A deep tap of monsoon moisture continued surging north into New Mexico on July 24, 2020, setting the stage for additional showers and thunderstorms with torrential rainfall, localized flash flooding, and strong microburst winds. Storms developed early in the afternoon then moved slowly north to northwest across most of New Mexico.
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.
A deep tap of monsoon moisture continued surging north into New Mexico on July 24, 2020, setting the stage for additional showers and thunderstorms with torrential rainfall, localized flash flooding, and strong microburst winds. Storms developed early in the afternoon then moved slowly north to northwest across most of New Mexico. Several of these thunderstorms produced torrential rainfall amounts over two inches along with small hail and strong microburst winds. The Clayton airport reported a peak wind gust up to 59 mph and the Roswell airport reported a peak wind gust up to 68 mph. Straight-line winds damaged power lines, power poles, roofs, fences, and trees in the area around Midway. Heavy rainfall around Alamo damaged culverts and roadways in the area. A flash flood near Lemitar washed a pickup truck into an arroyo and caused damage to roadways. Fortunately, no injuries occurred with these storms.
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 Jul 24, 1:59 PM MST, 2 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 259 PM MDT Fri Jul 24 2020 .SYNOPSIS... Monsoon moisture plume is forecast to continue to stream in from the south across mainly western and central New Mexico through the weekend and into early next week. Scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms will favor the western two-thirds of the state through the weekend. Northeast areas of the state get into the action Monday thanks to a backdoor cold front. Active thunderstorms continue most areas Tuesday before drier air takes over Wednesday and Thursday. High temperatures will remain slightly below seasonal averages through Tuesday, warming to slightly above average Wednesday and Thursday. && .DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM (TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT)... A rich stream of monsoon moisture with embedded disturbances will continue to cross the forecast area. Precipitable water values are forecast to vary from around 1-1.5 inches, enabling storms to be efficient rain producers. Rain rates may reach over 1 inch per hour in stronger cells. Fortunately storms will be moving, generally to the north and northeast at speeds around 10-20 mph. However, as we are seeing this afternoon, some storms may train resulting in a risk of flash flooding. Locations where the ground is saturated from rainfall over the past few days will be especially susceptible to flash flooding this evening, and again Saturday over the west. The high pressure center aloft will recenter over KS tonight and Saturday steering drier air over eastern and central parts of the state. This will shift and narrow the monsoon moisture plume over western and north central areas on Saturday. The high temperature on Saturday will vary from around normal along the eastern border to as much as 12 degrees below normal across the west. LONG TERM...(SUNDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)... Upper-level high over the Southern Plains starts to shift westward toward NM Sunday thanks in large part to what is now Tropical Storm Hanna in the Gulf of Mexico. All of the upward vertical motion associated with Hanna has to come down somewhere and NM appears to be that spot early next week. Plenty of low and mid- level moisture will result in numerous showers and thunderstorms west and central areas Sunday with mostly dry weather east. A backdoor cold front gets into the mix Monday, allowing the northeast highlands and plains to get in on the shower and thunderstorms action. This front also provides an additional shot of low level Gulf moisture to much of eastern and central NM late-day Monday into Monday night. Enough low level moisture is forecast to remain in place Tuesday for mainly scattered storm coverage, especially mountains, before dry air from the north and northwest takes over Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures also warm back up to slightly above average levels most areas Wednesday and Thursday as the high strengthens overhead. GFS and ECWMF agree that low level moisture starts to seep back into the state Friday into next weekend. 44/33 && .FIRE WEATHER... A rich stream of monsoon moisture with embedded disturbances will continue to cross the forecast area tonight through Sunday with daily rounds of scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms will produce heavy rain with a risk of flash flooding, especially this evening and again Saturday.The high pressure center aloft will recenter over KS tonight and Saturday steering drier air over eastern and central parts of the state. This will shift and narrow the monsoon moisture plume over western and north central areas on Saturday, then along and west of the continental divide Sunday, with less coverage and wetness of storms over central areas. The high pressure center aloft will vary around northern NM and the Four Corners Monday through Thursday. This will shift the focus for monsoon moisture west of NM. However, moisture will recycle under the high pressure system enabling daily rounds of showers and thunderstorms to continue through Tuesday. A moist back door front will sag into northeast areas Monday and potentially into east central areas by Tuesday with an uptick in the coverage and wetness of storms there. Much drier air is forecast to move over the area from the north Wednesday and Thursday with much less thunderstorm coverage. After near and below normal high temperatures Saturday through Tuesday, readings will climb near and above normal Wednesday and Thursday. 