December 2022 was wetter than normal across a good portion of western NM, whereas drier than normal to record low precipitation was observed across a large swath of the eastern plains. Very little change in drought conditions resulted from this.
Every event with a place to put it; 12 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.
December 2022 was wetter than normal across a good portion of western NM, whereas drier than normal to record low precipitation was observed across a large swath of the eastern plains. Very little change in drought conditions resulted from this. By months end, roughly 18 percent of the state was in severe to extreme drought, of which about 3 percent was extreme drought.
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 Nov 30, 10:35 PM MST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1035 PM MST Wed Nov 30 2022 ...New AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 212 PM MST Wed Nov 30 2022 A warming trend is expected across northern and central New Mexico through Friday. The next storm system will clip the region on Friday with precipitation chances across the northern mountain. This system will also bring along some breezy to windy conditions, especially across the central mountain chain, northeast and east central plains. Cooler temperatures return for the weekend along with valley rain and mountain snow chances as another storm system approaches the Pacific coast. Winds will ramp up again early next week as the system slowly oozes east into the desert southwest. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Thursday night) Issued at 212 PM MST Wed Nov 30 2022 Winds will strengthen Thursday, then continue strengthening Thursday night over the mountains, as an upper level trough crossing the western US gradually strengthens the flow aloft over northern and central NM. A sharp surface trough will also develop in the lee of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains south of a ~1002 mb surface low in eastern CO. Models depict westerly 700 mb wind speeds reaching between 40-65 kt along the east slopes of the Sangres late Thursday night as the upper level trough begins steering the nose of the polar jet stream overhead. The potential exists for surface wind gusts over 57 mph from Red River and Angel Fire eastward across Raton Pass to around Capulin starting Thursday night and continuing into Friday. With this forecast package we will issue a High Wind Watch valid from midnight Thursday night through the day Friday covering this area. Otherwise, Thursday's high temperatures are forecast to climb a few to around 15 degrees above today's readings areawide, despite increasing high clouds in the afternoon. && .LONG TERM... (Friday through Tuesday) Issued at 212 PM MST Wed Nov 30 2022 Westerly winds ramp up Friday morning ahead of an upper level trough in the intermountain West. Winds of 60-70 knots at 700 mb will be positioned over the Sangre de Cristo mountains, northeast and east central plains by midday Friday. Mostly sunny skies will allow for some deep ABL mixing allowing some of these stronger winds to mix down to the surface. Surface winds of 35 to 50 mph with gusts up to 65 mph are possible across these zones. Given the higher confidence in these winds materializing from the deterministic model runs, and after consulting with our neighbors to the north, have gone ahead an issued a High Wind Watch for the northern and east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo mountains and Raton Pass from 7z Friday through 1z Saturday. Meanwhile, this upper level trough will bring a quick round of snow showers for the northern mountains with areas of blowing snow possible. Snow accumulations look to be very limited with this system with 1-3 inches possible in the Tusas. With the westerly downslope winds, temperatures will be very warm across the eastern plains, with highs 10-15 degrees above average. As the upper level trough moves into the Great Plains Friday night, a backdoor front will surge south through the eastern plains. This will result in lows across the northeast and east central plains on Friday night to be 10-20 degrees cooler compared to Thursday night. Cloud cover will begin to increase from south to north Friday night into Saturday morning. This is due to a plume of Pacific moisture setting up over the region between the next upper level longwave trough approaching the Pacific coast, and a upper level high pressure over the Gulf of Mexico. PWATs will increase from this plume as a result, with values of 0.50 inches across the north to 0.80 inches across the south. With the cloud cover and upslope east to southeasterly flow, temperatures across the eastern plains will be much cooler by about 15-20 degrees compared to Friday. Temperatures will be around to a few degrees above average across western and central zones. Showers and light rain will also be possible across southern zones where the higher moisture will reside. With the cloud cover and shower chances, temperatures Saturday night will be well above average for early December areawide by 10-15 degrees. Low clouds and fog looks to be a good possibility for the southeast plains, including KROW, based on vertical sounding profiles for Sunday morning. Dreary and cloudy conditions continue for central and western regions on Sunday, with temperatures around average as the plume of Pacific moisture remains over the region. Highs across the eastern plains will warm up by 10-15 degrees Sunday afternoon thanks to some downslope westerly flow. Going into early next week, precip and unsettled weather will still be possible across northern and western zones due orographic lift, as the upper level trough slowly dives south into Southern California. Westerly winds will also ramp up areawide as upper level flow strengthens ahead of this upper level trough. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 926 PM MST Wed Nov 30 2022 Light south and southwest winds will continue overnight, mainly from the central mountain chain eastward. Winds will strengthen on Thursday and continue through Thursday night as an upper-level trough slides eastward into the northwestern Great Basin. VFR conditions will prevail at all TAF sites during the next 24 hours with batches of high clouds moving in from the west and northwest Thursday afternoon. