Another very dry month across far west Texas in January. This lead to all areas being placed in at least Extreme(D3) drought around mid-January.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 very dry month across far west Texas in January. This lead to all areas being placed in at least Extreme(D3) drought around mid-January.
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 Dec 31, 10:50 PM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 1050 PM MST Thu Dec 31 2020 .AVIATION...06Z TAF CYCLE VFR conditions through the period. Winds will be light and variable, becoming light and easterly New Years Day after 15Z. Skies SCT-BKN120, becoming FEW-SCT120 after 18Z. && 01-Fausett .PREV DISCUSSION...159 PM MST Thu Dec 31 2020... .SYNOPSIS... An upper level disturbance will move across southern New Mexico and west Texas tonight and Friday resulting in more cooler than normal temperatures across the region. Westerly winds will then result in dry weather with temperatures rising to near or a little above average this coming weekend into next week. A passing disturbance may cause windy conditions next Tuesday. && 05-Rogash .DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM...Tonight and Friday... One system departing while one system is approaching. Light winds, clear skies, and cool to cold temperatures will be the rule in between the two systems. As the second system approaches it will bring mid and high clouds to the area, gradually from west to east later this evening and overnight. Depending on how quickly or slowly clouds arrive, it could set the stage for a bit of fog across Hudspeth Co. where there is a snowfield, but I left out mention of fog in the grids from lack of confidence. The system approaching us is northeast of Las Vegas as of noon. It is large and dynamic but with little moisture to work with. Thus, it will have little to no impacts on our weather except to make for a cloudy day tomorrow as it crosses the International Border. The highest elevations, especially the Gila, could see some snow flurries, but that is about it. Lowlands could see a sprinkle or flurry, but pretty much everyone is going to stay dry. Winds will be pretty light too. Temperatures will remain below normal as this low reinforces the cool air in place while clouds limit solar warming. Happy New Year, everyone! && 34-Brown .LONG TERM...Friday Night Through Next Thursday... Closed upper low will be moving east of the CWA Friday night with a subsiding northwest flow aloft behind it developing over New Mexico and west Texas. The subsidence plus abundant sunshine will support temperatures rising to near normal over the coming weekend. The next upper low and associated trough axis will move eastward across California Monday before advancing into Arizona Tuesday morning. Backing southwesterly winds ahead of system will advect warmer air causing Monday and Tuesday highs to rise to around 10 degrees above normal. Air mass will be dry below 500 mb so no precipitation expected despite increasing upward forcing with approach of trough. But main impact will be wind as lee cyclone will be deepening over the Texas panhandle with trailing surface trough extending through eastern New Mexico. The strengthening low and mid level gradients may support wind speeds near advisory criteria Tuesday afternoon and early evening. The upper trough and an associated Pacific cold front will move eastward through the CWA Tuesday night causing temperatures to cool around 5 to 10 degrees or to near normal Wednesday and Thursday. Otherwise west to northwest winds will sustain dry weather later periods. && 05-Rogash .FIRE WEATHER... The weather will remain considerably dry, but no real fire weather concerns otherwise. Winds will be light beneath mostly cloudy skies for Friday with min RH values in the mid to upper teens. Vent rates will be poor. Temperatures will warm a few degrees for Saturday with winds increasing some for the eastern fire zones though below critical thresholds. Min RH values will keep in the mid to upper teens. Vent rates will be poor to fair. The fair weather continues into Monday. && 34-Brown .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... El Paso 26 49 25 56 / 0 0 0 0 Sierra Blanca 21 44 24 51 / 0 0 0 0 Las Cruces 25 47 22 55 / 0 0 0 0 Alamogordo 21 47 20 52 / 0 0 0 0 Cloudcroft 13 28 15 33 / 0 0 0 0 Truth or Consequences 27 47 23 54 / 0 0 0 0 Silver City 28 44 25 48 / 0 0 0 0 Deming 21 48 18 56 / 0 0 0 0 Lordsburg 25 50 20 54 / 0 0 0 0 West El Paso Metro 30 49 28 55 / 0 0 0 0 Dell City 15 47 18 55 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Hancock 20 50 21 58 / 0 0 0 0 Loma Linda 25 43 25 48 / 0 0 0 0 Fabens 24 50 23 56 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Teresa 25 47 22 54 / 0 0 0 0 White Sands HQ 28 47 27 54 / 0 0 0 0 Jornada Range 25 45 21 52 / 0 0 0 0 Hatch 25 47 20 56 / 0 0 0 0 Columbus 27 48 23 56 / 0 0 0 0 Orogrande 23 47 22 53 / 0 0 0 0 Mayhill 17 38 18 46 / 0 0 0 0 Mescalero 15 38 15 43 / 0 0 0 0 Timberon 13 37 14 41 / 0 0 0 0 Winston 18 41 14 51 / 0 0 0 0 Hillsboro 22 46 19 54 / 0 0 0 0 Spaceport 24 46 20 52 / 0 0 0 0 Lake Roberts 22 45 19 50 / 0 0 0 0 Hurley 21 45 18 51 / 0 0 0 0 Cliff 27 50 23 54 / 0 0 0 0 Mule Creek 28 47 25 50 / 0 0 0 0 Faywood 26 45 23 52 / 0 0 0 0 Animas 26 50 20 56 / 0 0 0 0 Hachita 23 49 19 54 / 0 0 0 0 Antelope Wells 27 49 23 56 / 0 0 0 0 Cloverdale 29 45 28 51 / 0 0 0 0 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NM...None. TX...None. && 34-Brown/05-Rogash/01-Fausett
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 622 AM MST Thu Dec 31 2020 NMZ401>417-TXZ418>424-011330- 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- 622 AM MST Thu Dec 31 2020 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. One storm system headed out to our southeast and then late tonight another storm system (weaker and drier) will begin to approach the region. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Friday through Wednesday We will see a warming trend this weekend along with some dry weather. We will see quiet weather on Monday, but then on Tuesday an upper level storm system will approach the area and give us some strong and gusty winds for Tuesday afternoon. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation will not be needed.
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE EL PASO TX
630 PM MST THU DEC 31 2020
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0230 PM SNOW SIERRA BLANCA 31.17N 105.36W
12/30/2020 E5.5 INCH HUDSPETH TX BROADCAST MEDIA
RELAYED REPORT FROM BROADCAST MEDIA PARTNER. THIS IS AN
UPDATE FROM THE INITIAL 4 INCHES OF SNOW REPORTED
YESTERDAY.
&&
CORRECTED EVENT...REMARKS
EVENT NUMBER EPZ2000160
HCThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
The month started with the zone in Extreme(D3) drought, but on January 19th, the entire zone was placed in Exceptional(D4) drought.
The month started with the entire zone in Severe(D2) drought, but on January 19th, the zone was placed in Extreme(D3) drought. The El Paso airport reported 0.18 inches of precipitation which was 0.22 inches below normal.
The zone started out in Severe(D2) drought, but on January 19th, it was placed in Extreme(D3) drought.
Exceptional(D4) drought continued over the east while Extreme(D3) drought remained over the western half of the zone.
Exceptional(D4) drought remained over the east with Extreme(D3) drought over the west.
The month started with the entire zone in Severe(D2) drought but on January 19th, the zone was placed into Extreme(D3) drought.
The eastern half of the zone remained in Exceptional(D4) drought with Extreme(D3) drought over the west.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, January 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: 935824, 935826, 935828, 935830, 935831, 935834, 935835.