An active storm track continued on April 13, 2022, but the storm track remained north of New Mexico. This led to the continuation of a persistent pattern as a strong jet rounding the base of the northerly storm system was steered over New Mexico.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
An active storm track continued on April 13, 2022, but the storm track remained north of New Mexico. This led to the continuation of a persistent pattern as a strong jet rounding the base of the northerly storm system was steered over New Mexico. Exceptionally dry conditions with deep atmospheric mixing set the stage once again for another round of windy conditions. While windy conditions were not as widespread compared to the previous day, a deepening surface low across New Mexico aided in the development of high winds across the northeast highlands where gusts near 60 mph were recorded at both Raton and Las Vegas.
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 13, 9:13 AM MST, 58 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1013 AM MDT Wed Apr 13 2022 .UPDATE... Winds are already beginning to reach advisory thresholds at Raton Airport, and the latest 12Z model suite is hinting at stronger H7 being further north. So have added the Raton Pass and Johnson/Bartlett Mesas and Union County to the Wind Advisory. Winds are also starting to increase in southern areas at Roswell, but latest forecast still has these stronger winds aloft moving east into TX by the time these areas mix out. They may see a stray gust reach 45-50mph between now and 1pm or so, but it doesn't look to last long enough to warrant an advisory at this time. 24 && .PREV DISCUSSION...520 AM MDT Wed Apr 13 2022... .AVIATION... 12Z TAF CYCLE Breezy west to northwest winds continue across ridgetops early this morning. Winds will rapidly strengthen by mid morning across much of the area with gusts between 40 and 50kt common along and east of the Central Mountain Chain by the afternoon. These winds may create areas of blowing dust and reduced visibility. Wind gusts between 30 and 35kt will be more common west of the Central Mt Chain this aftn. Areas of smoke will also be a concern today due to multiple wildfires across the area. Of greatest concern will be at KLVS where winds today should take smoke from the Hermits Peak fire nearly overhead. Vsby has already reduced to 6SM this morning, and that may continue intermittently, or deteriorate further, throughout the day. Winds will decrease after sunset. 34 && .PREV DISCUSSION...310 AM MDT Wed Apr 13 2022... .SYNOPSIS... Strong winds and very dry conditions will continue the threat for dangerous fire weather today. Winds will not be as strong as on Tuesday but gusts of 45 mph to 60 mph are still likely across portions of the central mountain chain and the high plains of eastern New Mexico. A repeat of freezing temperatures tonight will be followed by a warming trend into the weekend. Breezy to windy afternoons will continue the potential for critical fire weather conditions Thursday and through the weekend. A cold front will enter eastern New Mexico on Monday with briefly cooler temperatures and potential for a few thunderstorms Tuesday. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH THURSDAY)... Exceptionally dry air is filtering into NM from the northwest early this morning. So far, the winds have stayed up enough to keep temperatures above the freezing mark in the ABQ metro, but there are still several hours for temps to fall, so will keep the Freeze Warning in place. Subfreezing temperatures are expected again tonight across the metro area under clear skies and light winds, thus a Freeze Watch has been issued. Otherwise, the main story again today will be strong to damaging winds due to robust mixing. Winds speeds will not be as strong as yesterday, however, westerly wind gusts of 50 to 60 mph will be possible for most areas along and east of the Central Mountain Chain. West of the Central Mountain Chain, wind gusts between 30 and 40 mph will be more common. With high temperatures expected to be 5 to 20 degrees below normal this afternoon, these winds will feel quite chilly. Blowing dust will again be a concern, as well as areas of smoke from wildfires. Less wind is expected for Thursday, but that's not to say it won't be breezy or windy in many areas. For now though, it looks like winds will remain below Wind Advisory speeds. The strongest winds should be from the Sangre de Cristo Mountains eastward thanks to another day of strong mixing and a weak surface low near the OK/NM/CO border. Fortunately, mid level winds speeds won't be as strong as today (25-30kts vs. 30-45kts at 7H). Temperatures will warm to within a few degrees of normal by Thursday afternoon as well. 34 LONG TERM...(THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)... Breezy to windy conditions will continue each afternoon and early evening Friday through the weekend. Temperatures will warm above normal Friday and where they remain through Sunday. A wind shift Saturday in the east doesn't appear to impact temperatures much. Another stronger front is possible Monday with potential for isolated storms near the Texas border Tuesday. Zonal flow appears to persist through the middle of next week. && .FIRE WEATHER... ..PROLONGED PERIOD OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER TO CONTINUE THROUGH THE WEEK... Despite below to well below normal temperatures expected today, exceptionally dry air filtering into the area early this morning will still yield several hours of single digit humidity values for much of the area. Meanwhile, a strong upper level jet remains over NM, and vertical mixing will allow for gusty west to west-northwest winds once again. Though winds will not be quite as strong as yesterday, gusts in excess of 50 mph will be likely for most areas along and east of the Central Mountain Chain, while gusts near 35 or 40 mph will be more common across the west. A Red Flag Warning remains in effect for all areas below significant snowpack today. Widespread, prolonged single digit humidity values are expected again on Thursday but less wind is expected. Nonetheless, breezy to windy conditions are still likely. The strongest winds are expected along and east of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where the Fire Weather Watch has been upgraded to a Red Flag Warning. It's possible that the Red Flag Warning may need to be expanded to include Zone 108, but forecast wind speeds are slightly too low to include them attm. Temperatures will continue to warm on Friday. All areas will be a few to as much as 10 degrees above normal. Exceptionally dry conditions will continue and winds may again be sufficient for critical fire weather conditions across northeast NM. A backdoor cold front will slide into the eastern NM Friday night into early Saturday. Depending on how fast this front mixes out Saturday will determine if and where critical conditions will again be met. 34 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ101>109. High Wind Warning until 7 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ221-223. Red Flag Warning from 1 PM to 7 PM MDT Thursday for the following zones... NMZ103-104. Wind Advisory until 7 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ212>215-218-222-227>237. Freeze Watch from late tonight through Thursday morning for the following zones... NMZ219. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An ASOS station near Raton measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
An ASOS station near Las Vegas measured a brief wind gust of 58 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2022
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: 1008298, 1008299.