A winter storm system that brought light snowfall to much of northern and western New Mexico on November 25, 2019 dragged a potent cold front through the state on November 26, 2019. Strong west winds during the early morning along the east slopes of the central mountain chain spread eastward through the early afternoon with wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph.
Every event with a place to put it; 12 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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 winter storm system that brought light snowfall to much of northern and western New Mexico on November 25, 2019 dragged a potent cold front through the state on November 26, 2019. Strong west winds during the early morning along the east slopes of the central mountain chain spread eastward through the early afternoon with wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph. The strongest winds impacted the Caprock region where Clovis recorded a peak wind gust up to 68 mph. Fortunately, no damage or injuries were reported with this wind event.
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 Nov 25, 4:42 AM MST, 5 hours 18 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 442 AM MST Mon Nov 25 2019 .AVIATION... 12Z TAF CYCLE Winds are on the uptrend through the TAF period as the jet stream dives southeast toward NM. Areas of light rain and snow will develop along a cold front tonight across western NM and will likely impact both KFMN and KGUP with MVFR conditions, although an hour or two of IFR conditions are not out of the question at KGUP. Otherwise, VFR conditions prevail and are forecast to persist, but with the development and gradual lowering of VFR cigs. 11 && .PREV DISCUSSION...225 AM MST Mon Nov 25 2019... .SYNOPSIS... Today will be another relatively warm day, but a potent cold front will sweep through the region Tuesday and bring strong to potentially damaging winds to the eastern half of the state. Much colder temperatures will prevail behind the front Tuesday and Tuesday night. Holiday travel will likely be impacted from Wednesday through Friday due to at least two rounds of precipitation forecast to hit the area. The first round will begin late Wednesday and ramp-up Wednesday night, with significant snow amounts possible in the mountains and central highlands. Unsettled and colder conditions will persist into Thanksgiving day, but a large storm system moving east across the Intermountain West will bring a round of heavy snow to western and northern New Mexico on Friday. Strong winds and well below normal temperatures are forecast going into Saturday on the backside of the departing storm system. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... Another relatively warm day is on tap, with daytime temperatures reaching above normal most areas. The jet stream is diving southeast toward New Mexico and will deliver an upper level trough and associated strong cold front on Tuesday. Winds will begin to ramp-up tonight across the peaks and along the east slopes of the central mountain chain. Strong to potentially damaging winds will quickly spread to the lower elevations during the daylight hours Tuesday, as 700mb winds reach up to between 50-70kts across central and eastern NM and a lee side surface low deepens to near 990mb. The High Wind Watch still looks on track, but added De Baca, Roosevelt and southwest Chaves Counties. A number of forecast zones outside of the High Wind Watch will likely require a Wind Advisory, including Albuquerque. In addition to strong winds, this system will bring a round of snow, favoring the peaks and west-facing slopes of the northern and western mountains. Will issue a Winter Weather Advisory shortly for the Tusas Mountains, including Chama, where 4-7" of snow is likely with areas of blowing snow as well. Much colder temperatures will follow behind the front Tuesday and be well below normal. LONG TERM...(TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY)... Weather prediction models agree that strong west and northwest winds will likely diminish rapidly Tuesday evening. Cold to very cold overnight lows will result Wednesday morning with a few mountain valley locations in the northern mountains flirting with sub-zero low temperatures. 00Z models came in with a fairly significant change for Wednesday, slowing the timing of the onset of precipitation associated with the low-latitude upper low currently off of Baja California. Precipitation is slower to spread northeastward on Wednesday. Additionally, the models send the baroclinic zone (mid-level cold front) associated with the Monday night and Tuesday system northward on Wednesday, allowing warmer air to push in from the south. This makes precipitation type on Wednesday and Wednesday night much simpler and a lot less impactful to travelers. Snow levels start out down to all elevations across eastern NM Wednesday morning but the delayed precip allows temperatures near the surface to warm, allowing precip to change to rain across the east-central and southeast plains. Elsewhere, snow remains the likely precipitation type for the northeast plains and highlands and snow above about 7000 feet central and west. A deep closed low over CA remains on track to bring another round of widespread low elevation