Besides one precipitation event in early December, little moisture fell during the month. All climate locations reported below normal precipitation which kept all areas in severe to exceptional drought.
Every event with a place to put it; 14 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 EPZ wrote it up.
Besides one precipitation event in early December, little moisture fell during the month. All climate locations reported below normal precipitation which kept all areas in severe to exceptional drought.
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 El Paso, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 30, 10:43 PM MST, 1 hour 17 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 1043 PM MST Mon Nov 30 2020 .AVIATION...06Z TAF CYCLE Dry northwest flow aloft will result in VFR conditions through the period. Winds will be light and variable early in the period, becoming W to NW 5-10 KTS after 17Z. Then a cold front will increase winds after 03Z, becoming N to NE at 15-25 KTS mainly along and east of the Rio Grande. Skies will be FEW- SCT250. && Fausett .PREV DISCUSSION...138 PM MST Mon Nov 30 2020... .SYNOPSIS... Mild, relatively speaking, weather lovers should enjoy Tuesday, which will be near 60 degrees, because a cold airmass plunges into the Borderland come mid to late week. Temperatures Thursday and Friday will likely not reach 50 degrees across the region. Light snow possible western areas Friday, then highly uncertain precipitation chances this weekend, ranging from nothing to modest amounts. Stay tuned. && .DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM... A slightly cooler airmass is in place today thanks to the cold front that pushed through the Borderland yesterday afternoon/evening. It brought with it some breezy to gusty west slope winds overnight. The tight surface pressure gradient overnight has relaxed enough already today to see only an occasional breeze across the Borderland this afternoon. The exception is Hidalgo and Southern Grant county where it's still windy; gusts to 30-35 have been common along the Lordsburg Playa. Wind will continue to gradually decrease this afternoon, becoming calm tonight. The overall wind direction will be terrain driven. A shortwave in the NW upper level flow will bring in some high clouds tonight, which may deter some radiational cooling. Regardless, lows will drop below freezing area-wide. Tomorrow, an amplified ridge sets up over NW Canada, with a trough dropping south into northern New Mexico by the end of this short- term forecast period. Despite height falls through the day, the westerly surface wind and ridge amplification should allow high temperatures to increase to right at, or just below, seasonal average (highs in the lower 50s/upper 60s in the lowlands). Enjoy it while you can... much cooler weather is on the way. && .LONG TERM... Interesting long term pattern shaping up. Strong positive PNA pattern continues early December. At the same time, neutral to trending negative AO/NAO pattern(s) develop(s). As a result? Substantial blocking and high amplitude pattern will activate across North America, with anomalously high heights across much of northern to northwestern Canada, and south or in the vicinity of Greenland. Upper low will be trapped under this pattern, pushing south into the Borderland, or to the southwest, come late week into the weekend, where a threat for modest precipitation lies. Firstly though, we'll have to deal with a cold, arctic airmass, plunging into the Desert. High temperatures will likely fall short of 50 degrees come Thursday and Friday, with cold overnight low temperatures. Winds Wednesday night into Thursday will be brisk at times, likely leading to some chilly windchills as well. Where things get a little messy is Friday and beyond into the weekend. ECMWF continues to suggest, along with EPS, a very strong deepening upper low sitting just to the west/southwest of EPZ CWA. Strong moisture advection and hence mod to hvy precip overspreads the area, especially western regions, which will be closer to upper low. GFS, GEFS, CMC, and GEPS suggest a less amplified upper low overall with much less precip, and perhaps none at all. So this will certainly be watched, but leaning towards rain/snow showers Friday through the weekend, but timing, strength, and evolution of upper low will be everything. For instance, GFS has the aforementioned upper low phasing and moving east with another piece of energy, which is a catalyst for a tremendous slug of moisture NEXT Tuesday... Thinking at least a light precip possibility will be in the cards, timing is uncertain, however. Whether or not this precip threat does establish temperatures through this period (next weekend into early next week) will be somewhere near to slightly below normal for this time of year. && .FIRE WEATHER... The weather pattern over the next several days will promote dry conditions and cooler overall temperatures. Aside from Tuesday, which will warm to near normal (min RH 12-18 percent; light wind), the cooler temperatures will cause Min RH to stay above 20 percent. A strong cold front will slide through with breezy winds Tuesday evening, promoting cooler temperatures through the end of the week. Temperatures on Thursday and Friday will be 10-20 degrees below normal. Vent rates will generally be poor to fair, with the exception of fair to good in spots on Thursday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... El Paso 29 61 31 52 / 0 0 0 0 Sierra Blanca 27 59 27 49 / 0 0 0 0 Las Cruces 24 60 24 50 / 0 0 0 0 Alamogordo 24 59 24 49 / 0 0 0 0 Cloudcroft 18 39 14 29 / 0 0 0 0 Truth or Consequences 27 59 27 50 / 0 0 0 0 Silver City 28 56 27 47 / 0 0 0 0 Deming 20 63 23 51 / 0 0 0 0 Lordsburg 21 60 23 53 / 0 0 0 0 West El Paso Metro 33 60 33 52 / 0 0 0 0 Dell City 21 62 24 50 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Hancock 27 67 27 56 / 0 0 0 0 Loma Linda 30 54 29 45 / 0 0 0 0 Fabens 27 62 29 53 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Teresa 25 59 27 50 / 0 0 0 0 White Sands HQ 31 59 31 50 / 0 0 0 0 Jornada Range 25 58 18 48 / 0 0 0 0 Hatch 21 61 23 50 / 0 0 0 0 Columbus 26 63 27 51 / 0 0 0 0 Orogrande 26 57 26 49 / 0 0 0 0 Mayhill 24 54 19 41 / 0 0 0 0 Mescalero 19 49 16 39 / 0 0 0 0 Timberon 19 49 16 37 / 0 0 0 0 Winston 16 57 15 46 / 0 0 0 0 Hillsboro 22 62 21 50 / 0 0 0 0 Spaceport 24 59 24 48 / 0 0 0 0 Lake Roberts 21 59 19 49 / 0 0 0 0 Hurley 21 59 20 48 / 0 0 0 0 Cliff 24 63 19 54 / 0 0 0 0 Mule Creek 26 58 20 50 / 0 0 0 0 Faywood 24 61 24 48 / 0 0 0 0 Animas 21 64 24 56 / 0 0 0 0 Hachita 19 62 21 53 / 0 0 0 0 Antelope Wells 23 65 24 56 / 0 0 0 0 Cloverdale 27 60 29 53 / 0 0 0 0 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...None. TX...None. && 01-Fausett/99/99
