Strong westerly winds impacted parts of the northeast highlands and high plains of central New Mexico. Peak gusts of 60 to 64 mph were felt at Las Vegas and near Vaughn starting in the morning hours and lasting into the early afternoon.
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.
Strong westerly winds impacted parts of the northeast highlands and high plains of central New Mexico. Peak gusts of 60 to 64 mph were felt at Las Vegas and near Vaughn starting in the morning hours and lasting into the early afternoon.
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 Dec 31, 8:39 AM MST, 1 hour 11 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 839 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 ...New MESOSCALE UPDATE... .MESOSCALE UPDATE FOR STRONG WEST WINDS... Issued at 831 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 Strong west winds will continue across much of east-central NM through the day thanks to strong winds aloft and the resulting 998mb lee side low over northeast NM and southeast CO. Forecast model guidance continues to trail current observations across much of this region so went ahead with including eastern San Miguel, Quay, Curry and Roosevelt counties in the wind advisory through 00Z Sunday. Remainder of forecast on track with no further updates anticipated. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 209 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 Wind gusts up to 50 mph are forecast from around Red River southward to around Sandia Park, Moriarty, and Santa Rosa today. Today's high temperatures are forecast to climb around 3 to 12 degrees warmer than Friday's readings, but a disturbance will bring some light snow mainly to northwest areas. A stronger weather system will bring widespread rain and high terrain snow to central and western areas Sunday, then mostly snow to those areas Sunday night and Monday. A few to several inches of accumulation will be possible with the heaviest amounts potentially reaching a foot in the Tusas Mountains and southwest mountains. Another disturbance may bring additional snow accumulation to locations along and west of the continental divide Tuesday night. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Sunday) Issued at 209 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 Strong and perturbed northwest flow aloft is currently overlaying NM. Some mountain wave activity has been observed over the central to north central NM high terrain and more-so into CO, and this is somewhat masking the subtle shortwave troughs that are moving toward the NM-CO border. Persistent mid level moisture will stay over the north central to northwestern NM zones with the stiffening flow leading to better orographic forcing through the rest of the morning with the approaching shortwave energy even helping to spread some light snow into nearby lower elevation zones. Areas along and just east of the central mountain chain will continue to observe periodically gusty winds through the early morning, turning a bit more persistent into the late morning and afternoon hours as vertical boundary layer mixing increases. The Wind Advisory will be expanded to the Sandia/Manzano zone to account for the strong winds there that should develop and persist until dusk. North central to northwestern zones will see a gradual retreat of precipitation this afternoon as shortwave energy dissipates in the backing and more westerly flow, however the high terrain areas within these zones may never see a full cessation of snow flurries due to sufficient orographics from the strong westerlies. Outside of these north central to northwestern zones, cirrus will be the primary cloud type with a fairly widespread blanket over most of the area. Despite this cloud cover, temperatures should gain a few to several degrees area wide as pressure heights rise in the backing flow aloft. The flow will continue backing more southwesterly tonight, and while mid level wind speeds will not be as high as this morning’s, there will still be periodic gusty conditions over ridge tops and mountain peaks due to the 25 to 45 kt H7 flow. Much of the boundary layer in lower elevations will also fail to fully decouple overnight with persistent high clouds keeping tonight’s temperatures quite mild by late December standards. Big changes remain on the horizon for western NM on Sunday as a deep upper low rounds southern NV, riding on the strong jet off of the Pacific. This low will draw in ample Pacific moisture to the American southwest (PWATs advertised to climb 1 to 2 standard deviations above climatology) with a healthy swath of rain and mountain snow overtaking AZ and western NM Sunday afternoon. Winds at H7 will be surging to 40 to 60 kt from the southwest with much of the southern NM high terrain consequently experiencing windy conditions Sunday. These will also