As a low-pressure system deepened over the western United States, southwest flow ahead of it strengthened over New Mexico. Additionally, with a surface low developing over southeastern Colorado, windy conditions were observed across much of eastern New Mexico on April 26, 2021.
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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 a low-pressure system deepened over the western United States, southwest flow ahead of it strengthened over New Mexico. Additionally, with a surface low developing over southeastern Colorado, windy conditions were observed across much of eastern New Mexico on April 26, 2021. The strongest winds were felt over the South Central Mountains where high wind gusts of 60 mph were recorded near Nogal.
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 Apr 26, 10:48 AM MST, 3 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...CORRECTED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1148 AM MDT Mon Apr 26 2021 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE As a deck of mid to high clouds shift eastward from central and eastern areas, southwest winds will strengthen aloft. A leeside low will deepen over southeastern CO this afternoon, with gusts of 40-45 kt common across most TAF sites. Blowing dust may result in brief visibility reductions across east-central and southeast sites. An AWW has not been issued for KABQ, but wind gusts may come close to the threshold and this potential will be re- evaluated throughout the afternoon. Strong southwesterly winds up to 50 kt will be possible over the Sacramento Mountains after 03z, along with LLWS across east central and southeast NM as a strong jet crosses. A few rain and snow showers may begin after 06z across northern and western TAF sites. 31 && .PREV DISCUSSION...303 AM MDT Mon Apr 26 2021... .SYNOPSIS... High fire danger will be the main story again today with very dry conditions prevailing. Southwest winds will continue to strengthen with gusts of 45 to 50 miles per hour possible this afternoon. Any fires that may start today will have the potential to spread rapidly, and outdoor burning is highly discouraged. Precipitation will start to increase tonight across western New Mexico where it continues on Tuesday. Windy conditions will also continue on Tuesday across the east where gusts of 50 miles per hour will be possible. Precipitation becomes more widespread Tuesday night and Wednesday as a storm system crosses the area. Precipitation continues in the east on Thursday before drier conditions return areawide in time for the weekend. Temperatures will quickly rebound with well above normal highs likely over the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... Increasing southwest winds aloft combined with a deepening surface low over southeast Colorado will result in another day of windy weather. Have opted for a Wind Advisory this afternoon over portions of the west near the AZ border, the southwest and south central and portions of the east. Gave some consideration to the fact that wind speeds might not reach their full potential today due to the batch of higher clouds presently overhead but there is some indication of a dry slot developing later today. There is still potential for very strong to possibly damaging winds tonight over parts of Lincoln county and southwest Chaves counties where a High Wind Watch is now in effect. Highs will won't be as warm west and central today (but still near to above normal), and will be a lofty 10 to 15 degrees above normal over the east. Strong southwest winds forecast over the eastern plains on Tuesday may require another Wind Advisory as the jet moves overhead. Trimmed back pops from NBM numbers for later tonight and Tuesday as the low levels will need a bit of time to saturate prior to there being much wetting precipitation and models suggesting the system will be a little slower to move into NM. Highs will be cooler again on Tuesday, ranging from about 5 to 10 degrees cooler than normal west and central, but will remain near average east of the Pecos Valley. LONG TERM...(TUESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY)... By Tuesday night, the center of the closed low looks to be located over southwestern AZ. Moisture and lift will continue to increase across western NM, thus precipitation continues into the overnight hours across the west. With the latest operational runs, models have come into somewhat better agreement regarding the track of this system from the past couple of days with confidence continuing to increase in a widespread wetting precipitation event. The center of the low tracks just south of I-40, and precipitation will become widespread on Wednesday. PWATs trend up to about 0.5" by Wednesday evening which is well above the average of 0.32" and is even approaching the 75th percentile for the date. With this in mind along with the increasing confidence, did increase PoPs some above NBM guidance. 