Persistent northwest flow aloft combined with moist southeasterly flow at the surface to produce favorable conditions for strong to severe thunderstorms across eastern and south central New Mexico on June 24, 2020. Isolated storms formed initially over the northern and western high terrain before moving east-southeast into lower elevations.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Persistent northwest flow aloft combined with moist southeasterly flow at the surface to produce favorable conditions for strong to severe thunderstorms across eastern and south central New Mexico on June 24, 2020. Isolated storms formed initially over the northern and western high terrain before moving east-southeast into lower elevations. Storms that initially formed over the western high terrain produced very strong downburst winds with the ASOS station at the Gallup airport recording a 62 mph wind gust. As the storms moved east-southeast into Socorro County, hail became the primary threat, and one strong thunderstorm produced penny size hail near San Acacia. A strong thunderstorm also formed over the Ute Park burn scar where it produced heavy rain and nickel size hail, but no flooding impacts were reported.
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 Jun 24, 10:34 AM MST, 1 hour 39 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1134 AM MDT Wed Jun 24 2020 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE Another round of afternoon and evening thunderstorms expected this afternoon and evening... with a few capable of producing large hail and damaging winds across parts of central to eastern NM mainly between 20Z and 03Z. Storm motions will once again be toward the south- southeast. Initial development over the higher terrain, per typical diurnal trends, with favored areas from the northeast highlands and far northeast plains southwestward to south- central and southeast areas. Latest high resolution models also suggest the potential for isolated high-based thunderstorms vicinity of KGUP and areas west of the CONTDVD capable of localized strong downburst winds. Thunderstorm impacts to include brief MVFR incursions are possible at KLVS, KTCC and KROW. 41 && .PREV DISCUSSION...233 AM MDT Wed Jun 24 2020... .SYNOPSIS... Daily rounds of showers and thunderstorms will be in the forecast for the next several days which will largely favor areas along and east of the central mountain chain. Severe storms will be possible again this afternoon and evening across the eastern plains with large hail and damaging winds the primary threats. Isolated strong to severe storms will be possible in the east on Friday as well. Storm coverage looks to decrease on Sunday with mostly dry conditions expected early next week. Temperatures over the next week will be near to slightly above normal. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY)... Same basic setup as yesterday, with northwest flow aloft and the upper high centered near the Yucatan Peninsula. Winds aloft are trending down, so shear profiles won't be as favorable for severe storms this afternoon/evening. Low level inflow won't be as strong or oppositional to storm motion either. That said, strong storms are likely as well as a few severe storms, with large hail and damaging winds being the primary threats. Socorro County north and east across the highlands to Colfax and Union Counties will be the primary threat area, which is included in the SPC day1 marginal risk. Isolated storms that develop west of the Continental Divide will likely be dry and may produce strong downburst winds. An upper level ridge axis will shift east into NM Thursday, with dry westerlies penetrating further east into central NM. This development will help to focus convection a bit further east over the state with little potential for severe outside of strong outflow. Daytime temperatures will be warmer and highs are forecast to be above normal areawide. Smoke from wildfires across AZ will likely have a more direct path into NM by late Thursday thanks to the westerlies. 11 LONG TERM...(THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)... Convection on Thursday will gradually diminish with the loss of daytime heating and as a weak disturbance over SE CO/NE NM exits to the east. Flow Thursday night will become more westerly as a trough drops southward into the Great Basin area. This trough looks to dig farther south into the western AZ area and even develop into a closed low which is much different than what was previously advertised. As a result, it looks like it will move much slower than previously thought as well. Drier air filtering in ahead of the trough will shut down any convection west of the central mountain chain on Friday. Lingering moisture across the east, however, will help generate another round of showers and thunderstorms. With lift ahead of the trough, CAPE values of 1500-2000 J/kg, and steep mid-level lapse rates, a few of these storms could become strong to severe. The limiting factor will likely be shear though at around 20-25 knots which suggests storms won't be long-lived or very organized. The trough should then move eastward across the state late Saturday and into Sunday although there are some big model differences in how fast it moves and the pattern heading into this weekend. Thus, confidence is low this weekend. Lift associated with the trough combined with any low-level moisture that manages to not get mixed out across the east may result in isolated to widely scattered activity east of the central mountain chain. Best chances for convection appear to be on Saturday with the continuing filtering in of drier air resulting in decreased storm coverage on Sunday. Models are then in agreement with another Pacific low moving southward into the Great Basin area early next week, but again there are differences in the track and timing of that system as it moves through the central Rockies. It does look like drier air will continue to filer which will limit thunderstorm activity heading into the first week of July. 15 && .FIRE WEATHER... A hot, dry and unstable atmosphere with afternoon breezes will continue across far western NM today, while chances for wetting storms favor areas along/east of the Rio Grande Valley. An upper level ridge will shift east across the state through Friday, focusing chances for wetting storms further east and bringing a hot, dry and unstable atmosphere into central NM. Winds are forecast to remain below critical threshold through Saturday, but will increase by Sunday in response to a potent Pacific low/trough dropping from the Pacific NW into the Great Basin. Lower forecast confidence beyond Sunday due to model spread, but if the Pacific low remains progressive and kicks out to the east as depicted by the 00Z GFS then we may hit critical threshold on wind and humidity Mon/Tue. 11 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 237 AM MDT Wed Jun 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- 237 AM MDT Wed Jun 24 2020 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight There is a marginal risk of severe thunderstorms across much of eastern New Mexico this afternoon through mid-evening. Large hail and damaging wind gusts will be the main threats. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday Daily rounds of shower and thunderstorm activity are expected through the weekend primarily for areas along and east of the central mountain chain. A few of these storms Thursday through Saturday may become strong to severe with large hail and damaging winds. Drier conditions arrive Monday. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report any severe weather through the National Weather Service Albuquerque web site at weather.gov/abq or by calling 1.888.386.7637. Please relay any information about observed severe weather 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
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 133 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:14 UTC.
3 hail, 2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A dry microburst produced a brief wind gust up to 62 mph at Gallup.
A trained spotter reported nickel size hail with a strong thunderstorm that moved southeast over the Ute Park burn scar.
A COOP observer near Ocate reported nickel size hail with a strong thunderstorm that moved southeast over the area.
A trained spotter near San Acacia reported hail up to the size of pennies for approximately 20 minutes.
A second dry microburst of the day produced another brief wind gust up to 62 mph at Gallup.
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, June 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: 890906, 889506, 889507, 889503, 890907.