There were several significant heavy rain events that occurred over parts of eastern NM during the month of May. These events, while causing flooding impacts, also improved drought conditions across a wide swath of eastern NM.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
There were several significant heavy rain events that occurred over parts of eastern NM during the month of May. These events, while causing flooding impacts, also improved drought conditions across a wide swath of eastern NM. This resulted in the complete removal of extreme and exceptional drought conditions with the overall coverage of severe drought conditions also lowering some.
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 30, 10:19 PM MST, 1 hour 41 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1119 PM MDT Sun Apr 30 2023 ...New AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 202 PM MDT Sun Apr 30 2023 Gulf moisture will be on the uptrend tonight and Monday in eastern New Mexico with a few showers or a thunderstorm or two possible during the afternoon and evening. As moisture continues to move in to eastern NM Tuesday and Wednesday, chances for afternoon showers and thunderstorms, some strong to severe, increase. Elsewhere, breezy and warm weather will be the rule for much of the week. Windy weather is forecast for Thursday and Friday along with chances for morning showers or thunderstorms Thursday. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Monday night) Issued at 202 PM MDT Sun Apr 30 2023 A warming trend continues this afternoon in what will end up being the warmest day so far this year for a number of norther and central NM locales. Isolated virga showers and potentially a dry thunderstorm or two will move east across the northern mountains and adjacent northeast highlands through the early evening hours. A backdoor cold front, currently moving slowly southwest through the northeast plains, will accelerate this evening and create gusty east canyon/gap winds into the RGV and upper Tularosa valley from Santa Fe southward overnight. Wind speeds are forecast to remain below advisory threshold. An upper level ridge will continue moving slowly eastward over NM Monday through Monday night, allowing for moisture advection to pick up steam as it continues moving east. The result will be an increase in afternoon/evening clouds Monday, with improved coverage of daytime heating triggered convection across north central and northeast NM. Showers and storms near the CO border Monday afternoon/evening will be capable of producing wetting rain, but much of the convection will produce very little measurable rain instead favoring strong/erratic wind gusts. Abundant cloud cover Monday night will limit radiational cooling and help to keep low temperatures above normal areawide. && .LONG TERM... (Tuesday through Saturday) Issued at 202 PM MDT Sun Apr 30 2023 No major forecast changes during the extended forecast period from this morning's model suite. Dryline convection remains on track to develop in eastern NM Tuesday and Wednesday afternoons with mainly strong storms (hail) now looking likely both days. Severe potential looks very limited Tuesday given the lack of winds aloft and the resulting low-end bulk shear. Wednesday is looking the like the better day for a severe storm or two in eastern NM when bulk shear increases, slightly. Elsewhere, closed low over southern CA is still expected to send a wind speed maximum up into central and western NM Thursday morning, resulting in a area of light to moderate showers. A dry slot then pushes up from the southwest during the afternoon, ending shower chances central and south Thursday afternoon. Latest models now take the closed low over southern CA, filling/weakening it as it lifts northward through the western Great Basin Friday. This weakening means less in the way of strong winds on Friday as the main wind field associated with the low stays in southeast AZ. Both days, however, look like they will be on the lower end of the windy spectrum. Strongest winds aloft associated with the closed low move over NM Friday night into Saturday, increasing wind speeds areawide for Saturday. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1112 PM MDT Sun Apr 30 2023 East canyon winds have punched through the gaps of the central mtn chain at KSAF and KABQ. Peak gusts to and just above 35kts have occurred at KABQ and an Airport Weather Warning has been issued. Gusts look to subside below 35kts by 08Z at KABQ, steadily tapering off further through the early morning period. VFR prevails through the morning and midday as overall sct-bkn cigs 200-250 fill in across the state. Iso-sct afternoon tstm activity is progged to initiate over the northern Sangre de Cristo Mts near 20Z and then be steered eastward over the adjacent highlands to the TX/OK borders in the evening. KRTN-KCAO likely to see VCTS, potentially spreading as far south as KLVS. Areas along and west of the Rio Grande Valley will see sct virga shras with little to no rainfall and gusty erratic winds. Inclusion of this in TAFs will occur when confidence increases for which terminals have the greatest potential for a stray outflow wind tomorrow afternoon. