S. with a strong surface low over Southwest New Mexico.
Every event with a place to put it; 6 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 EPZ wrote it up.
A deep upper trough was moving through the Western U.S. with a strong surface low over Southwest New Mexico. A peak gust of 77 mph was recorded with this storm at San Augustin Pass.
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 El Paso, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Feb 23, 5:02 AM MST, 4 hours 58 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM
502 AM MST Wed Feb 23 2022
...Updated for 12Z TAF Discussion...
.AVIATION...12Z TAF CYCLE
Get ready for another windy afternoon with area of blowing dust.
An approaching upper level storm system will bring strong gusty
winds to the region today. The strongest winds will be west of the
Rio Grande where we could see winds of 23030G40KT. The strong
winds will also create areas of blowing dust. I was not confident
enough to mention blowing dust in the TAFs, but KDMN is the
location I think could see some reductions in visibility this
afternoon. I would not be surprised to see some IFR and brief LIFR
visibilities this afternoon. The gusty winds will continue into
the evening hours, but the areas of blowing dust should settle
around sunset. We also will see a slight chance for lowland rain
showers and mountain snow showers for locations west of the
Continental Divide tonight. I don't think, we will see much in
the way for lower ceilings for any of our TAF sites. The breezy
and low end gusty winds will continue into Thursday morning.
&&
.PREV DISCUSSION...326 AM MST Wed Feb 23 2022...
.SYNOPSIS...
Windy and potentially dusty conditions are expected again on
Wednesday with light area mountain precipitation. Breezy and cool
conditions then remain on Thursday, before a period of dry
weather and warming temperatures beginning Friday and lasting
at least through the weekend.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
.SHORT TERM...
Another week and another Windsday. An approaching upper level storm
system will combine with warm temperatures and strong winds aloft to
give us strong surface winds and likely some areas of blowing dust
this afternoon. We saw a similar event last Wednesday, but this week
is a little different, since we have a backdoor cold front banked up
against the mountains to our east. This front will cut off any
chances for a lee side surface trough to develop to our northeast. A
surface trough does try to develop, but it is centered over central
New Mexico, this will keep the strongest winds over the western part
of the region. A high wind warning (35 to 45 mph) is in place for
most locations west of the Rio Grande with a wind advisory (25 to 35
mph) for most of El Paso and Otero County. Also with the warm
conditions and southwest wind direction, we will likely see another
round of blowing dust. The dust prone regions along I-10 and
locations in Luna County, look like they will be the locations most
impacted by the dust.
For tonight, the trough will be slow to move out so we will continue
to see a chance for strong and gusty winds for locations east of the
Rio Grande at least through midnight. Also, we will see a chance for
light lowland rain showers and light mountain snow showers for
locations west of the Continental Divide. We will also see cooler
air filter into the region. Our high temperatures on Wednesday will
run several degrees above average, but then high temperatures on
Thursday will be 10 to 15 degrees below average. We could see some
lingering breezy winds Thursday afternoon, but overall the winds
will be slowing as we go through the day.
For Friday, a zonal flow will start a quick warming trend for the
region, as we will see high temperatures on Friday afternoon climb
back to near normal for this time of the year. The weekend is
looking nice, despite a weak upper level trough that will pass
across New Mexico, late on Saturday. This upper level trough will be
dry and have very little impact to our weather. High temperatures
this weekend will continue to run near seasonal averages. The first
of next week will continue our dry weather with high temperatures
running a few degrees above average.
&&
.LONG TERM...
A few lingering snow showers will be possible across area mtns
early on Thursday as the trough axis swings across NM. Breezy to
low end windy northwest conditions will remain as well,
especially across the Rio Grande on eastward as the energy and
associated stronger winds aloft linger. With temps in the 50s,
this will make for a bit of a chill in the air. Thereafter,
conditions remain dry through the weekend and into early next week
as westerly flow aloft attempts to transition into ridging type
influences. As such, temps will slowly warm into the 60s this
weekend, perhaps pushing the 70s into the early portions of next
week. There's a bit of an east push at the sfc during the Tuesday
time frame, but this does not appear to impact temps all that
much. Winds after Thursday look to remain quite a bit lighter
compared to recent days/values, but still a day or two could be
breezy, and particularly if that east push develops Tuesday
consequent of a short wave traversing the Plains.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
We will have an active fire weather day today as an approaching
upper level storm system will bring a round of strong winds to the
region this afternoon. With the dry airmass in place, much of the
lowlands will see Red Flag Conditions this afternoon. A Red Flag
Warning is in place from Noon to 7 PM. The gusty winds will
continue well into the evening hours, especially for locations
east of the Rio Grande. In addition we will see a chance for
lowland rain showers and mountain snow showers (above 6,000 feet).
Any rain or snow that does fall will be light tonight. And if
that wasn't enough, cooler air will filter into the region over
night. Our high temperatures today will be well above average, but
then Thursday's highs will be 10 or more degrees below average.
The breezy winds will continue on Thursday, but they will stay
below critical levels. Min RH's on Thursday will still be on the
dry side of things, with min RH's in the low teens in the lowlands
and in the 20's in the mountains. For Friday and into the
weekend, we will see quieter weather with min RH's most locations
at or below 15%. The first of next week, looks dry and warm and
potentially breezy.