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 212 PM MST Wed Nov 30 2022 A warming trend will commence tonight through Thursday night, then cooling will occur over western and northern areas with the passage of a Pacific cold front Friday, and over eastern areas Saturday after a backdoor cold front crosses Friday night. An upper level trough passing mainly to the north of NM will cause winds to become breezy over northeast areas Thursday, then strong again in the mountains Thursday night, before spreading to include lower elevations of the east on Friday. West wind gusts over 60 mph will be possible over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains as a mountain wave sets up Thursday night and Friday, with gusts elsewhere along and east of the central mountain chain from 45 to 55 mph on Friday. Humidities are forecast to remain above 15% Friday. A series of disturbances in southwest flow aloft with a subtropical moisture tap are forecast to bring rain showers and high terrain (> 9,000 ft) snow showers mainly to southern and western areas Saturday through Sunday. Areas of wetting precipitation will be possible, especially across the highest terrain where a few to several inches of snow could accumulate. Another upper level trough is then forecast to cross the central Rockies while driving a Pacific cold front into NM with continued chances for snow over northwest and north central areas Sunday night through Monday night. West and northwest winds could become breezy to windy again on Monday as temperatures trend cooler and humidities also drop. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 22 58 35 51 / 0 0 5 20 Dulce........................... 16 54 26 47 / 0 0 10 50 Cuba............................ 22 53 30 49 / 0 0 0 5 Gallup.......................... 18 57 31 53 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 21 54 31 48 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 18 58 28 55 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 25 57 30 55 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 29 58 36 59 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 23 56 31 55 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 27 60 30 61 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 33 62 36 63 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 16 47 25 40 / 0 0 10 50 Los Alamos...................... 29 51 33 48 / 0 0 0 10 Pecos........................... 27 52 32 49 / 0 0 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 17 47 27 41 / 0 0 5 20 Red River....................... 20 45 25 38 / 0 0 5 20 Angel Fire...................... 19 45 25 40 / 0 0 0 10 Taos............................ 18 50 24 46 / 0 0 0 20 Mora............................ 27 56 33 48 / 0 0 0 5 Espanola........................ 21 58 32 55 / 0 0 0 10 Santa Fe........................ 28 50 34 48 / 0 0 0 5 Santa Fe Airport................ 25 53 30 54 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 33 53 38 58 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 32 56 35 61 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 26 58 31 63 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 31 56 34 60 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 29 59 29 64 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 29 57 33 61 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 27 59 28 64 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 30 57 33 61 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 28 59 28 64 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 30 55 36 56 / 0 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 31 55 34 60 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 31 61 33 68 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 28 51 35 50 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 29 52 35 54 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 26 53 32 54 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 18 57 26 56 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 26 53 31 52 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 28 54 34 56 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 29 55 35 58 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 31 58 41 61 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 29 57 40 56 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 27 58 35 53 / 0 0 0 0 Raton........................... 24 60 31 61 / 0 0 0 0 Springer........................ 25 64 31 60 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 26 58 35 58 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 28 59 38 65 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 25 59 36 61 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 27 63 39 68 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 28 64 39 64 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 30 58 41 72 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 24 55 38 71 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 25 57 39 71 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 25 56 36 70 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 25 58 35 75 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 26 64 40 68 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 26 63 41 66 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Watch from late Thursday night through Friday afternoon for NMZ213-215-227. && SHORT TERM...44 LONG TERM....71 AVIATION...33
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
12 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
A small area of severe drought conditions from October 2022 persisted around the Four Corners through December.
Moderate to severe drought conditions persisted across the area through December 2022.
Moderate to severe drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through December.
Severe drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through December over the northern half of the metro area.
Severe drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through December.
Severe drought conditions persisted through December 2022.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from October 2022 continued through December. A very small area of exceptional drought between Clayton and Sedan persisted into December.
Severe drought conditions persisted through December 2022.
Severe drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through December.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through December.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through December.
Severe to extreme drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through December.
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, December 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: 1062760, 1062761, 1062762, 1062763, 1062764, 1062766, 1062767, 1062768, 1062769, 1062770, 1062771, 1062772.