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 530 AM MST Mon Nov 30 2020 NMZ401>417-TXZ418>424-011230- Upper Gila River Valley-Southern Gila Highlands/Black Range- Southern Gila Foothills/Mimbres Valley- Southwest Desert/Lower Gila River Valley-Lowlands of the Bootheel- Uplands of the Bootheel-Southwest Desert/Mimbres Basin- Eastern Black Range Foothills-Sierra County Lakes- Northern Dona Ana County-Southern Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley- Central Tularosa Basin-Southern Tularosa Basin- West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet- Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet- East Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet-Otero Mesa- Western El Paso County-Eastern/Central El Paso County- Northern Hudspeth Highlands/Hueco Mountains-Salt Basin- Southern Hudspeth Highlands- Rio Grande Valley of Eastern El Paso/Western Hudspeth Counties- Rio Grande Valley of Eastern Hudspeth County- 530 AM MST Mon Nov 30 2020 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of south central New Mexico, southwest New Mexico, and southwest Texas. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Gusty winds along the western mountain slopes will start to diminish after sunrise and become light throughout the day. Hidalgo County will continue to see wind gusts to 25 to 35 mph until about mid day before gradually decreasing through sunset. Some patchy blowing dust will be possible with these stronger wind gusts. They will also be capable of blowing around loose unsecured objects. High temperatures will be 8 to 10 degrees cooler today. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Low temperatures will drop below freezing for most locations each night. It is important to remember to protect your pets, plants, and pipes every night from these frigid temperatures. A backdoor cold front will push through Tuesday night briefly creating spotty breezy winds, followed by an upper level storm system swinging through the area late in the week. As of now, this system looks to usher much colder air into the Borderland. There still appears to be no real chance for precipitation through the week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. Pegram
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
17 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Exceptional(D4) drought continued across the entire zone. The Buckhorn Cooperative Observer reported 0.83 inches which was 0.52 inches below normal.
Exceptional(D4) drought remained over the west with Severe(D2) drought over the far east continued through the month of December. The Cooperative Observer reported 0.82 inches of precipitation which was 0.49 inches below normal.
Exceptional(D4) drought southwest to Extreme(D3) drought northeast continued through the month.
Exceptional(D4) drought continued through the month across the entire zone. The White Signal Cooperative Observer reported 0.39 inches of precipitation which was 1.12 inches below normal.
The entire zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought through December. The Cooperative Observer at Antelope Wells reported 0.87 inches of precipitation which was 0.31 inches below normal.
Exceptional(D4) drought continued across the entire zone in December.
The western portion of the zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought transitioning to Severe(D2) drought over the northeast through the month. The Deming Airport reported 0.42 inches of precipitation which was 0.47 inches below normal.
Severe(D2) drought continued across the zone in the month of December. The Hillsboro Cooperative Observer reported 0.44 inches of precipitation which was 0.59 inches below normal.
Severe(D2) drought conditions continued through December across the entire zone. The Truth or Consequences Airport reported 0.38 inches of precipitation which was 0.40 inches below normal.
The month started with Severe(D2) drought across the entire zone, but the southern half of the zone moved into Extreme(D3) drought early in the month.
The month started with the entire zone in Severe(D2) drought and moved into Extreme(D3) drought early in the month. The Cooperative Observer at New Mexico State University reported 0.25 inches of precipitation which was 0.52 inches below normal.
The eastern half of the zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought while the western half remained in Severe(D2) drought.
The northeast portion of the zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought through the month of December. The remainder of the zone started in Severe(D2) drought but transitioned to Extreme(D3) drought early in the month.
The northern half of the zone continued to be in Exceptional(D4) drought while the south remained in Extreme(D3) drought through December. The Mountain Park Cooperative Observer reported only 0.05 inches of precipitation which was 1.37 inches below normal.
The entire zone remained in Exceptional Drought through the entire month. The Cooperative Observer at Cloudcroft reported 0.16 inches of precipitation which was 1.98 inches below normal.
Exceptional(D4) drought continued through the entire month.
Exceptional(D4) drought remained over the east which transitioned to Severe(D2) drought over the western portion of the zone.
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, December 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: 927659, 927662, 927673, 927675, 927676, 927678, 927679, 927680, 927683, 927684, 927686, 927689, 927690, 927691, 927692, 927693, 927694.