Another dry month for most of the the region except for some above normal precipitation totals in the higher elevations. No change was noted in drought categories from how March ended.
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.
Another dry month for most of the the region except for some above normal precipitation totals in the higher elevations. No change was noted in drought categories from how March ended.
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 Mar 31, 10:33 PM MST, 1 hour 27 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 1133 PM MDT Wed Mar 31 2021 ...Updated for 06Z TAF Discussion... .AVIATION...06Z TAF CYCLE P6SM SKC-SCT250 through 12Z then increasing clouds with skies becoming FEW-SCT150-200 SCT-BKN200-250. Winds generally east to southeast at 5-15KTS overnight with areas of wind shear at kLRU and KELP through about sunrise. Winds increase after sunrise to 10-20G30KTS with strongest winds at KDMN and KTCS and as you go toward the AZ border. && 26 .PREV DISCUSSION...206 PM MDT Wed Mar 31 2021... .SYNOPSIS... A gradual warm up is expected to end the week and especially into the weekend. Winds remain light and skies mostly clear to partly cloudy. There cloud be a few thundershowers across area mountains and Hudspeth county Friday afternoon and evening, but most locations remain dry. Continued warm to hot conditions into the early portions of next week, as temperatures approach 90 degrees. && .DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM... Small upper low continues to spin nearly stationary west of the Baja as weak/moderate sub-tropical jet continues around low over northern Mexico and the Desert Southwest. WV imagery shows fair amount of high level moisture in this flow although clouds limited in development. Upper low will slowly drift toward the northern Baja into Thursday afternoon. High level moisture plume will continue over the area and models show some increasing lower level moisture throughout Thursday as mid-level (700mb) winds turn southerly. PWs will increase to around .4-.5" many areas, though surface dewpoint temps still not increasing much. Thus will just mention some increase in clouds Thursday. Airmass still mostly stable as destabilization does not incur until Friday. Surface winds will remain a bit on the brisk side overnight and even for much of Thursday (10-20 mph). Temperatures Thursday likely warming just a few degrees from today-real warming doesn't start til Friday.&& .LONG TERM... Pretty quiet in the long term period, with some near record warmth expected by the second half of this weekend into early next week. Before then, a wound up upper low will traverse the CWA Friday into Friday night. East/convergent sfc flow, dew points near 40F, and the approaching ULL may result in a few thundershowers across Hudspeth county, and the higher terrain of area mountains Friday aft/evening. Temps will approach 80 degrees under partly cldy skies. Disturbance slowly moves east Saturday, and especially on Sunday, as ridging builds overhead and dominates through Monday. Temps warm into the upper 80s at least, but some guidance suggests near 90 degrees possible with light winds and clear to ptly cldy skies. Discrepancies begin come next Tuesday, although temps will remain well above normal. GFS ejects a potent SW into the Rockies, which will increase out winds and cool temps a few degrees into the middle of the week, whereas the CMC and ECM hold back by at least 24 hours. Regardless of the exact evolution, conditions look breezier to windier during the middle portions of next week as temps likely remain above normal. Overall though, using the GFS as the worst case scenario, for instance, wx conditions look less than extraordinary, especially for the windy season. As such, mostly dry, and hot conditions will prevail through much of the long term period. && .FIRE WEATHER... A dry forecast for the most part over the next week, with no significant winds expected. Some increase in clouds Thursday and then a slight chance of thunderstorms Friday afternoon and evening for the mountain zones and Hudspeth County. This would at least suggest a slight chance for dry lightning, especially for the mountains. Otherwise mostly clear skies after Friday. Temperatures still below normal Thursday and then warming to well above normal Friday through the weekend. Winds remaining around 15 mph or less. Longer range...winds may be stronger on Tuesday. && && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... El Paso 43 71 50 83 / 0 0 0 0 Sierra Blanca 37 67 43 77 / 0 0 0 0 Las Cruces 39 70 45 82 / 0 0 0 0 Alamogordo 35 70 43 80 / 0 0 0 0 Cloudcroft 27 51 34 58 / 0 0 0 10 Truth or Consequences 38 68 45 79 / 0 0 0 10 Silver City 39 64 44 73 / 0 0 0 0 Deming 38 70 41 81 / 0 0 0 0 Lordsburg 41 71 44 80 / 0 0 0 0 West El Paso Metro 44 71 51 83 / 0 0 0 0 Dell City 33 67 39 80 