44 && .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE A rich flow of monsoon moisture with embedded disturbances will continue to produce scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms today and tonight. Cells will move toward the north and northeast at speeds around 10-20 mph. After the initial round of afternoon and early evening storms over western and central areas, a trailing area of showers and some stratiform precipitation is forecast to linger into the late night hours from the continental divide into the central valley with low VFR to MVFR conditions. Wet microbursts will be capable of erratic wind gusts to 45 kt this afternoon and evening. The monsoon burst will continue Saturday mainly along the continental divide with less coverage and intensity of precipitation over central and south central areas due to drier air nudging in from the southeast. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 63 84 63 81 / 50 50 50 50 Dulce........................... 52 80 51 78 / 80 80 70 60 Cuba............................ 57 78 57 78 / 90 70 80 60 Gallup.......................... 54 81 54 79 / 60 70 60 60 El Morro........................ 52 75 52 76 / 80 80 70 70 Grants.......................... 54 78 54 78 / 80 80 70 70 Quemado......................... 55 75 54 76 / 70 80 60 70 Magdalena....................... 60 80 61 79 / 80 60 50 60 Datil........................... 56 73 57 74 / 80 80 60 80 Reserve......................... 52 81 52 79 / 80 80 50 70 Glenwood........................ 63 83 64 82 / 80 70 50 70 Chama........................... 49 75 49 73 / 80 80 70 70 Los Alamos...................... 60 78 60 79 / 80 70 60 70 Pecos........................... 59 78 60 78 / 70 60 60 70 Cerro/Questa.................... 55 79 56 77 / 60 70 60 70 Red River....................... 49 70 49 70 / 60 80 60 80 Angel Fire...................... 48 74 49 73 / 60 70 60 70 Taos............................ 55 81 54 80 / 60 70 60 60 Mora............................ 51 78 52 76 / 50 60 50 70 Espanola........................ 62 85 62 85 / 60 60 60 60 Santa Fe........................ 60 79 61 80 / 70 60 60 60 Santa Fe Airport................ 59 83 59 83 / 70 60 60 50 Albuquerque Foothills........... 65 84 65 84 / 70 60 60 50 Albuquerque Heights............. 64 85 65 86 / 70 50 50 40 Albuquerque Valley.............. 66 87 66 88 / 70 50 50 40 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 65 86 65 87 / 70 60 60 40 Belen........................... 63 87 63 88 / 70 40 40 40 Bernalillo...................... 64 88 65 87 / 70 60 60 50 Bosque Farms.................... 63 86 64 87 / 70 50 50 40 Corrales........................ 65 88 65 87 / 70 60 60 50 Los Lunas....................... 64 86 65 88 / 70 50 40 40 Placitas........................ 63 81 65 83 / 80 60 60 60 Rio Rancho...................... 64 86 65 86 / 70 60 60 50 Socorro......................... 65 88 66 88 / 70 40 40 50 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 60 76 61 78 / 80 60 60 60 Tijeras......................... 61 79 61 81 / 80 60 60 60 Edgewood........................ 57 82 57 81 / 70 60 50 60 Moriarty/Estancia............... 55 84 54 82 / 70 50 50 50 Clines Corners.................. 56 80 57 78 / 60 40 50 50 Mountainair..................... 58 81 58 80 / 70 50 40 50 Gran Quivira.................... 57 81 58 81 / 70 40 40 60 Carrizozo....................... 62 83 64 83 / 60 30 40 60 Ruidoso......................... 56 77 57 76 / 60 30 40 60 Capulin......................... 58 83 57 81 / 20 30 30 60 Raton........................... 56 86 56 84 / 20 40 40 60 Springer........................ 58 86 57 86 / 20 50 40 60 Las Vegas....................... 56 81 56 80 / 50 40 40 60 Clayton......................... 64 88 64 88 / 10 10 10 40 Roy............................. 62 86 62 84 / 20 20 30 40 Conchas......................... 68 92 68 91 / 30 10 20 30 Santa Rosa...................... 66 88 65 88 / 40 10 30 30 Tucumcari....................... 71 93 70 92 / 20 10 10 20 Clovis.......................... 66 90 66 89 / 30 10 20 20 Portales........................ 68 91 67 90 / 30 10 20 20 Fort Sumner..................... 68 91 67 90 / 30 10 20 20 Roswell......................... 72 94 72 93 / 30 10 20 20 Picacho......................... 63 88 63 84 / 50 20 30 50 Elk............................. 59 85 59 80 / 60 20 40 60 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flash Flood Watch until midnight MDT tonight for the following zones... NMZ204-206>209-211-219>226-241. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 308 AM MDT Fri Jul 24 2020 NMZ201>241-251100- 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- 308 AM MDT Fri Jul 24 2020 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight Scattered to numerous thunderstorms are expected today through the overnight. Storm motions will be slow and rainfall could become heavy. This may lead to localized areas of flash flooding, especially over and near recent and older burn scars. