A closed upper-level low pressure system from the Gulf of Alaska moved inland into the Pacific Northwest and tracked eastward over the northern Rockies on April 5, 2022. As this system tracked to the north of New Mexico, it steered a potent jet overhead which strengthened surface winds.
Every event with a place to put it; 5 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.
A closed upper-level low pressure system from the Gulf of Alaska moved inland into the Pacific Northwest and tracked eastward over the northern Rockies on April 5, 2022. As this system tracked to the north of New Mexico, it steered a potent jet overhead which strengthened surface winds. Wind speeds of 45 to 55 mph where common across northern and central New Mexico with a few locations measuring high wind speeds. The highest gusts were measured at Clines Corners which measured a gust of 64 mph along with sustained winds of 47 mph. The windy conditions persisted on April 6, 2022 across northeast New Mexico. Unfortunately, these winds allowed a prescribed burn northwest of Las Vegas to get out of control and spread rapidly.
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 5, 10:51 AM MST, 2 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1151 AM MDT Tue Apr 5 2022 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE Strong west to northwest winds will rapidly increase early this afternoon with daytime mixing. Gusts between 40 and 50 kts will be common with isolated events exceeding 50kts along and just east of the Central Mountain Chain, to include KCQC. An Airport Weather Warning is in effect for the Albuquerque Sunport. These strong winds combined with antecedent dry conditions will create areas of blowing dust. MVFR vsbys will be possible. Winds will slowly decrease this evening but at least breezy conditions will persist overnight in many areas. Additionally, a back door cold front will slide down the eastern plains of NM. Breezy conditions are expected behind the front as well as winds switch around to the northeast. Strong and gusty winds are expected again Wednesday afternoon across western and central NM. 34 && .PREV DISCUSSION...257 AM MDT Tue Apr 5 2022... .SYNOPSIS... Very strong winds will develop over much of central and northern New Mexico today. Wind gusts as high as 70 mph are possible in the mountains with gusts to 60 mph possible in valley locations. Blowing dust will reduce visibilities at times. Colder conditions are forecast behind a cold front Wednesday with widespread low temperatures near to below freezing Thursday and Friday mornings. Quiet weather returns Friday with more strong wind expected over the weekend. && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(TODAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY)... The jet stream is diving southeast from the Pacific NW across the southern Rockies and will bring strong winds to NM today with areas of blowing dust, followed by a cold front tonight. Our wind speed forecast hasn't changed much from the previous forecast cycle and our existing High Wind Warning and Wind Advisory are on track, but will add Harding County to the advisory where forecast speeds are now exceeding threshold. Otherwise, today will be warm with above to well above normal temperatures, especially across the eastern plains due in part to downslope winds. Winds will be slow to drop off this evening with cold air advection behind the front, especially across the central highlands and Sangre De Cristos where the High Wind Warning will continue until midnight. Cooler conditions are forecast behind the front overnight, especially across the east central and northeast plains behind the backdoor segment of the cold front. Strong northwest flow aloft is forecast Wednesday with less wind, especially across the eastern plains behind the backdoor front. The strongest winds on Wednesday will be across central and western NM, where a Wind Advisory may be required. High temperatures on Wednesday will be an average 10-20 degrees less than today's and below normal at most locales. This airmass will be extremely dry, with PWATs forecast to dip down below 0.10" at KABQ and single digit humidity across much of the area. LONG TERM...(WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)... Strong northwest winds begin to relax Wednesday night but models still keep a stout northwesterly flow aloft over far northwest and far northeast NM through Thursday morning. Breezy to locally windy conditons continue Thursday, primarily west of the central mountain chain. Highest wind speeds will likely be near the Four Corners. High temperatures Thursday likely remain below average in eastern NM while central and western locations warm to near average for the date. Widespread near to below freezing low temperatures are likely for much of northern and central NM both Thursday and Friday mornings. Warmer temperatures underneath building high pressure move in Friday, the least windy day of the next 7 days. West and southwest winds are forecast to increase over the weekend thanks to both the Polar and Subtropical jets. Dry condtions continue through the weekend and into early next week and high temperatures rise to approximately 10 to 15 degrees F above average for early April. A negative Pacific North American Pattern (PNA) appears to take hold next week with a high amplitude cold/deep upper-level trough expected toward the middle of week. 11/33 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THIS EVENING FOR ALL AREAS BELOW SNOWPACK EXCEPT THE NORTH-CENTRAL MOUNTAINS FOR STRONG WINDS, LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITY AND AN UNSTABLE AIRMASS... ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS RETURN WEDNESDAY TO PORTIONS OF CENTRAl AND WESTERN NM... The jet stream is diving southeast from the Pacific NW and will bring strong winds to the southern Rockies and NM today and Wednesday. The combination of a low humidity, strong winds and unstable conditions will result in several hours of widespread critical fire weather conditions this afternoon and early evening below snowpack. A cold front will follow tonight, with the backdoor segment resulting in lower wind speeds across the eastern plains on Wednesday. Strong northwest winds are forecast Wednesday afternoon across much of western NM and several hours of critical fire weather conditions are expected, despite cooler temperatures. Winds will trend down further Thursday with a warming trend that will continue into the weekend. A critical fire weather pattern will develop over the weekend and continue into early next week as the jet stream dives south along the west coast and moves east across the region, eventually bringing a potent upper level trough across the Desert SW and into NM. Critical fire weather conditions will likely show up Saturday afternoon and definitely will on Sunday and Monday. The timing of the trough, which is uncertain at this time, will determine whether or not critical fire weather conditions extend into Tuesday of next week before a strong cold front moves through. 11 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ101-103>109. Fire Weather Watch from Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday evening for the following zones... NMZ101-105>107-109. Wind Advisory until 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ201>207-211-219-222-224-226-227-231-232-234>237-239. High Wind Warning until midnight MDT tonight for the following zones... NMZ212>215-223. High Wind Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ210-216>218-221-228-229-233. &&
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
637 AM MDT TUE APR 5 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0455 AM HIGH SUST WINDS 1 SE AGUA FRIA 36.42N 105.28W
04/05/2022 M44 MPH COLFAX NM AWOS
AWOS STATION KAXX ANGEL FIRE AIRPORT.
&&The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 high wind, 1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
An ASOS station near Clines Corners measured a peak wind gust of 64 mph.
An ASOS station near Clines Corners measured a peak sustained wind speed of 47 mph.
A public weather station near Cimarron measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
An AWOS station near Los Alamos measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
On April 6, 2022, a prescribed burn was started 12 miles northwest of Las Vegas, but due to windy conditions in place, the fire soon got out of control and spread rapidly. By April 13th, the Hermits Peak Fire grew to 7,900 acres with 10 percent containment. On April 22nd, the wildfire experienced rapid growth as a historic and catastrophic fire weather pattern developed across New Mexico. Despite 91 percent containment, the wildfire experienced rapid growth and combined with the nearby Calf Canyon Fire. Together, these two wildfires burned over 42,000 acres. As very windy conditions persisted through the remainder of April, the Hermits Peak Fire continued to spread rapidly, and by the end of the month on April 30th, the combined acreage between it and the Calf Canyon Fire was 103,908 acres with now 30 percent containment. Currently, the wildfire may not be fully contained until July 2022. Seven outbuildings were destroyed by this wildfire with an additional 600 structures threatened. Mandatory evacuations were not ordered. Damages are estimated.
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: 1006869, 1006870, 1006872, 1006871, 1012048.