rain and higher terrain (heavy at times) snow to the vast majority of the forecast area Thanksgiving Day into black Friday. As the aforementioned low-latitude system accelerates eastward Thanksgiving morning, the CA closed low and the associated surface and mid-level cold fronts push into western NM during the afternoon. Snow levels start out around 8000 feet across the west Thursday, dropping during the late afternoon and evening to near 7500 feet or so. Snow levels are forecast to remain near 8000 feet for the northern and central mountains Thursday night, falling rapidly behind the cold front Friday morning. Snow levels west of the divide drop to near 6000 feet by 18Z Friday likely resulting in major travel impacts for Interstate 40. Snow levels continue to tumble Friday afternoon with snow levels down to 5000 feet in the RGV during the late afternoon along with the potential for some light snow accumulation. Areas of orographic snows linger in the northern and western mountains Saturday with a transitory ridge of high pressure forecast to build in Sunday. 11/33 && .FIRE WEATHER... Vent rates will improve today and be mostly excellent by Tuesday as strong winds associated with a cold front sweep east across the state. Elevated fire weather conditions are forecast across portions of the east central plains Tuesday. Moisture will ramp-up Wednesday and result in a widespread wetting event across central and eastern New Mexico, with significant snowfall totals possible in the mountains. Another round of accumulating snow is likely Friday as a large storm system moves slowly east across the Intermountain West. Winds will crank-up Friday and continue to be strong Saturday in the wake of the departing system. 11 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Watch from late tonight through Tuesday afternoon for the following zones... NMZ223-229>237-240. Winter Weather Advisory from 8 PM this evening to 11 AM MST Tuesday for the following zones... NMZ210. High Wind Watch from this evening through Tuesday afternoon for the following zones... NMZ226. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 241 AM MST Mon Nov 25 2019 NMZ201>241-261130- Northwest Plateau-Chuska Mountains-Far Northwest Highlands- Northwest Highlands-West Central Plateau-West Central Mountains- West Central Highlands-Southwest Mountains- San Francisco River Valley-Tusas Mountains Including Chama- Jemez Mountains-Glorieta Mesa Including Glorieta Pass- Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains- Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains- East Slopes Sangre de Cristo Mountains-Upper Rio Grande Valley- Espanola Valley-Santa Fe Metro Area- Middle Rio Grande Valley/Albuquerque Metro Area- Lower Rio Grande Valley-Sandia/Manzano Mountains Including Edgewood- Estancia Valley-Central Highlands-South Central Highlands- Upper Tularosa Valley-South Central Mountains- Johnson and Bartlett Mesas Including Raton Pass- 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- San Agustin Plains and Adjacent Lowlands- 241 AM MST Mon Nov 25 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight An unseasonably cold storm system will bring the potential for accumulating snow to portions of northern and western NM tonight and Tuesday morning. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Strong to very strong west and northwest winds will develop in the wake of a cold front Tuesday, especially mountains and east. A high wind watch is in effect for much of eastern New Mexico late tonight through Tuesday. A batch of widespread and potentially heavy rain with higher terrain snow is likely Wednesday and Wednesday night. A strong storm system over California will bring yet another round of widespread and potentially heavy lower elevation rain and snow to much of the region Thanksgiving afternoon through black Friday. Moderate to heavy snow in western and northern NM will likely lead to significant travel impacts along Interstate 40 and Highway 550 Friday. .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. 33
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
12 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Peak wind gusts up to 65 mph were reported at the Dunken RAWS.
Periodic sustained winds up to 42 mph were reported at the Dunken RAWS.
Periodic sustained winds up to 40 mph were reported at Clines Corners.
Periodic wind gusts up to 60 mph were reported at Clines Corners.
Sustained wind speeds between 40 mph and 47 mph were reported for several hours at Tucumcari.
Sustained wind speeds between 40 mph and 52 mph were reported for several hours around Clovis.
Peak wind gusts up to 61 mph were reported at Tucumcari.
Peak wind gusts up to 60 mph were reported at the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility.
Peak wind gusts up to 66 mph were reported at the CSBF Transwestern Pump station.
Sustained wind speeds between 40 mph and 44 mph were reported at the Dora mesonet.
Peak wind gusts up to 68 mph were reported around Clovis.
Peak wind gusts up to 58 mph were reported at the Melrose Bombing Range and near Dora.
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, November 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: 858176, 858175, 858164, 858165, 858166, 858170, 858168, 858173, 858174, 858172, 858169, 858171.