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday Scattered to numerous thunderstorms are expected each day. Storm motion will be slow and erratic at times, which will lead to locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding. Potential for flash flooding may become more likely this weekend when the plume of monsoon moisture strengthens and becomes focused over central and western New Mexico. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report rainfall amounts and any resulting flooding through the National Weather Service Albuquerque web site at weather.gov/abq or by calling 1.888.386.7637. Please relay any information to the NWS while following all local, state, and CDC guidelines. You can also submit storm reports and photos on our Facebook page or via Twitter using the hashtag nmwx. 15
Special Weather Statement National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 233 PM MDT Fri Jul 24 2020 NMZ206-207-242100- West Central Highlands-West Central Mountains- 233 PM MDT Fri Jul 24 2020 ...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHEASTERN CIBOLA...EAST CENTRAL MCKINLEY AND SOUTHWESTERN SANDOVAL COUNTIES UNTIL 300 PM MDT... At 233 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over New Laguna, or near Laguna Pueblo, moving north at 30 mph. Nickel size hail and wind gusts up to 50 mph will be possible with this storm. Locations impacted include... Laguna Pueblo, Cubero, Cebolletita, Mesita, Marquez, New Laguna, Seama, Acomita, Paguate and Bibo. This includes Interstate 40 between Mile Markers 102 and 119. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... Accumulations of small hail on roads can create very slick and hazardous driving conditions. && LAT...LON 3494 10731 3498 10758 3538 10755 3531 10719 TIME...MOT...LOC 2033Z 190DEG 24KT 3506 10744 31
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Albuquerque NM
322 PM MDT Fri Jul 24 2020
NMZ213-216-242145-
Upper Rio Grande Valley-Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains-
322 PM MDT Fri Jul 24 2020
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR CENTRAL TAOS COUNTY UNTIL 345 PM
MDT...
At 322 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 8
miles west of Ranchos De Taos, or 9 miles west of Taos, moving north
at 25 mph.
Half inch hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with
this storm.
Heavy rain will also be possible with this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Taos Ski Valley, Arroyo Hondo, Arroyo Seco, Valdez, Los Cordovas, San
Cristobal and Taos Pueblo.
This includes Highway 64 between Mile Markers 233 and 251.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may lead
to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
&&
LAT...LON 3660 10547 3630 10567 3630 10571 3636 10589
3670 10578
TIME...MOT...LOC 2122Z 201DEG 22KT 3640 10575
31Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Albuquerque NM
451 PM MDT Fri Jul 24 2020
NMZ212-214-218-242315-
Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains-Santa Fe Metro Area-Glorieta Mesa
Including Glorieta Pass-
451 PM MDT Fri Jul 24 2020
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NORTHWESTERN SAN MIGUEL AND
NORTHEASTERN SANTA FE COUNTIES UNTIL 515 PM MDT...
At 450 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm over
Glorieta, or 14 miles southeast of Santa Fe, moving north at 25 mph.
Penny size hail and winds in excess of 40 mph will be possible with
this storm.
Heavy rain will also be possible with this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Pecos, Tererro, Canada De Los Alamos, Upper Colonias, Glorieta, Hyde
Memorial State Park, Rowe, Lower Colonias, Rio En Medio in Santa Fe
County and Chupadero.
This includes Interstate 25 between Mile Markers 291 and 311.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
Torrential rainfall is also occurring with this storm, and may lead
to localized flooding. Do not drive your vehicle through flooded
roadways.
&&
LAT...LON 3577 10542 3572 10545 3574 10549 3572 10551
3571 10549 3571 10547 3570 10546 3569 10547
3569 10549 3568 10548 3542 10565 3549 10587
3582 10591
TIME...MOT...LOC 2250Z 188DEG 20KT 3556 10574
31The Amarillo radar (KAMA), 188 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 23:22 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
A 59 mph wind gust was reported at the Clayton airport.
A 68 mph wind gust was recorded at the Roswell airport. These strong straight-line winds downed power lines and snapped several power poles, as well as damaged roofs, fences, and trees along East Hobson Road near Midway. Damage amounts are a rough estimate.
Flash flooding damaged several roadways and culverts around Alamo. Emergency management estimated damages between $60,000 and $100,000.
A pickup truck crossing flood waters along CR-91 between Lemitar and Escondida was washed downstream. Occupants were able to safely abandon the vehicle before it was destroyed. Extent of injuries to the occupants of the vehicle are unknown. Damage amounts are estimated for loss of the truck.
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, July 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: 898097, 898098, 898149, 898150.