introduce orographic forcing, mostly over the southwestern mountains of NM in addition to the vigorous upper level dynamics associated with the approaching low. Look for high snow levels due to relatively warm conditions and high dewpoints that will elevate wet bulb zero heights, but peaks above 8,000 to 9,000 feet in western NM could receive a quick burst of a few inches, especially where convective activity develops Sunday afternoon. && .LONG TERM... (Sunday night through Friday) Issued at 209 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 A few to several inches of snow accumulation are forecast Sunday night through Monday over the mountains and west as an upper level low pressure system crosses the Four Corners region in route from Las Vegas, NV to the northeast corner of CO. The weather system will send a gusty Pacific cold front through NM Sunday night dropping the snow level to valley bottoms in most locations west of the central mountain chain. QPF and snow amounts decreased some in the latest model runs. At this time, it looks like the heaviest snow accumulations could reach nearly a foot in the Tusas Mountains and southwest mountains. Will continue the ongoing Winter Storm Watch and see what models do with the system in the next few runs. Wind will also be a concern with the storm system. The upper low will pass north of the forecast area, so it will steer the polar jet stream over our south central and eastern forecast zones Sunday night through Monday night. Model solutions differ on the strength of the 700 mb flow over the south central mountains where the strongest winds are expected. Ranges vary from 45-65 kt Sunday night, suggesting surface wind gusts could reach or exceed 50 kt from Ruidoso to Dunken. Scattered rain and snow showers are also expected at that time, indicating too much instability for a mountain wave over the south central mountains. For now the forecast grids depict gusts up to 50 mph over the south central mountains Sunday night into Monday, and up to 45 mph across the eastern plains due to the strong flow aloft and a sharp surface trough south of a ~999 mb lee-side surface low over southeast CO. Strong winds will probably produce blowing and drifting snow mainly in the mountains east of the continental divide Sunday night and Monday. After a much cooler day Monday, temperatures will fall further Tuesday and Tuesday night as another upper level trough crosses NM from the west. The system is currently forecast to weaken as it arrives, so snow amounts should be lighter than the Sunday-Monday storm. At this time a few to perhaps 6 inches look possible mainly over the west central and southwest mountains, and west central plateau. High temperatures look to bottom out around 3-13 degrees below normal on Tuesday, then trend warmer during the latter half of the work week as the first ridge of 2023 crosses NM from the west. The ridge will be a fast mover through, allowing a shortwave trough in southwest flow aloft to clip the Four Corners region and our northwest mountains with increased cloud cover and a chance for snow Thursday night and Friday. && .AVIATION... (12Z TAFS) Issued at 438 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 Strong northwest winds aloft are ushering a disturbance aloft into Colorado and northern New Mexico. This has produced some light snow over north central and northwestern New Mexico along with MVFR to briefly IFR ceilings. Conditions will improve into the afternoon with lower elevations returning to VFR, but high peaks and ridge tops in north central and northwestern New Mexico may remain obscured into tonight. The strongest winds will be found along and immediately downwind (east southeast) of the central mountain chain where gusts of 35 to 45 kt are expected with mountain wave activity and low level wind shear likely. Elsewhere VFR conditions with just high, fair weather cirrus clouds are expected today and tonight. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 209 AM MST Sat Dec 31 2022 While no critical fire weather is foreseen through the first few days of the New Year, a breezy to often windy weather pattern will persist, especially along and east of the central mountain chain as the persistent jet stream keeps feeding into NM from the Pacific. Fortunately, humidity should stay fairly elevated and above critical thresholds due to Pacific moisture moving into the area. In fact, much of western and central NM will receive periods of valley rain and mountain snow, particularly late Sunday through Tuesday night, but the eastern plains will see less moisture and minimal wetting precipitation. Lowest afternoon humidity values will tend to be found over the eastern plains later in the week on Thursday and Friday when readings will drop close to 20 percent. Valleys and sheltered locations will have to contend with poor smoke dispersion and ventilation in the mornings and early afternoon periods, but should get some brief opportunities for better mixing in the afternoon hours through the next few days. This could come to a halt by Thursday of next week when lighter winds and lower mixing heights might keep poor ventilation intact on a widespread basis. