As an area of high pressure moved into southeastern New Mexico, a weak disturbance moved across the central Rockies. This disturbance combined with a backdoor cold front provided the necessary ingredients for isolated to scattered thunderstorms across portions of central and eastern New Mexico on August 28, 2020.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
As an area of high pressure moved into southeastern New Mexico, a weak disturbance moved across the central Rockies. This disturbance combined with a backdoor cold front provided the necessary ingredients for isolated to scattered thunderstorms across portions of central and eastern New Mexico on August 28, 2020. Thunderstorms began to form early in the afternoon across the northern high terrain before moving east onto lower elevations. Strong downburst winds and gusty outflow boundaries were the biggest threats with these thunderstorms. The Raton airport recorded a 62 mph wind gust while an outflow boundary was responsible for a 60 mph gust in Rio Rancho.
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 Aug 28, 1:51 PM MST, 46 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 251 PM MDT Fri Aug 28 2020 .SYNOPSIS... Today's storms that are ongoing across portions of western and northern New Mexico will continue into late tonight. A few storms over northeastern New Mexico may become strong to severe with gusty winds, hail, frequent lightning, and locally heavy rain. A backdoor cold front moving through the east will allow for greater coverage of storms on Saturday. Locally heavy rainfall will be possible while the threat for severe weather continues across the east. Storm coverage will start to trend down on Sunday as drier, cooler conditions move into the area. The area of high pressure will strengthen again west of New Mexico next week which will bring a return of hot and dry conditions. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT)... Upper high will linger over southern New Mexico through Saturday night. Storms have broken out over the Sangre de Cristo as well as the southwest and Chuska mountains this afternoon but will continue to increase in number and areal coverage especially over north central and northeast New Mexico later in the afternoon and this evening. Models suggest the highest rainfall amounts, outside of isolated storms, will stretch over far northeast New Mexico late this evening and after midnight. They also indicate there will be a strong northerly outflow pushing southward over central and eastern New Mexico this evening. This afternoon's storms along the central mountain chain may result in a brief gusty north to east wind into Santa Fe and Albuquerque but still think the complex of storms forecast for this evening may result in a late evening/overnight round of gusty east winds and will have to monitor those trends. Afternoon and evening storms will favor the southwest mountains as well as the central mountain chain eastward Saturday as the surface boundary is stretched over the eastern plains. SPC day 2 outlook has painted a marginal risk over where the boundary will be located. Highs Saturday will be about 5-10 degrees cooler central and east. LONG TERM...(SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY)... An upper-level trough moving over the northern Rockies on Sunday will push the H5 high center into northern Mexico. Drier westerly flow will start to set up over northern NM, trending PWATs down to around 0.50". With daytime heating plus forcing from an upper-level jet, isolated storms will continue to be possible over the northern high terrain. However, highest PoPs Sunday look to be across southwest NM and the lower RGV where PWATs will remain around 1.00"-1.10". Dry, westerly flow continues on Monday which keeps the high centered over northern Mexico. Meanwhile, another backdoor cold front moves into eastern NM early Monday. This front brings a modest increase in low- level moisture to eastern NM which increases PoPs slightly for the east slopes of the central mountain chain. Still, the favored location will remain southwest NM and the lower RGV where the highest PWATs will be. An upper-level trough will deepen into a closed low as it moves SE off the central Rockies and clips northeastern NM Tuesday. Its associated Pacific cold front will move through the state early in the day while the backdoor portion of it moves through the east by mid-afternoon. This will usher in even drier, cooler air for the first couple days of September. Don't get used to the near normal temps. Models are in good agreement that the high will move back to our west over the SW CONUS. While models differ on some of the finer details, they are in very good agreement that this high will be anomalously strong for this time of year at about 597dm/598dm by the end of the week. Dry, hot conditions look likely for much of next week. 15 && .FIRE WEATHER... Showers and storms will favor the north into the east central through tonight, with wetting rain more likely than it has been in the past several days. Showers and storms favor the southwest mountains and central mountain chain eastward on Saturday as a surface boundary will remain stretched over the eastern plains. Highs Saturday will be about 5-10 degrees cooler central and east but still mostly above average. Sunday's storms will be mostly confined to areas along and south of I-40. A cold front could impact the east Monday as dry northwest flow develops but models vary whether the front will spark convection or will be dry. Mid to late next week, the upper high builds back over the Great Basin/Four Corners, returning mostly dry and warmer than normal weather to New Mexico. && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE Upper high center has shifted to the southern half of NM where it will linger for the next 24 hrs. Surface boundary pushing into far ne NM at 17Z with nely wind gusts to around 35kt and isold MVFR cigs will spread swd to a KLVS-KTCC line by 21Z but will likely lose momentum by then. A more robust crop of showers and storms erupting over the northern mountains and ne NM, initially moving eastward, then pushing swd into central NM aft 00Z. Isold strong to severe storms are possible over far northeast NM where large hail and wind gusts to around 50kt are possible. Elsewhere, isold showers and thunderstorms are forecast west of the Contdvd. