A strong backdoor cold front moved through the eastern plains and into the Rio Grande Valley late on May 11, 2021. As the front was channeled through the gaps of the Sandia and Manzano mountains, winds speeds intensified as they approached the east side of the Albuquerque metro area.
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The episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.
A strong backdoor cold front moved through the eastern plains and into the Rio Grande Valley late on May 11, 2021. As the front was channeled through the gaps of the Sandia and Manzano mountains, winds speeds intensified as they approached the east side of the Albuquerque metro area. Several hours of easterly winds between 45 and 55 mph were recorded at the Albuquerque Sunport into the early morning hours of May 12th. The strongest wind gust recorded at the station was 66 mph.
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 May 11, 10:25 PM MST, 40 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1125 PM MDT Tue May 11 2021 .AVIATION... 06Z TAF CYCLE Strong surface high pressure over western KS will keep locally strong east winds going across central and western NM tonight, diminishing toward sunrise. Mtn obscurations along the east slopes of the central mtn chain and IFR/LIFR cigs with intermittent vsby restrictions from br and fg will continue for the eastern plains. Gradual clearing conditions are forecast for the eastern plains after 12/18 once southerly winds take shape. 33 && .PREV DISCUSSION...247 PM MDT Tue May 11 2021... .SYNOPSIS... Daily rounds of showers and thunderstorms will continue across eastern New Mexico through Thursday along with cooler temperatures and morning low clouds. For areas west of the Rio Grande Valley, drier and warmer weather will generally be the rule. Temperatures warm several degrees areawide on Thursday as an area of high pressure builds over the area. A couple disturbances then impact the area on Friday which will allow for greater coverage of showers and thunderstorms across southern and eastern New Mexico. The unsettled weather pattern looks to continue into early next week, especially for the east. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TONIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT)... Clouds on the western edge of the cool and moist air mass over eastern NM have slowly eroded and/or thinned out this afternoon but have continued to persist closer to the TX border, where unseasonably cool temperatures exist. Clayton may set the record low max today, as it's only 40 degrees there at 2 pm. Models still indicate this air mass will receive a reinforcement tonight, and push through the gaps in the central mountain chain into the Rio Grande Valley. Low clouds, areas of light rain and fog will spread back westward tonight to the central mountain chain and may ooze into select locations in or west of the Rio Grande Valley such as the Santa Fe airport and Los Alamos areas. The start time for current Wind Advisory for the Albuquerque metro was adjusted slightly to begin earlier, with the LAV bringing in the stronger wind in faster. The strongest winds to around 55 mph will likely be along the eastern foothills to the I-25 corridor although the ECSABQ forecasts a sustained speed of 39 kts at 06Z which is just below high wind criteria. Otherwise, the east will see another unseasonably cool day Wednesday with the west being near to a few degrees cooler than normal. LONG TERM...(THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY)... A ridge of high pressure builds over the desert SW on Thursday, and rising pressure heights will allow high temperatures to warm several degrees areawide. Areas along and west of the RGV will see highs near to above normal, but highs will still remain a few degrees below normal across the east. Thursday is still likely the day of the week with the fewest number of storms expected, but enough moisture trapped underneath the ridge will still allow for isolated showers and storms, particularly across the southern high terrain where marginal instability will be in place. The ridge flattens on Friday, and a couple weak and embedded disturbances will allow for better coverage of storms. The first disturbance approaching from the west combined with a deeper tap of subtropical moisture will favor isolated to widely scattered showers and storms for areas along and south of I-40. The second disturbance clipping northeastern NM will allow for a few storms in that area as well. Friday still looks like it could be a more interesting day with a couple strong to severe thunderstorms, particularly near the NM/TX border where the greatest instability and shear will reside. By this weekend, a strong low pressure system will be tracking southward along the CA coast, and southwest flow sets up over the area ahead of this feature. Southeasterly surface flow will stay in place one more day across the eastern plains which will allow for a few storms along and east of the central mountain chain. The threat for strong to severe storms also continues on Saturday for areas near the NM/TX border. By Sunday, flow aloft strengthens and overtakes the surface return flow. Breezy to locally windy conditions are still expected, but winds aloft don't look as strong as compared to 24 hours ago. A backdoor cold front then noses into the northeastern plains by Sunday evening, and moisture behind this boundary may help develop a few storms over Union and Colfax counties. That front makes additional southward progress Sunday night/early Monday which will result in cooler temperatures to start the work week. Confidence then decreases early next week in the track and potential impacts from the aforementioned low. Model guidance is in good agreement that the active weather will continue into the Monday/Tuesday time frame, but the uncertainty is in favored locations and potential impacts. 15 && .FIRE WEATHER... Low level moisture will continue to slosh back and forth from generally the central mountain chain to the Texas border tonight through Wednesday night. The strongest westward push will be tonight when strong and gusty east winds transport moisture into the Rio Grande Valley and toward the Continental Divide. Widespread low clouds, fog and light rain will develop over the eastern plains again tonight and possibly Wednesday night, with good to excellent overnight humidity recovery. High temperatures will also be much cooler than normal again on Wednesday over the east. Across western New Mexico, breezy and dry conditions with minimum humidities of 15 percent or less will continue through Wednesday and Thursday. Low level moisture advected in the Rio Grande Valley tonight and toward the Continental Divide tonight is forecast to mix out Wednesday afternoon. An upper level ridge is forecast to be in place over New Mexico Thursday, Friday and possibly Saturday. This will allow for isolated afternoon and evening convection Thursday with an increase in activity Friday along and south of I-40 and east of I-25. High temperatures will recover to warmer than normal area wide while high Haines becomes more widespread Friday and Saturday. A potential storm system approaching New Mexico from the west could keep the weather active early next week, especially over the east and create critical fire weather conditions over the west. && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until 6 AM MDT Wednesday for the following zones... NMZ219. &&
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 319 AM MDT Tue May 11 2021 NMZ201>241-121100- 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- 319 AM MDT Tue May 11 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for portions of north and central New Mexico. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight East winds of 30 to 40 mph with gusts up to 55 mph will develop this evening on the east side of the Albuquerque metro area. The strongest winds will occur below Tijeras Canyon through early Wednesday morning. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Wednesday through Monday Isolated high-based showers and thunderstorms with strong downburst winds are possible across central and southwest NM Thursday. A few strong storms are possible Friday and Saturday over eastern NM. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated. Guyer
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An ASOS station in Albuquerque measured a peak wind gust of 66 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, 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: 948217.