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 202 PM MDT Sun Apr 30 2023 Hot, dry and unstable conditions will persist into Monday most areas as an upper level ridge shifts slowly east over the area , with the potential for dry lightning across north central and northeast NM. Chances for wetting showers and storms will trend up along/east of the central mountain chain as moisture trends up Tue/Wed, with any convection west of the central mountain chain likely being dry with the potential for dry lightning. Hot, dry and unstable conditions will persist Tue/Wed across western NM, but winds will fall just shy of critical threshold. The best potential for critical fire weather conditions this period will be Thu/Fri/Sat as southwest flow aloft trends up in advance of an upper level trough/low, forecast to move through Saturday. This development comes after a few days with lightning activity, bringing the potential for the spread of fire from lightning ignitions. At this time, Friday is being modeled to be the most widespread critical fire weather day, with Saturday limited to areas along east of the central mountain chain due to the timing of the trough passage. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 42 82 49 79 / 0 0 0 10 Dulce........................... 35 75 39 75 / 0 0 5 30 Cuba............................ 38 75 45 74 / 0 5 5 30 Gallup.......................... 36 79 40 74 / 0 0 0 10 El Morro........................ 41 75 42 72 / 0 10 5 20 Grants.......................... 34 80 38 77 / 0 5 5 20 Quemado......................... 41 76 42 74 / 0 10 5 10 Magdalena....................... 49 78 49 75 / 5 10 5 10 Datil........................... 43 74 43 72 / 5 10 5 10 Reserve......................... 35 79 35 76 / 10 5 0 5 Glenwood........................ 47 83 47 79 / 0 5 0 0 Chama........................... 33 70 35 67 / 5 10 10 40 Los Alamos...................... 48 74 49 72 / 0 5 5 40 Pecos........................... 41 74 46 72 / 5 20 20 60 Cerro/Questa.................... 39 71 43 68 / 10 20 10 60 Red River....................... 33 64 36 61 / 10 30 20 80 Angel Fire...................... 28 67 33 62 / 20 30 30 70 Taos............................ 34 75 37 73 / 5 10 10 50 Mora............................ 37 72 42 68 / 10 20 20 60 Espanola........................ 42 81 46 80 / 0 5 5 40 Santa Fe........................ 47 75 50 74 / 0 10 10 60 Santa Fe Airport................ 43 78 46 76 / 0 5 5 40 Albuquerque Foothills........... 54 80 59 80 / 0 5 5 30 Albuquerque Heights............. 55 82 56 81 / 0 5 5 30 Albuquerque Valley.............. 48 84 53 83 / 0 0 0 30 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 50 82 54 82 / 0 5 5 30 Belen........................... 45 85 49 83 / 0 5 0 20 Bernalillo...................... 51 83 53 83 / 0 5 0 30 Bosque Farms.................... 42 84 48 83 / 0 5 0 20 Corrales........................ 49 83 53 83 / 0 5 0 30 Los Lunas....................... 43 84 48 83 / 0 5 0 20 Placitas........................ 51 80 55 79 / 0 5 5 40 Rio Rancho...................... 50 82 54 81 / 0 5 5 30 Socorro......................... 50 87 52 84 / 0 5 0 10 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 47 74 51 73 / 0 5 5 40 Tijeras......................... 46 78 52 76 / 0 5 5 40 Edgewood........................ 43 78 49 76 / 0 5 5 40 Moriarty/Estancia............... 35 79 42 76 / 0 10 5 40 Clines Corners.................. 41 75 46 71 / 0 10 10 40 Mountainair..................... 42 77 49 75 / 0 5 5 30 Gran Quivira.................... 42 78 49 75 / 0 10 5 30 Carrizozo....................... 49 81 55 79 / 0 5 5 40 Ruidoso......................... 46 73 49 71 / 0 5 10 40 Capulin......................... 37 70 42 68 / 10 20 20 50 Raton........................... 36 75 40 72 / 20 20 20 50 Springer........................ 37 76 43 73 / 20 20 20 50 Las Vegas....................... 39 75 44 71 / 10 20 20 50 Clayton......................... 41 75 46 72 / 0 10 20 30 Roy............................. 40 74 48 72 / 10 10 20 50 Conchas......................... 43 82 52 81 / 0 5 10 40 Santa Rosa...................... 43 80 49 78 / 0 5 5 40 Tucumcari....................... 42 81 50 79 / 0 0 10 40 Clovis.......................... 44 79 48 79 / 0 0 5 40 Portales........................ 44 80 49 81 / 0 0 5 40 Fort Sumner..................... 45 80 50 81 / 0 0 5 50 Roswell......................... 49 82 55 87 / 0 0 0 50 Picacho......................... 47 78 54 80 / 0 5 0 40 Elk............................. 46 77 52 79 / 0 5 10 40 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...11 LONG TERM....33 AVIATION...24
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe drought conditions from October 2022 persisted through May 2023.
Severe drought conditions persisted through May 2023.
Drought conditions improved with the removal of extreme and exceptional drought conditions across the county. There remained a portion of severe drought in the southeastern and western sections of the county.
A small area of severe drought conditions persisted in the northwestern section of Harding County.
Drought conditions improved in Quay County during the month of May with the removal of extreme drought conditions. A small area of severe drought conditions persisted in the northeastern section of the county.
Drought conditions improved in Roosevelt County during the month of May with the removal of extreme drought conditions. A small area of severe drought conditions persisted in the northern section of the county.
Drought conditions improved in Curry County during the month of May with the removal of extreme drought conditions. A small area of severe drought conditions persisted in the southern section of the county.
Drought conditions improved in Chaves County during the month of May with the removal of extreme drought conditions. A small area of severe drought conditions persisted in the southern and southeastern sections of the county.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, May 2023
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: 1093024, 1093025, 1093026, 1093027, 1093028, 1093030, 1093031, 1093033.