As has been all too common during the month of April, a storm system tracking eastward through the central Rockies remained too far north for any precipitation for New Mexico. Instead, this system increased westerly winds aloft on April 29th which in turn, strengthened surface winds during the afternoon and evening hours.
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.
As has been all too common during the month of April, a storm system tracking eastward through the central Rockies remained too far north for any precipitation for New Mexico. Instead, this system increased westerly winds aloft on April 29th which in turn, strengthened surface winds during the afternoon and evening hours. With deep atmospheric mixing and the presence of a lee-side surface low, westerly surface winds were quick to increase by late morning before peaking during the afternoon hours. The strongest winds were measured across the Sangre de Cristo Mountains where gusts in excess of 60 mph were common. Unfortunately, ongoing wildfires only fed off these strong winds. The combined Calf Canyon and Hermits Peak Wildfire spread rapidly towards the southeast during the afternoon, prompting mandatory evacuations for portions of western San Miguel County.
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 29, 4:27 AM MST, 3 hours 48 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 527 AM MDT Fri Apr 29 2022 .AVIATION... 12Z TAF CYCLE VFR conditions prevail and are forecast to persist through the TAF period. Increasing westerly flow on today will result in very windy/gusty conditions. An Airport Weather Warning for KABQ due to gusts to between 35-40kts may be required this afternoon. Patches of blowing dust are likely by afternoon as well, but with VFR vsbys at area terminals. Smoke from area wildfires may descend to the surface and impact KSAF and KLVS early Saturday morning, but forecast confidence is too low to include in those TAFs at this time. 11 && .PREV DISCUSSION...305 AM MDT Fri Apr 29 2022... .SYNOPSIS... Strong to very strong west and northwest winds return to all areas today. And with very dry conditions of late, widespread blowing dust along with dangerous fire weather conditons are expected. A down day with regard to strong winds remains on track Saturday with winds ramping back up once again Sunday. Afternoon and evening thunderstorms are forecast for far eastern NM Sunday with a few strong storms possible. Dry air returns to all areas early next week with breezy to windy weather forecast for Monday and windy conditions Tuesday. && .DISCUSSION... .SHORT TERM (TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY)... An upper level trough is moving rapidly from the Great Basin toward the southern Rockies per the latest water vapor satellite imagery. Strong winds aloft rounding the base of the trough will move over northern NM today, bringing another round of very windy conditions with areas of blowing dust by afternoon. No changes planned to the current Wind Advisory and High Wind Warning, although the latest NAM MOS wind speeds came in lower than our forecast which is closer to the GFS MOS. Otherwise, today will be a few degrees cooler across northern NM and similar to yesterday across southern portions of our area. Weak cold air advection behind the departing trough tonight will provide 5-10 degrees of cooling with low temperatures below normal across northern NM and near normal across southern portions of our area. Weak ridging will prevail on Saturday behind the departing trough and winds will trend down significantly, although late day breezy to locally windy conditions are still forecast across northeast NM. Highs on Saturday will generally be at or above normal. LONG TERM...(SATURDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY)... Saturday continues to look like a down day with regard to strong winds. Cooler air is forecast to slide into eastern NM behind the passage of a weak backdoor front while central and western area highs remain near Saturday's readings. Southeasterly low- level return flow sets up across far eastern NM Saturday and moreso Saturday night. Opposing southwest winds aloft set the state for a decent dryline set up near the TX border Sunday afternoon and evening. Isolated strong to severe storms are looking more probable for Sunday. A closed low forecast to slide eastward through the Central Rockies early next week puts NM underneath dry northwest flow aloft Monday. Windy conditions will likely result most areas Monday afternoon and evening. The active weather pattern continues into Tuesday with another closed low moving through the Central Rockies results in southwest flow aloft and more windy and dry weather for all areas Tuesday afternoon. It's worth noting that the ECWMF forecast is farther south and slower with the closed low which could keep strong winds going through Wednesday. There is no end in sight to the active pattern. Sea surface temperatures in the West Pacific and Indian Ocean north of the equator are already 31 degrees C which is resulting in abundant deep convection. It's this active convection/thunderstorms that will likely keep a strong East Asian Jet (EAJ) in tact and a storm track over the Western U.S that remains active into early May. 11/33 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...WIDESPREAD CRITICAL CONDITIONS TODAY AND SUNDAY... An upper level trough will race east across the southern Rockies and northern NM today, bringing a bout of strong winds and critical fire weather condtions to our area. The strongest winds are forecast from the Sangre De Cristos east to the TX/OK border where extreme fire weather conditions are likely. Expect a break on Saturday with weak ridging over the region, followed by another round of critical fire weather conditions on Sunday as another trough moves east from the Great Basin toward the southern Rockies. Much of the eastern plains may escape critical conditions Sunday as Gulf moisture holds on ahead of an approaching dryline. A round of mostly wetting storms is possible ahead of the dryline Sunday afternoon/evening near the TX/OK borders. Windy conditions will persist Monday on the backside of the trough, but will likely be more limited in areal extent. Yet another trough will move across the southern Rockies late Tuesday, brining a more widespread round of critical fire weather condtions. The forecast from mid to late next week is more uncertain, but the potential for more critical fire weather conditions will likely be on the downtrend. 11 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning from 9 AM this morning to 9 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ101>109. Wind Advisory from 9 AM this morning to 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ201-203-204-210-211-216>219-221-222-227-230>234-237. High Wind Warning from 9 AM this morning to 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ212>215-223-228-229. &&
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
807 AM MDT FRI APR 29 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0745 AM NON-TSTM WND GST 4 NNW GASCON 35.94N 105.48W
04/29/2022 M54 MPH MORA NM MESONET
MESONET STATION TT034 IRAWS 5.
&&PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
853 AM MDT FRI APR 29 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0830 AM HIGH SUST WINDS 4 NNW GASCON 35.94N 105.48W
04/29/2022 M40 MPH MORA NM MESONET
MESONET STATION TT034 IRAWS 5.
&&
RTJThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A portable RAWS station near Gascon measured a peak wind gust of 66 mph.
A portable RAWS station east-southeast of Cowles measured a peak wind gust of 62 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: 1012072, 1012071.