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Hancock 38 71 45 85 / 0 0 0 0 Loma Linda 38 67 44 76 / 0 0 0 0 Fabens 41 71 48 85 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Teresa 39 70 45 81 / 0 0 0 0 White Sands HQ 43 69 49 80 / 0 0 0 0 Jornada Range 29 69 43 79 / 0 0 0 0 Hatch 33 70 43 80 / 0 0 0 0 Columbus 41 72 46 82 / 0 0 0 0 Orogrande 30 69 45 80 / 0 0 0 0 Mayhill 28 59 36 71 / 0 0 0 10 Mescalero 29 60 36 69 / 0 0 0 10 Timberon 27 55 34 67 / 0 0 0 0 Winston 23 62 33 73 / 0 0 0 10 Hillsboro 34 67 40 77 / 0 0 0 0 Spaceport 31 68 43 78 / 0 0 0 0 Lake Roberts 33 66 38 74 / 0 0 0 20 Hurley 37 66 38 75 / 0 0 0 0 Cliff 29 70 38 82 / 0 0 0 10 Mule Creek 27 69 43 75 / 0 0 0 10 Faywood 36 66 42 75 / 0 0 0 0 Animas 40 72 42 82 / 0 0 0 0 Hachita 39 70 41 81 / 0 0 0 0 Antelope Wells 41 73 43 82 / 0 0 0 0 Cloverdale 41 71 45 77 / 0 0 0 0 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...None. TX...None. && 17/35/26
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 447 AM MDT Wed Mar 31 2021 NMZ401>417-TXZ418>424-011100- 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- 447 AM MDT Wed Mar 31 2021 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of south central New Mexico, southwest New Mexico, and southwest Texas. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight No hazardous weather is expected at this time. However, brisk east winds will occur behind a cold frontal passage today with wind speeds increasing a bit overnight. Temperatures will be a few degrees below normal. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday No hazardous weather is expected at this time. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed. Laney
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
17 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Exceptional(D4) drought remained in place across the whole zone. The Buckhorn Cooperative Observer reported 0.05 inches of precipitation which was 0.18 inches below normal.
Exceptional(D4) drought remained across the west improving to Severe(D2) drought over the east. The Cooperative Observer at Gila Hot Springs reported 0.16 inches of precipitation which was 0.25 inches below normal.
The southwest half of the zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought while the northeast remained in Extreme(D3) drought.
The entire zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought through April. The White Signal Cooperative Observer reported no precipitation which was 0.30 inches below normal.
The entire zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought through the month. The Cooperative Observer at Antelope Wells reported 0.04 inches of precipitation which was 0.11 inches above normal.
Exceptional(D4) drought remained in place through the month of April.
The southern portion of the zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought while the northeast remained in Severe(D2) drought. The Deming airport reported 0.10 inches of precipitation which was 0.11 inches below normal.
The entire zone remained in Severe(D2) drought through the month of April. The Cooperative Observer at Hillsboro reported 0.56 inches of precipitation which was 0.21 inches above normal.
The zone remained in Severe(D2) drought through the entire month. The Truth or Consequences airport reported 0.35 inches of precipitation which was 0.08 inches above normal.
Extreme(D3) drought continued over the southern half of the zone while Severe(D2) drought remained over the north.
The southern half of the zone remained in Extreme(D4) drought while the north remained in Extreme(D3) drought through April. The New Mexico State University Cooperative Observer reported 0.01 inches of precipitation which was 0.21 inches below normal.
The western half of the zone remained in Severe(D2) drought while the east was in Extreme(D3) drought through April.
The entire zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought through the entire month.
The northern half of the zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought while the south was still in Extreme(D3) drought through the month of April. The Mountain Park Cooperative Observer reported 1.25 inches of precipitation which was 0.66 inches above normal.
The entire zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought for the entire month. The Cloudcroft Cooperative Observer reported 1.57 inches of precipitation which was 0.72 inches above normal.
The entire zone remained in exceptional(D4) drought through the month of April.
The eastern half of the zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought while the west continued to be in Extreme(D3) drought.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2021
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: 956082, 956083, 956084, 956085, 956086, 956087, 956088, 956089, 956090, 956091, 956092, 956093, 956094, 956095, 956096, 956097, 956098.