A strong upper level storm system accompanied by a strong portion of the jetstream brought high winds to portions of central and eastern NM. These southwest winds reached nearly the entire state with high wind gusts being reported from Santa Fe to Albuquerque and through the highlands from Las Vegas to Clines Corners and Vaughn.
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.
A strong upper level storm system accompanied by a strong portion of the jetstream brought high winds to portions of central and eastern NM. These southwest winds reached nearly the entire state with high wind gusts being reported from Santa Fe to Albuquerque and through the highlands from Las Vegas to Clines Corners and Vaughn. Areas of blowing dust resulted from these winds, slightly dropping visibilities. The high winds also aided in the rapid spread of a new wildfire near Sapello, NM during the afternoon. There were no reports of damage or injuries directly related to the high winds. Meanwhile, severe weather broke out across far eastern NM along the TX border during the afternoon and evening hours. Thunderstorm activity favored a dryline feature with individual storm cells producing mostly pea to nickel size hail and severe wind gusts. Several severe wind gusts were reported in portions of northeastern NM with one report of one inch size hail near Clovis. Nickel size hail was also reported in San Jon, NM. There were no reports of wind or hail damage.
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 10, 11:13 AM MST, 1 hour 34 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1213 PM MDT Wed May 10 2023 ...New UPDATE, AVIATION... .UPDATE... Issued at 1156 AM MDT Wed May 10 2023 Expanded Wind Advisory to include all of the eastern plains since the speed maximum aloft is forecast to cross eastern areas during peak mixing this afternoon. Plains locations will mix near 500 mb. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 148 AM MDT Wed May 10 2023 A Pacific storm system will approach today, bringing strong southerly winds to much of the area, with areas of blowing dust by afternoon. A few strong to severe thunderstorms are possible near the Texas and Oklahoma borders through this evening. The Pacific system will move over tonight, bringing showers to the northern mountains with the potential for a few inches of snow accumulation across the peaks. Windy conditions will persist into Thursday, mainly along and east of the central mountain chain. Moisture will increase over the area this weekend as a backdoor cold front moves through, bringing cooler conditions and good chances for showers and storms that will persist into next week. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Thursday) Issued at 148 AM MDT Wed May 10 2023 Upper low along the SoCal coast has pushed inland via current satellite imagery and will continue its tour through the Desert Southwest today. Meanwhile, a lee-side sfc low will deepen to an impressive 992mb, while above average warmth help to push mixing heights well near 500mb. This will set the scene for strong southerly and southwesterly winds this afternoon across northern and central NM, where gusts of 40 to 50 mph will be common. The strongest winds look to favor the RGV, and a rogue gust of 55+ mph cannot be ruled out. Did opt to expand the Wind Advisory a few zones to the east to account for greater spatial coverage of advisory- level winds with this fcst package. Meanwhile, additional moisture and instability will work to fuel a crop of thunderstorms favoring the northwest plateau and eastern plains. Most of the storms will trend drier, sporting the threat of erratic downburst winds. Across the east, however, the potential exists for a storm or two to become severe. The environment still lacks adequate shear to suggest that storms will be able to become organized, with most soundings touting suboptimal values under 35 kts. Nonetheless, the ingredients exist for an ambitious storm to be capable of damaging winds and large hail before quickly pushing off into TX. The low's accompanying Pacific front will slide into the state Wednesday evening, progging east through the overnight hours. The upper low swings into CO Wednesday night, allowing for instability, lift, and moisture for showers and storms to persist across northern NM. Cooler temperatures will be left in the system's wake on Thursday and drier air takes hold. Breezy to windy conditions will return, especially across the northwest plateau to the central mts, including their adjacent highlands and plains. && .LONG TERM... (Thursday night through Tuesday) Issued at 148 AM MDT Wed May 10 2023 A few showers may persist from the northern mountains through the adjacent northeast highlands Thursday night as the upper low continues slowly northeast into east central CO. Winds aloft will weaken significantly on Friday, which looks to be the best weather day of the week with daytime temperatures within a few degrees of normal. A significant synoptic pattern change is expected this weekend that will bring the development of a convoluted Rex Block, with the upper high setting up over southern British Columbia/WA and a broad upper low extending from the Great Basin south to over the Baja Peninsula. This development will bring an end to the recent warm, dry and windy conditions in favor of moist and cooler conditions with much less wind for most of the area. Moisture advection will begin in earnest Friday night and continue through Saturday as Gulf moisture surges northwest across the area and a backdoor cold front