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 45 32 48 27 / 30 30 80 70 Dulce........................... 41 28 44 23 / 60 50 80 90 Cuba............................ 44 28 44 22 / 20 10 70 80 Gallup.......................... 45 32 45 24 / 20 5 80 60 El Morro........................ 42 28 44 23 / 10 5 80 70 Grants.......................... 47 25 46 21 / 5 0 70 70 Quemado......................... 49 29 46 24 / 0 0 80 70 Magdalena....................... 54 36 51 28 / 0 0 50 70 Datil........................... 51 30 46 25 / 0 0 70 70 Reserve......................... 52 30 46 24 / 0 5 90 90 Glenwood........................ 53 37 49 28 / 0 5 90 90 Chama........................... 37 24 40 18 / 60 50 80 90 Los Alamos...................... 47 32 43 27 / 10 10 60 90 Pecos........................... 50 32 49 24 / 10 0 50 80 Cerro/Questa.................... 43 31 44 21 / 10 10 50 80 Red River....................... 40 26 43 15 / 20 10 50 80 Angel Fire...................... 42 30 44 16 / 20 10 50 80 Taos............................ 45 26 46 20 / 20 20 50 80 Mora............................ 51 34 52 24 / 10 5 40 80 Espanola........................ 53 29 51 25 / 10 5 50 90 Santa Fe........................ 47 33 46 26 / 10 5 60 90 Santa Fe Airport................ 49 31 48 25 / 5 0 50 80 Albuquerque Foothills........... 50 35 49 33 / 0 0 50 80 Albuquerque Heights............. 52 37 50 30 / 0 0 50 70 Albuquerque Valley.............. 54 32 52 29 / 0 0 50 70 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 52 34 50 30 / 0 0 50 70 Belen........................... 57 32 54 29 / 0 0 50 70 Bernalillo...................... 53 33 51 30 / 0 0 50 70 Bosque Farms.................... 55 30 53 27 / 0 0 50 70 Corrales........................ 53 33 51 30 / 0 0 50 70 Los Lunas....................... 56 31 53 27 / 0 0 50 70 Placitas........................ 50 33 49 31 / 0 0 50 80 Rio Rancho...................... 52 34 49 31 / 0 0 50 70 Socorro......................... 59 35 55 30 / 0 0 50 70 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 46 34 46 27 / 0 0 60 80 Tijeras......................... 47 34 48 29 / 0 0 60 80 Edgewood........................ 48 32 50 27 / 0 0 50 80 Moriarty/Estancia............... 50 29 51 24 / 0 0 40 80 Clines Corners.................. 47 32 48 24 / 0 0 30 70 Mountainair..................... 49 34 49 27 / 0 0 40 70 Gran Quivira.................... 50 33 49 28 / 0 0 40 70 Carrizozo....................... 51 39 55 31 / 0 0 30 70 Ruidoso......................... 53 38 52 26 / 0 0 30 70 Capulin......................... 58 33 56 26 / 0 0 5 30 Raton........................... 60 30 56 24 / 0 0 10 40 Springer........................ 61 30 58 25 / 0 0 10 50 Las Vegas....................... 58 36 53 25 / 0 0 30 70 Clayton......................... 65 37 61 30 / 0 0 0 20 Roy............................. 61 34 56 29 / 0 0 5 30 Conchas......................... 67 37 60 34 / 0 0 5 30 Santa Rosa...................... 60 37 57 32 / 0 0 5 30 Tucumcari....................... 66 40 62 36 / 0 0 0 20 Clovis.......................... 64 40 64 36 / 0 0 0 10 Portales........................ 65 41 66 38 / 0 0 0 10 Fort Sumner..................... 64 38 60 35 / 0 0 0 10 Roswell......................... 68 38 68 38 / 0 0 0 20 Picacho......................... 64 41 63 34 / 0 0 10 40 Elk............................. 63 40 61 31 / 0 0 10 50 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until 5 PM MST this afternoon for NMZ232-234>236. Winter Storm Watch from Sunday morning through Monday afternoon for NMZ208-210-211. Wind Advisory until 6 PM MST this evening for NMZ213>215-221>223- 229-233. && SHORT TERM...33 LONG TERM....44 AVIATION...52
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
536 AM MST SAT DEC 31 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0453 AM HIGH SUST WINDS 6 E STORRIE LAKE STATE 35.65N 105.13W
12/31/2022 M40 MPH SAN MIGUEL NM ASOS
ASOS STATION KLVS LAS VEGAS MUNI AIRPORT.
&&
RTJPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
537 AM MST SAT DEC 31 2022
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0515 AM HIGH SUST WINDS 11 SE VAUGHN 34.48N 105.08W
12/31/2022 M43 MPH GUADALUPE NM MESONET
MESONET STATION NMC40 SE VAUGHN.
&&
RTJThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A mesonet station southeast of Vaughn measured a wind gust of 59 mph.
The Las Vegas Municipal Airport measured a wind gust of 63 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, 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: 1062479, 1062478.