A storm system tracked over Colorado on April 6th, 2021 while its associated Pacific cold front moved eastward across New Mexico. With a strong upper-level jet also in place, northwest surface winds strengthened along and behind the cold front.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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.
A storm system tracked over Colorado on April 6th, 2021 while its associated Pacific cold front moved eastward across New Mexico. With a strong upper-level jet also in place, northwest surface winds strengthened along and behind the cold front. Wind gusts across the area were generally around 40 to 45 mph, however, a few high wind gusts were observed across portions of the eastern plains during the afternoon and evening hours.
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 6, 11:01 AM MST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1201 PM MDT Tue Apr 6 2021 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE Winds will strengthen through the afternoon and shift out of the west, then northwest, as a Pacific cold front crosses. Areas of blowing dust will drop the visibility to MVFR or IFR in dust-prone locations like ROW and potentially TCC. A blowing dust ceiling may also develop below 3,000 feet. Models show a mountain wave signature along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains this afternoon and evening, with a risk of wind gusts to 50 kt at KRTN. The jet stream will remain overhead tonight causing windy conditions to linger into the evening in many locations, and through the late night hours across elevated terrain. Northwest winds will become strong again Wednesday, but not as strong as today's winds. Critical fire weather conditions are expected areawide today, so if you see any fire starts please report them. 44 && .PREV DISCUSSION...314 AM MDT Tue Apr 6 2021... .SYNOPSIS... Warm, windy and dry weather will be the rule today, resulting in critical fire weather conditions area wide. Anything that could result in a spark outdoors should be avoided. Most areas will be slightly cooler on Wednesday, but critical fire weather conditions will be possible again for portions of the state. Dry and breezy conditions will continue for the end of the week and through the weekend with temperatures remaining at or above normal. A stronger cold front may be in store for Monday. Stay tuned. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY)... A storm in Utah will move east into northern Colorado today. We will not receive any precipitation but we will get strong winds over many areas. We will continue with the current wind advisory as well as add the Chaves County Plains, Harding and Union Counties, the Espanola Vally and Upper Tularosa Valley. Sustained winds will average 25 to 40 with gusts of 50 to 55 mph. A Pacific cold front will race across NM this morning and midday, with a weak back door cold front tonight in the northeast. These fronts will combine to bring cooler weather today through Wednesday. More windy conditions on Wednesday but they will not be as strong as today, and will cover a smaller area. While it will be cooler today, especially in the west, highs will remain above normal. LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY)... Winds will relax Wednesday evening as the upper low continues to shift away from NM and with the loss of daytime heating/mixing. A weak back door front will nose into northeast NM, but will do little to change the sensible weather. A few west to northwest breezes remain in store for Thursday as 25-30kt mid level flow mixes down to the surface. Temperatures will likely be a few degrees cooler than Wednesday, but still above normal area wide. Northwest breezes will persist on Friday, but a back door cold front is expected to press into northeast NM by the afternoon hours. This front will quickly race south and west through the plains Friday evening and potentially through the gaps of the central mountain chain by sunrise Saturday. At this time, gap winds look to be light. The front should quickly mix out Saturday and westerly breezes will return. Winds may increase further on Sunday as a storm system tracks across the northern Rockies. As this system moves into the northern Great Plains, a stronger back door front looks to plow into eastern NM Sunday night. Gusty north to northeast winds would be possible behind the front across the plains. Attm, the front has potential to push through the gaps of the central mountain chain, with moderate easterly winds possible in the Rio Grande Valley by Monday morning. Otherwise, mainly dry conditions will continue for the next 7 days. CHJ/34 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ALL ZONES TODAY, THEN RETURNING MANY PLACES WEDNESDAY... Very dry and windy weather today will result in widespread critical fire weather conditions. There may be a few patches of extreme fire conditions, mostly in the northeast and South Central Mountains. Highs will be cooler today than on Monday, but still above normal. Dry and windy conditions return Wednesday, but not as widespread critical fire weather conditions. Highs will be lower today and Wednesday but still above normal. The weather will quiet down Thursday through Monday with continued dry weather. Winds will not be high enough most of the Thursday to Monday for critical conditions. The first chance of showers will come next Tuesday. No concerns in the ventilation through the period. CHJ && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ101>109. Fire Weather Watch from Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday evening for the following zones... NMZ101-102-106>108. Wind Advisory until 9 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ203-210>219-221>240. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 315 AM MDT Tue Apr 6 2021 NMZ201>241-071100- 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- 315 AM MDT Tue Apr 6 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 between 11 AM and 8 PM today for all of northern and central New Mexico below snowpack where low humidities combined with strong winds will create critical fire weather conditions. West winds gusting between 40 and 55 mph this afternoon will produce areas of reduced visibilities in blowing dust, especially along and east of the central mountain chain. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Northwest winds on Wednesday won't be quite as strong as today but critical fire weather conditions are expected to return to northwest and central New Mexico Wednesday afternoon. A few hours of critical fire weather conditions will also be possible Thursday afternoon across portions of east central New Mexico. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report high wind speeds, reduced visibilities and any wildfires through the National Weather Service Albuquerque web site at weather.gov/abq or by calling 1.888.386.7637. You can also submit storm reports and photos on our Facebook page or via Twitter using the hashtag nmwx. 34
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An ASOS station in Tucumcari measured a peak wind gust of 64 mph.
An ASOS station in Las Vegas measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
An ASOS station in Clines Corners measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
An ASOS station in Clayton measured a peak wind gust of 70 mph.
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: 946445, 946443, 946442, 946444.