east Saturday night and Sunday. Northwest flow Sunday and Monday with lingering precipitation across the north. Dry and milder Tuesday then another storm could arrive next Wednesday and continue into Thursday. && .DISCUSSION... Forecast challenges are plenty with this forecast package. Namely, the timing of a polar and arctic back door cold front and the type of precipitation and amounts this weekend. We will have another mostly dry and warm day today to end the week. It will be breezy to windy across the eastern highlands onto the plains. Highs will be above normal area wide. A weak back door cold front will slip into the northeast tonight and linger into Saturday. Meanwhile a trough coming onto the west coast early Saturday will race east, crossing NM Saturday night. A decent amount of moisture will get drawn north ahead of it, with rain and high mountain snow breaking out Saturday and continuing into Sunday. We will issue a winter storm watch for the San Juan/Tusas, Jemez and high peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains with this forecast package. Snow levels will be high and significant accumulations will be mostly above 9000 feet. The bigger story may be the arctic cold front that will plunge into northeast NM late Saturday and plow south and west Saturday night into Sunday. Highs Sunday will be dramatically lower by 30 degrees or more on the eastern plains. Highs will also be 20 to 30 degrees below normal. Light precipitation will be likely behind the front in the northeast. First, there may be freezing fog in the far northeast late Friday night and Saturday morning behind the first front. Then light rain and snow should develop Saturday evening in the northeast and quickly change to all snow behind the arctic front. Snow amounts will probably be light, but it will be blustery and the snow dry, perhaps resulting in some blowing snow and reduced visibilities. Finally, the arctic front could spill into the Rio Grande Valley Sunday night, although models are still not that excited about. A weak disturbance will cross NM Monday, keeping mostly light precipitation going north of I-40. Tuesday will be dry and milder. yet another storm could impact the state Wednesday and Thursday. CHJ && .FIRE WEATHER... ...MARGINAL CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR EAST CENTRAL NM THIS AFTERNOON... Dry westerlies will mix down this afternoon through the Central Highlands, Northeast Highlands, and adjacent East Plains with 20- 25kt winds. High cirrus is expected to continue streaming over NM through the day, limiting mixing hgts but wind gusts should range from 30-40kts through the east. The warmth also continues with MinRHs dipping to 10-18% range through the East Plains allowing for a few hours of critical fire weather conditions to develop. The main focus area for critical fire weather will stretch from the Central Highlands near Corona to Santa Rosa/Tucumcari north to Raton, covering portions of FWZs 103, 104, 107, and 108. No one fire weather zone however holds a majority coverage of forecast critical fire weather, so will forego issuing any Red Flag Warnings at this time. A weak backdoor push will sag into northeast NM tonight through Saturday, with WSW winds again being breezy Saturday afternoon for the rest of NM. Moisture will improve modestly limiting the potential for critical fire weather Saturday. Meanwhile, an upper level disturbance will bring precipitation through northwest NM Saturday afternoon with snow favoring the northwest mountains. A much stronger and colder backdoor surge is expected Saturday night through Sunday, drastically dropping temperatures through eastern NM Sunday. The backdoor boundary will reach the east slopes of the Central Mountain Chain, perhaps seeping into the middle RGV by Monday morning at its furthest westward progression. Arctic cold holds onto the East Plains while warmer conditions hold onto western NM through the forecast period. Warmer temperatures return to eastern NM by mid next week with another disturbance bringing the potential for more precipitation by Wed/Thu of next week. 24 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Storm Watch from Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon for the following zones... NMZ510-511-513-514. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 354 AM MST Fri Mar 1 2019 NMZ501>540-021200- 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- 354 AM MST Fri Mar 1 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Critical fire weather conditions could be reached for a couple of hours this afternoon across the Northeast Highlands and East Central Plains due to strong winds, low humidities and an unstable airmass. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday A strong back door arctic cold front will bring unseasonably cold temperatures to the eastern plains over the weekend. Below freezing temperatures may persist across northeast New Mexico from Saturday night through Tuesday afternoon, or more than 60 consecutive hours. Significant snow accumulations will also be possible Saturday afternoon through Sunday and maybe through Monday across the higher peaks of the northern mountains, resulting in slick and snow covered travel conditions across the high terrain. .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. 40
1 high wind, 1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Raton airport reported peak wind gusts between 58 mph and 69 mph for several hours. High winds produced blowing dust across Interstate 25 near Springer.
A motorist along Interstate 25 reported a dust storm with visibility near zero crossing the highway between Maxwell and Springer. High resolution satellite imagery captured details of the dust plume stretching from northwest of Maxwell across Interstate 25 to Abbott.
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, March 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: 799153, 799297.