Drought conditions across northern and central New Mexico finally started to improve during the month of May 2021. The last couple weeks of May were unusually active for the area with many days defined by widespread thunderstorms especially across the eastern half of the area.
Every event with a place to put it; 41 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.
Drought conditions across northern and central New Mexico finally started to improve during the month of May 2021. The last couple weeks of May were unusually active for the area with many days defined by widespread thunderstorms especially across the eastern half of the area. Extreme to exceptional drought improved to about 75 percent with about 47 percent deemed exceptional drought. The most noted drought improvement was across the northeastern corner of New Mexico where a very active storm track improved conditions into the moderate drought category with even far eastern portions of Union County improving to abnormally dry. This area saw the highest precipitation totals with rain totals generally ranging from 3 to 6 inches. Southeast New Mexico also saw high precipitation totals, particularly in the last couple days of the month, where 3 to 5 inches of rain in a short period of time resulted in flooding in the area. Central New Mexico generally received precipitation totals ranging from 1 to 2 inches. Western New Mexico saw the least amount of precipitation during the month with totals less than an inch, and the Four Corners area received well less than half an inch.
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 30, 11:02 PM MST, 58 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1202 AM MDT Sat May 1 2021 .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE The upper low well to our southeast will lose it's grip on our far southeast area today, including KROW, which will finally have some sunshine. VFR conditions expected at all terminals through Saturday night. Southwest winds will strengthen by early this afternoon with gusts around 20 to 25 knots at KFMN, KGUP, KSAF and KLVS. && .PREV DISCUSSION...318 PM MDT Fri Apr 30 2021... .SYNOPSIS... Light showers will still be possible over far southeastern New Mexico through Saturday morning. Temperatures will warm through the weekend. Winds will start to increase on Sunday afternoon ahead of the next storm system and may result in critical fire weather conditions along and south of Interstate 40. Increased chances for showers and cooler temperatures are forecast for Monday. A few weak systems will cross through the end of the work week, bringing potential precipitation chances on a few afternoons next week. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT)... An upper level low pressure system south of El Paso is now forecast to meander slowly eastward over Big Bend tonight and Saturday, then exit northeastward across TX. At least one of our trusted mesoscale models continues to show the chance for showers persisting over the southeast plains tonight into Saturday morning, then ending. Any additional rain amounts look to be light. Otherwise, high temperatures on Saturday are forecast to climb around 2 to 13 degrees above today's readings with the greatest increases across the south central and southeast parts of the forecast area due to increased sunshine and winds shifting more out of the south. LONG TERM...(SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY)... An upper-level ridge flattens more on Sunday, introducing stronger westerlies as the next system approaches from the Great Basin. 700 mb wind speeds show the main core located across southern New Mexico, with speeds approaching wind advisory across the south central zones. The trough arrives late Sunday night/Monday morning to NM. In addition, a backdoor cold front moves through the eastern plains on Monday. Precipitation chances, rain and mountain snow, will focus across the northern mountains and northeast along and behind the front. Isolated to scattered thunderstorms are also possible, where negative LI's and steep mid-level lapse rates exist. Monday's high temperatures will be about 10-25 degrees cooler than Sunday due to the increased precipitation and cloud cover. It's possible to have an east gap wind up to about 20 kts through the middle Rio Grande Valley Monday night. The trough ejects eastward on Tuesday morning, with some precipitation lingering across the northeast. A weak shortwave embedded in northwest flow on Wednesday may yield another round of light shower activity across northern and northeastern NM. Elsewhere, breezy to windy conditions will persist. Another backdoor front gets pushed through the eastern plains Wednesday night. A ridge builds over the area by Thursday. Moist return flow has the potential to lead to a few afternoon thunderstorms on Friday. Highs return to above normal values by the end of the week. 44/31 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED AREAWIDE SUNDAY, EXCEPT FOR THE NORTH CENTRAL MOUNTAINS AND NORTHWEST PLATEAU... In the wake of a low pressure system that will gradually exit east and northeastward from the Big Bend area Saturday and Saturday night, high temperatures will climb above normal areawide this weekend, humidities will plummet, and winds will strengthen as an upper level trough approaches from the northwest. Widespread critical fire weather conditions are expected Sunday, except for the Northwest Plateau and North Central Mountains where winds generally look to remain too light. That said, much of northwest and north central NM can expect Super Haines on Sunday, with Haines of 6 across most of the remainder of the fire weather forecast area. The upper level trough will bring showers, thunderstorms and mountain snow Sunday night through Monday night as it crosses from the northwest with both Pacific and backdoor cold fronts. Wetting precipitation is expected from the northern mountains eastward and across much of the east central plains, with lighter amounts elsewhere across the forecast area. A few to several inches of snow will be possible on the high peaks of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, mainly above 9500 feet. A weaker trough may clip northeast NM on Wednesday with light additional precipitation along and east of the Sangres. That system will also cause breezy west winds to develop across much of the forecast area with fire weather concerns over east central areas. && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Fire Weather Watch from Sunday morning through Sunday evening for the following zones... NMZ103>109. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 316 AM MDT Fri Apr 30 2021 NMZ201>241-011100- 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- 316 AM MDT Fri Apr 30 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight No hazardous weather is expected. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday Critical fire weather conditions will return on Sunday for areas near and south of Interstate 40 as westerly winds ramp back up and humidity values plummet. Wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph will be common, though higher gusts will be possible across the Sacramento and Capitan Mountains. Fortunately, another storm system looks to arrive on Monday and Monday night, increasing chances for showers and thunderstorms once again. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated. 34
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
41 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 improved in May with severe to extreme drought conditions across the area.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from April 2021 improved in May. Drought conditions across central and eastern Union County improved to moderate drought while severe drought conditions continued across western portions of the county.
Severe drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 improved in May. Northern portions of the area improved to moderate drought while severe drought conditions continued across southern portions of the area.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 improved in May with severe to extreme drought conditions across the East Slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Extreme drought conditions from April 2021 improved in May with severe drought conditions across the area.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 improved slightly in May with severe drought conditions across northern portions of the area.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from April 2021 improved in May with moderate to severe drought conditions across much of Harding County. Extreme drought conditions continued across western and far southern portions of the county.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 improved in May with extreme drought conditions across the area.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May. Northern portions of Quay County did improve in May to moderate drought.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May. Central portions of Roosevelt County did improve to extreme drought.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Extreme to exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Exceptional drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Severe drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Severe drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Severe drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
Severe drought conditions from April 2021 continued in May.
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, May 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: 953367, 953369, 953371, 953372, 953374, 953376, 953378, 953380, 953381, 953383, 953384, 953385, 953387, 953389, 953392, 953394, 953395, 953397, 953398, 953399, 953401, 953402, 953403, 953404, 953405, 953406, 953407, 953408, 953409, 953410, 953411, 953412, 953413, 953414, 953415, 953416, 953417, 953418, 953419, 953420, and more.