&&
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
El Paso 73 44 56 29 / 0 0 0 0
Sierra Blanca 67 38 52 29 / 0 0 0 0
Las Cruces 71 38 55 25 / 0 0 0 0
Alamogordo 67 37 54 25 / 0 0 0 0
Cloudcroft 42 24 31 18 / 0 0 0 0
Truth or Consequences 63 36 53 24 / 0 10 0 0
Silver City 55 28 44 24 / 30 40 10 0
Deming 68 35 53 21 / 10 10 0 0
Lordsburg 63 29 49 20 / 30 40 20 0
West El Paso Metro 72 42 56 32 / 0 0 0 0
Dell City 63 35 56 24 / 0 0 0 0
Fort Hancock 76 40 59 29 / 0 0 0 0
Loma Linda 66 37 49 29 / 0 0 0 0
Fabens 76 40 58 29 / 0 0 0 0
Santa Teresa 71 37 54 26 / 0 0 0 0
White Sands HQ 70 42 55 32 / 0 0 0 0
Jornada Range 68 37 54 24 / 0 0 0 0
Hatch 67 36 55 23 / 0 0 0 0
Columbus 69 37 53 25 / 0 0 0 0
Orogrande 69 39 55 27 / 0 0 0 0
Mayhill 55 31 44 21 / 0 0 0 0
Mescalero 53 28 41 19 / 0 0 0 0
Timberon 52 27 41 19 / 0 0 0 0
Winston 58 19 49 12 / 30 30 10 0
Hillsboro 60 32 51 26 / 10 20 0 0
Spaceport 65 35 53 22 / 0 0 0 0
Lake Roberts 53 22 44 17 / 30 40 20 0
Hurley 57 26 46 18 / 30 40 10 0
Cliff 61 20 51 19 / 40 50 20 0
Mule Creek 53 25 45 14 / 50 60 20 0
Faywood 58 30 47 24 / 20 30 10 0
Animas 64 31 51 21 / 30 30 10 0
Hachita 66 31 51 20 / 20 20 0 0
Antelope Wells 65 36 54 25 / 0 10 0 0
Cloverdale 57 33 48 27 / 20 30 10 0
&&
.EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
NM...Red Flag Warning from noon today to 7 PM MST this evening for
NMZ111-112.
Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 11 PM MST this evening
for NMZ412>416.
High Wind Warning from 10 AM this morning to 8 PM MST this
evening for NMZ402>411.
Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 8 PM MST this evening
for NMZ401.
TX...Red Flag Warning from noon today to 7 PM MST this evening for
TXZ055.
Wind Advisory from 10 AM this morning to 11 PM MST this evening
for TXZ419.
High Wind Warning from 10 AM this morning to 8 PM MST this
evening for TXZ418.
&&
99/99/15Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 614 AM MST Wed Feb 23 2022 NMZ401>417-TXZ418>424-241315- Upper Gila River Valley-Southern Gila Highlands/Black Range- Southern Gila Foothills/Mimbres Valley- Southwest Desert/Lower Gila River Valley-Lowlands of the Bootheel- Uplands of the Bootheel-Southwest Desert/Mimbres Basin- Eastern Black Range Foothills-Sierra County Lakes- Northern Dona Ana County-Southern Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley- Central Tularosa Basin-Southern Tularosa Basin- West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet- Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet- East Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet-Otero Mesa- Western El Paso County-Eastern/Central El Paso County- Northern Hudspeth Highlands/Hueco Mountains-Salt Basin- Southern Hudspeth Highlands- Rio Grande Valley of Eastern El Paso/Western Hudspeth Counties- Rio Grande Valley of Eastern Hudspeth County- 614 AM MST Wed Feb 23 2022 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for portions of south central New Mexico, southwest New Mexico, and southwest Texas. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight We will see another day of strong winds and areas of blowing dust this afternoon. Winds today will increase to 30 to 40 mph with gusts to 55 mph for many locations. Stronger winds will be possible for locations west of the Rio Grande. The strong winds will make driving hazardous, especially on north/south running roads. In addition to the winds, we will see areas of blowing dust this afternoon which will add to the driving difficulties. The dust and winds will diminish this evening, but low end gusty winds will continue through the overnight hours. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday We will be cooler and breezy on Thursday. For Friday through Sunday, we will see seasonal temperatures and continued dry weather. The first of next week will continue to our quiet pleasant weather. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated today.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A peak gust of 77 mph was recorded at San Augustin Pass. Other gusts included 69 mph at the EMRE site on the White Sands Missile Range, 66 mph at Condron Field and 59 mph at the Dripping Springs RAWS site.
A gust of 60 mph was recorded at Spaceport America.
The Burro Mountain RAWS reported a peak gust of 60 mph.
The Truth or Consequences ASOS reported a peak gust of 61 mph. The Spaceport America AWOS recorded a gust of 60 mph.
The Deming ASOS reported a peak gust of 62 mph.
A Mesonet site on the Lordsburg Playa at Mile Marker 11 reported a peak gust of 63 mph.
The Hachita Valley Mesonet site reported a peak gust of 64 mph.
A Mesonet station at the Chihuahuan Desert Rangeland Center reported a peak gust of 71 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, February 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: 1010132, 1010133, 1010134, 1010135, 1010136, 1010137, 1010138, 1010139.