Moderate to severe drought conditions across portions of western and northern New Mexico at the end of March 2020 worsened in April. Moderate to severe drought conditions continued at about 26 percent of the state of which about 13 percent across northern NM was deemed as severe drought.
Every event with a place to put it; 11 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.
Moderate to severe drought conditions across portions of western and northern New Mexico at the end of March 2020 worsened in April. Moderate to severe drought conditions continued at about 26 percent of the state of which about 13 percent across northern NM was deemed as severe drought. Dry conditions through the month of April led to below normal precipitation throughout the area which worsened severe drought conditions across north central portions of the state. Precipitation amounts during April generally totaled around to less than half an inch with some locally higher amounts across the northern high terrain.
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 31, 10:15 PM MST, 1 hour 45 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1115 PM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE Plentiful mid to high level clouds over NM next 18-24 hrs. Surface lee trough with occasional sw-wly wind gusts to around 35kt aft 18Z along the east slopes of the central mt chain and into the northeast and east central plains. Short term models suggest there will be sufficient instability aft 18Z for virga and isold tstms but are not in good argeement where, although some likely areas would be along the central mt chain. && .PREV DISCUSSION...246 PM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020... .SYNOPSIS... Wind and fire weather will be the main story over the next couple days. Winds strengthen again on Wednesday and Thursday, and the combination of strong winds and dry conditions will lead to critical fire weather conditions in the east each day. Outdoor burning is not recommended. The warming trend will also continue each day until a backdoor cold front on Friday temporarily cools temperatures. Warmer, drier weather continues into the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT)... High clouds will thicken and lower some tonight, keeping temperatures up, much higher than last night. Wednesday will be warmer despite mid level clouds. There will be virga by afternoon and perhaps sprinkles and gusty winds reaching the ground south of I- 40. There could even be a little dry lightning in the northern Gila Region. Wednesday night will be dry with clearing skies and mild early April temperatures. CHJ LONG TERM...(THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... A broad H5 trough will cross the northern Rockies on Thursday, but with any moisture associated with this system staying too far north, no precipitation is expected aside from possibly a light shower in the higher terrain near the CO border. However, as the system passes to the north, flow aloft will increase as the pressure gradient tightens. Combined with a 995-997mb lee side surface low over northeastern NM, winds will continue to strengthen on Thursday in what will be a breezy to windy day across the entire forecast area. The western high terrain as well as the Central Highlands will be the favored locations for winds approaching advisory speeds. Strong downsloping winds will also continue to aid in the warming trend, especially with cloud cover from Wednesday clearing out. Highs will be above normal areawide and up to 15 degrees above normal across the east. A backdoor cold front then pushes south and west through the eastern plains Thursday night and into Friday morning. Again no precipitation is expected behind the dry front aside from a slight chance for light showers in the Sangres due to upslope flow. Temperatures will cool areawide on Friday with the most pronounced cooling the east. Westerly flow will likely stall the front over the plains Friday morning before it is finally able to push through the gaps of the central mountain chain later in the evening. Dry, southwest flow then set in this weekend. Temperatures will quickly rebound in what should be a dry weekend for most. The exception could be across the far southeast where low-level return flow could help develop a few showers and thunderstorms on Sunday. Another system then looks to impact the area on Tuesday which could bring some light precipitation to northern NM, but another round of wind seems to be a good bet. 15 && .FIRE WEATHER... A break from the wind today, but it returns Wednesday and Thursday. High cloudiness will keep tonight mild for the end of March/start of April. Mid clouds Wednesday will be indicative of some moisture in the mid levels. There will be moderate instability as well. We will likely see lots of virga, and maybe some dust-covered sprinkles south of I-40. The West Central Mountains could get a few lightning strikes with little rainfall. The combination of winds, warmth, dryness and instability will be focused on the northeast Wednesday where we will upgrade the Fire Weather Watch to a Red Flag Warning. Thursday will be an active day with windy conditions, well above normal temperatures, decent instability with moderate Haines and minimum humidities below 15 percent in much of the east. We will continue the Fire Weather Watch for all of the east Thursday. We may need to include the central and northwest valleys as they could receive a few hours of spotty critical conditions. A potent backdoor cold front is still slated for Thursday night although it does not make as much progress south and west as recent models have been showing. The east will still cool considerably. It will be dry aside from a possible rain shower on the Sangre de Cristo peaks Friday, and snow showers Friday night. The front will make better progress south and west Friday night but only some cooling in the southeast is forecast Saturday. It looks dry from Saturday through early next week, with the possible exception of Saturday night or Sunday, when a dryline could set up near the TX border. CHJ && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Fire Weather Watch from Thursday afternoon through Thursday evening for the following zones... NMZ103-104-107-108. Red Flag Warning from noon to 7 PM MDT Wednesday for the following zones... NMZ104. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 301 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 NMZ201>241-011100- 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- 301 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2020 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight No hazardous weather is expected. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Breezy to windy conditions will return Wednesday and Thursday afternoons. Critical fire weather is likely through northeastern New Mexico Wednesday, and likely becoming widespread across eastern New Mexico Thursday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated. 24
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe drought conditions from March 2020 continued in April.
Severe drought conditions from March 2020 continued in April.
Severe drought conditions from March 2020 continued in April.
Severe drought conditions from March 2020 continued in April.
Severe drought conditions from March 2020 continued in April.
Severe drought conditions from March 2020 continued in April.
Severe drought conditions developed during April 2020. Below normal precipitation amounts set the stage for deteriorating drought conditions.
Severe drought conditions developed across northern portions of the area during April 2020. Below normal precipitation amounts set the stage for deteriorating drought conditions.
Severe drought conditions developed across northern portions of the area during April 2020. Below normal precipitation amounts set the stage for deteriorating drought conditions.
Severe drought conditions developed during April 2020. Below normal precipitation amounts set the stage for deteriorating drought conditions.
Severe drought conditions developed during April 2020. Below normal precipitation amounts set the stage for deteriorating drought conditions.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2020
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: 879601, 879602, 879603, 879604, 879605, 879606, 879607, 879608, 879609, 879610, 879611.