As a storm system deepened over southern California, it steered a polar jet across much of New Mexico. Southwesterly winds strengthened across northern and central New Mexico and were higher compared to the previous day.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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 a storm system deepened over southern California, it steered a polar jet across much of New Mexico. Southwesterly winds strengthened across northern and central New Mexico and were higher compared to the previous day. This was especially true across the northeast portion of the state where a deepening lee-side surface low contributed to the increased wind speeds. Wind gusts across the area were generally between 45 to 55 mph, but high winds gusts were recorded across the northeast and central highlands which included Las Vegas, Raton, and Clines Corners.
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 May 11, 10:45 AM MST, 15 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1145 AM MDT Wed May 11 2022 .AVIATION... 18Z TAF CYCLE Strong and very dry southwest winds will develop areawide once again today, producing a dryline that will push eastward through eastern NM with isolated showers and thunderstorms during the afternoon and early evening near the TX border. Convective cells will move toward the northeast around 25-35 KT. A few of the storms may turn severe with large hail and damaging winds. The western portion of the High Plains will experience dry microbursts with erratic wind gusts potentially reaching 50 KT, while a mix of wet and dry microbursts are expected near the TX border. The potential exists for a convectively induced haboob on NM's eastern plains today with very strong and erratic wind gusts, as well as near zero visibility. Patchy low clouds will be possible across portions of the far eastern plains late tonight into early Thursday morning. A dry Pacific cold front is forecast to move from northwest to southeast through NM Thursday, changing wind direction to westerly most areas. 33 && .PREV DISCUSSION...403 AM MDT Wed May 11 2022... .UPDATE... Resent per request from media. && .PREV DISCUSSION...329 AM MDT Wed May 11 2022... .SYNOPSIS... It is going to be another crazy day of weather in northern and central New Mexico today. Strong winds, very dry air with critical fire weather conditions, increased and well formed long smoke plumes from area large wildfires, maybe dry thunderstorms, moist air with strong to severe thunderstorms in the east may all be realized today. A storm moving into Nevada today will lift northeast away from NM tonight. A dryline has set up across the eastern plains, where it will activate this afternoon and continue this evening. Strong winds and very dry air will be over central and western NM. Dry air will push east Thursday behind a cold front with one more round of windy conditions in the east with critical fire conditions. Friday through the remainder of the forecast period should be dry with generally above normal temperatures. There will be a back door cold front Thursday night and Saturday night, but both are forecast to make limited advancement into northeast NM. 40 && .DISCUSSION... SHORT TERM...(WEDNESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY)... Winds are forecast to strengthen areawide today as the upper low on the west coast begins to eject northeastward across the Great Basin strengthening the flow aloft over NM. Gusts to 50 mph are expected across much of northern, central and western NM this afternoon with another round of near record warmth and fire weather concerns. Fire weather conditions will be particularly concerning on the eastern plains, where a dangerous combination of critical fire weather conditions, dry lightning, and severe thunderstorms is expected this afternoon and early evening. The upper low on the west coast and a ridge of high pressure over the center of the country have already begun to draw a return flow of low level moisture northward into the eastern plains early this morning, and the moisture will continue to improve across the east until the dry southwest winds mix it eastward this afternoon. A convective dryline is forecast to produce severe thunderstorms, and with dewpoint depressions near 50 degrees on western parts of the high plains at least isolated dry thunderstorms are expected. Scattered thunderstorms are forecast further east, mainly for counties near the TX border, but wetting footprints aren't expected to be very large. Enough shear and instability is forecast that severe thunderstorms are likely. The good news is that models are in good agreement that dry thunderstorms probably won't reach as far west as the central mountain chain until perhaps late tonight when CAMs show a slight chance of light rain showers and thunderstorms around Raton Pass. The upper low will finally exit northeastward from the northern and central Rockies onto the northern Great Plains on Thursday, while the tail end of an upper level speed maximum lingers over NM. This will probably keep conditions breezy to windy in the northern mountains tonight, then breezy to windy conditions will return to northeast and east central areas on Thursday with one last day of fire weather concerns before a ridge of high pressure crosses at the end of the week. LONG TERM...(THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)... Dry and cooler air will have reached all of NM Thursday night behind a western and northern cold front. This will set up a nice Friday with sunshine, warm, near normal temperatures, and not much wind! A ridge of high pressure will build over NM this weekend with more sunshine, above normal highs and again not much wind! A weak back door cold front into the northeast Saturday night, reinforced a bit more Sunday night, will still have little impact to the northeast. A weak upper level disturbance from the west will approach Monday and cross NM Tuesday but likely no precipitation and only moderate breezes. 44/40 && .FIRE WEATHER... ...TWO MORE DAYS OF CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS EXPECTED, THEN A BREAK WITH LIGHTER WINDS FRIDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND... Adding the eastern plains to the ongoing Red Flag Warning for today, where a dangerous combination of critical fire weather conditions, dry lightning, and severe thunderstorms is forecast. The west coast low pressure system will begin to move inland across the Great Basin today, strengthening the flow aloft over NM. Another round of well above normal and near record warmth is also expected with Haines of mostly 6. Meanwhile, a moist low level return flow on the eastern plains will enable scattered to isolated showers and thunderstorms to develop this afternoon. Mainly isolated dry thunderstorms are expected on the western periphery of the moisture (the western high plains of eastern NM, but not as far west as the central mountain chain). Counties near the TX border will have better moisture with scattered thunderstorms and small but generally wetting footprints. These cells will be capable of large hail, and all thunderstorms will be capable of damaging winds due to large surface dewpoint depressions. One more day of critical fire weather conditions is expected mainly along and east of the central mountain chain on Thursday as the upper low exits the northern Rockies while the tail end of a speed maximum aloft lingers over NM. The flow aloft will probably enable breezy to windy conditions to linger in the northern mountains tonight and Thursday. Winds will be a little weaker on Thursday though with gusts probably peaking near 40 mph across the east. A ridge of high pressure will cross from the west Friday through this weekend with much lighter winds, although still gusty in the afternoons. Humidities will still be bone dry, and high temperatures will remain well above normal. Highs may push records again starting Sunday. Next week the flow aloft will begin to strengthen and a lee trough will develop as the upper high shifts east of NM. Thus will set the stage for more near record warmth and stronger surface winds with a return of at least localized critical fire weather conditions each afternoon starting Monday. 44 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 9 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ101>109. Wind Advisory until 8 PM MDT this evening for the following zones... NMZ201-202-204>208-210-211-213>216-219-221-223-227>231. Red Flag Warning from 9 AM to 8 PM MDT Thursday for the following zones... NMZ103-104-107-108. &&
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
An ASOS station near Raton measured a 61 mph wind gust.
An ASOS station near Clines Corners measured a 79 mph wind gust.
An ASOS station near Las Vegas measured a 58 mph wind gust.
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, May 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: 1013664, 1013663, 1013665.