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 64 90 58 90 / 20 20 10 5 Dulce........................... 52 82 49 85 / 30 50 20 20 Cuba............................ 57 83 55 86 / 40 30 20 20 Gallup.......................... 55 88 55 85 / 30 20 20 20 El Morro........................ 52 85 53 81 / 30 20 20 30 Grants.......................... 55 86 55 84 / 40 30 20 30 Quemado......................... 56 84 56 80 / 20 30 20 30 Magdalena....................... 60 85 60 84 / 30 40 20 30 Datil........................... 55 83 56 80 / 20 40 20 30 Reserve......................... 59 87 58 86 / 20 30 20 40 Glenwood........................ 67 90 65 93 / 10 20 20 30 Chama........................... 48 76 46 79 / 50 70 30 20 Los Alamos...................... 58 81 58 83 / 50 60 30 20 Pecos........................... 56 82 56 84 / 50 60 30 20 Cerro/Questa.................... 50 76 48 80 / 60 60 30 30 Red River....................... 45 66 43 73 / 70 70 30 30 Angel Fire...................... 46 73 44 75 / 70 60 30 20 Taos............................ 52 82 49 84 / 50 50 30 20 Mora............................ 52 79 52 81 / 60 70 30 20 Espanola........................ 59 86 58 90 / 50 40 30 20 Santa Fe........................ 57 83 57 85 / 50 60 30 20 Santa Fe Airport................ 58 86 57 88 / 50 50 30 10 Albuquerque Foothills........... 64 88 64 88 / 40 30 20 20 Albuquerque Heights............. 67 90 67 90 / 40 30 20 10 Albuquerque Valley.............. 67 92 67 92 / 30 20 20 10 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 65 90 64 91 / 40 30 20 10 Belen........................... 66 93 64 92 / 30 20 20 10 Bernalillo...................... 64 91 63 92 / 40 30 20 10 Bosque Farms.................... 66 92 65 91 / 30 20 20 10 Corrales........................ 65 91 63 93 / 40 30 20 10 Los Lunas....................... 66 93 65 91 / 30 20 20 10 Placitas........................ 63 89 62 87 / 40 30 20 20 Rio Rancho...................... 65 90 63 92 / 40 30 20 10 Socorro......................... 67 94 66 93 / 20 30 20 20 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 59 84 58 84 / 40 40 30 20 Tijeras......................... 61 87 60 87 / 40 40 30 20 Edgewood........................ 57 86 57 87 / 50 40 30 20 Moriarty/Estancia............... 57 88 56 88 / 40 40 30 20 Clines Corners.................. 57 83 58 85 / 40 40 40 10 Mountainair..................... 59 86 60 86 / 30 40 30 20 Gran Quivira.................... 60 87 61 86 / 30 40 30 20 Carrizozo....................... 64 90 65 91 / 10 30 30 20 Ruidoso......................... 59 82 60 85 / 10 50 30 20 Capulin......................... 54 78 53 85 / 80 80 50 20 Raton........................... 55 80 51 88 / 80 70 40 20 Springer........................ 56 84 52 89 / 70 70 40 10 Las Vegas....................... 54 82 54 86 / 60 60 40 10 Clayton......................... 61 79 59 91 / 70 50 60 10 Roy............................. 58 81 56 89 / 60 50 50 10 Conchas......................... 64 90 63 96 / 50 40 50 10 Santa Rosa...................... 63 91 63 94 / 50 30 50 10 Tucumcari....................... 66 91 65 98 / 40 20 50 10 Clovis.......................... 65 91 64 96 / 20 20 40 10 Portales........................ 66 93 66 98 / 20 20 40 5 Fort Sumner..................... 66 93 66 96 / 30 10 40 10 Roswell......................... 71 99 70 100 / 5 10 20 10 Picacho......................... 65 89 66 92 / 10 30 20 20 Elk............................. 61 85 63 88 / 5 30 20 20 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 310 AM MDT Fri Aug 28 2020 NMZ201>241-291100- 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- 310 AM MDT Fri Aug 28 2020 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Record to near-record heat will peak today over east central and southeast New Mexico with readings between 100 and 105 degrees. There is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms over northeast New Mexico late today and tonight. Storm motions will be slow and erratic toward the north and east. Locally heavy rainfall, strong wind gusts, and large hail will be possible with these storms. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday There is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms over northeast New Mexico Saturday and Saturday night. Storm motions will be eastward around 15 to 25 mph. Locally heavy rainfall, strong wind gusts, and large hail will be possible with these storms. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report flooding, damaging winds, and large hail 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. Guyer
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Albuquerque NM
245 PM MDT Fri Aug 28 2020
NMZ215-227-228-282130-
Far Northeast Highlands-East Slopes Sangre de Cristo
Mountains-Johnson and Bartlett Mesas Including Raton Pass-
245 PM MDT Fri Aug 28 2020
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL COLFAX COUNTY UNTIL 330
PM MDT...
At 245 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 14
miles northeast of Cimarron, or 22 miles southwest of Raton, moving
northeast at 15 mph.
Penny size hail and wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible with
this storm.
Heavy rain will also be possible with this storm.
This storm will remain over mainly rural areas of central Colfax
County.
This includes the following highways...
Interstate 25 between Mile Markers 429 and 432.
Highway 64 between Mile Markers 315 and 335.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Heavy rains will cause water to pond on roads and in low spots. Fast
running water will quickly fill arroyos and ditches.
&&
LAT...LON 3652 10482 3670 10495 3687 10483 3684 10456
3658 10450
TIME...MOT...LOC 2045Z 232DEG 14KT 3667 10475
KJThe Pueblo radar (KPUX), 194 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:37 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A 62 mph wind gust was recorded at the Raton airport from a strong thunderstorm downburst.
A 60 mph wind gust was estimated at the intersection of Unser Boulevard and Abrazo Road from a thunderstorm outflow boundary.
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, August 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: 906576, 906579.