700mb temperatures will remain above freezing across central and western NM, but a backdoor cold front moving into the east early Wed will allow for slightly cooler 700mb temperatures of around -1C to -3C. This is still relatively warm which will keep snow levels above 8500 feet on Wednesday. Rain will be the dominant precipitation type with modest amounts of instability around 500 J/kg and steep lapse rates supporting a few thunderstorms. The 00Z suite of models yesterday slowed down the passage of the system significantly and even stalled it over the northern Mexico/west TX area. That suggestion of a stalling low seems to be gone with the latest model guidance although it is still slow to exit our area. By Thursday morning, most models have the center of the low over southeastern NM, and precipitation continues through the day until the low exits into the TX Panhandle by that evening. This will shift the focus for rain and a few thunderstorms to east central and southeast NM on Thursday. By the time it's all said and done, many locations will see beneficial rainfall with amounts ranging from 0.15" to 0.25" with higher amounts exceeding 0.30" across the east and higher terrain. A few inches of snow will be possible across the northern high terrain mainly above 8500 feet. Temperatures will quickly rebound Friday and into the weekend as a strong area of high pressure builds over the desert SW. Models are in fairly good agreement even this far out over the strength of this high which is anomalous for this time of year. Temperatures will soar next weekend to well above normal values with even some record high temperatures possible. Albuquerque will be close to 90 degrees on Saturday with a current forecast high of 88F. It will be worth watching to see if Albuquerque is in danger of hitting 90F for the first time this year which is well before the average date of about May 27th. 15 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...WIDESPREAD CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO BELOW SIGNIFICANT SNOWPACK TODAY AND OVER THE EASTERN PLAINS TUESDAY... One more day of widespread critical fire weather conditions below significant snowpack over northern and central New Mexico before cooler weather and chances for showers and a few thunderstorms move into areas along and west of the Rio Grande Valley for Tuesday. On Tuesday, strong southwest winds and low humidities, although not quite as dry as today, will persist over the Northeast and East Central Plains. High temperatures will remain near to above normal and moderate to high Haines is forecast, therefore a Fire Weather Watch has been issued. Spotty critical conditions may bleed into the Northeast Highlands along and east of I-25, the southern portion of the Middle RGV and Torrance County Tuesday afternoon but areal coverage not sufficient at this time to include in Tuesday's watch. Forecast models continue to have difficulties resolving the track and evolution of the incoming storm system. There is general consensus the system will be slower moving, so that will help keep temperatures below normal and humidities higher area wide Wednesday through Thursday. The focus areas for any wetting precipitation and thunderstorms are be harder to predict, given the model variations. Forecast models have zig-zagged again on the late week/weekend weather. There is now a strong ridge building on Friday, so warmer and drier weather is anticipated. Saturday and Sunday could see a return to critical fire weather conditions as the ridge breaks down, winds strengthen and well above normal temperatures redevelop. && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 9 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ101>109. Wind Advisory until 9 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ202-205-208-220-223>226-228-229-232>234-237-239>241. Fire Weather Watch from Tuesday morning through Tuesday evening for the following zones... NMZ104-108. High Wind Watch from 9 PM MDT this evening through Tuesday morning for the following zones... NMZ226-239-240. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 307 AM MDT Mon Apr 26 2021 NMZ201>241-271100- 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- 307 AM MDT Mon Apr 26 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight A Red Flag Warning is in effect this afternoon and evening across all of northern and central New Mexico where low humidities combined with strong winds will create critical fire weather conditions. Southwest winds will continue to strengthen today with gusts near 50 mph expected. A Wind Advisory is in effect this afternoon and evening for portions of western and eastern NM where the strongest winds are expected. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday Critical fire weather conditions will continue on Tuesday across the east where a Fire Weather Watch is in effect. Dry conditions will prevail with strong southwest winds of 50 to 55 mph possible. A storm system will then impact the area through Thursday. Precipitation chances increase across the west first through Tuesday which will help limit critical fire weather conditions in the area. Precipitation becomes more widespread on Wednesday with the focus shifting to the east on Thursday. A few inches of snow will be possible across the northern high terrain mainly above 8500 feet, but significant impacts are not expected. Drier conditions then arrive Friday and into the weekend when record high temperatures will be possible. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Contact your local law enforcement at 911 and the National Weather Service at 1.888.386.7637 to report wildfire outbreaks. 15
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A weather station near Nogal measured a 60 mph wind gust on the afternoon of April 26th.
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: 946459.