slides southwest through the state, bringing good chances for showers and storms and much cooler temperatures. PWATs are forecast to surge well above normal most areas by late Saturday. However, instability will be significantly limited by the cooler airmass moving in behind the backdoor front, especially by Sunday when storms may be confined to areas along/west of the Continental Divide. At this time, Saturday looks to be the more impactful day in terms of the potential for burn scar flooding and flooding of already swollen creeks and streams from ongoing snowmelt. In addition, strong east canyon/gap winds will likely develop late Friday night and continue through Saturday in the Rio Grande and upper Tularosa Valleys with the passage of the backdoor front. The Rex Block is forecast to break down early next week, with a new one forming as another upper high sets up over NV/UT and the upper low gets confined to over the Baja Peninsula. Moisture is forecast to linger over the area Mon/Tue, with below normal daytime temperatures and daily rounds of showers and storms. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1156 AM MDT Wed May 10 2023 Strong south and southwest winds today will shift out of the northwest tonight into Thursday morning as a Pacific cold front crosses. Wind gusts will probably peak near 45 kt across central areas this afternoon. Airport weather warning for 35 kt gusts has already verified at KABQ, and will hit more consistently late this afternoon into the early evening. In addition, scattered to isolated showers and thunderstorms are forecast over west central, northwest, northeast and east central areas this afternoon, with rain and high terrain snow showers and perhaps a few thunderstorms over the northern mountains tonight (with mountain obscurations). Storms over western areas will produce mainly dry microbursts this afternoon and evening with erratic wind gusts potentially over 45 kt. A mix of wet and dry microbursts are expected across eastern areas with the wetter cells favoring northeast areas, where a few severe storms may produce wind gusts over 50 kt and large hail this afternoon and evening. There will also be a chance for low level wind shear over west central areas, and in the lee of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, overnight tonight. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 148 AM MDT Wed May 10 2023 ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS TO BECOME WIDESPREAD TODAY, THEN PERSIST ACROSS MOST AREAS THROUGH THURSDAY... Strengthening southwest flow aloft in the presence of deep-layer mixing will lead to an afternoon of widespread strong winds today. South and southwesterly winds will be capable of gusts between 40 and 50 mph, with some locales seeing isolated gusts of 55-60 mph. Frontal passage will force a quick wind shift to the west after 1800 hrs across western zones, pushing east through the overnight hours. While a slight improvement to humidity is expected, single digit minimum values will still reign supreme. The winds and low humidity are accompanied by continued unstable conditions, as an upper low makes its approach to the area. Showers and thunderstorms will be possible, particularly across the northwestern plateau and eastern plains. Save for storms close to the NM/TX border, expect storms to trend drier, creating the risk for dry lightning. Storms near the border will have the potential of becoming strong to severe. All cells that develop will be capable of sudden and erratic downburst winds. Overnight recovery will be once again poor to moderate, with some areas of the high terrain recovering to good. Another day of critical fire weather conditions is on tap Thursday for most areas, where breezy to windy west winds will combine with low humidity, though conditions will not be as unfavorable as Wednesday. A cooler and wetter scenario is anticipated this weekend into early next week. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 75 42 74 42 / 20 20 0 0 Dulce........................... 75 36 69 34 / 10 30 10 5 Cuba............................ 73 36 69 38 / 10 30 0 0 Gallup.......................... 66 33 71 34 / 20 10 0 0 El Morro........................ 63 33 66 37 / 20 20 0 0 Grants.......................... 71 33 72 32 / 10 10 0 0 Quemado......................... 66 34 69 37 / 10 5 0 0 Magdalena....................... 73 41 72 44 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 67 36 68 39 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 68 28 75 32 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 74 38 78 44 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 69 32 61 32 / 10 40 20 10 Los Alamos...................... 73 43 68 45 / 0 20 5 0 Pecos........................... 75 39 68 43 / 10 10 5 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 71 38 59 38 / 20 30 30 10 Red River....................... 63 32 52 32 / 20 40 40 20 Angel Fire...................... 69 29 58 29 / 20 30 20 10 Taos............................ 77 35 67 33 / 10 20 10 10 Mora............................ 73 37 66 39 / 20 10 10 5 Espanola........................ 82 42 76 42 / 5 20 5 0 Santa Fe........................ 76 41 69 45 / 5 20 5 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 78 39 73 40 / 0 10 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 78 48 75 53 / 0 10 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 79 46 77 50 / 0 5 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 82 44 80 47 / 0 5 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 81 46 78 48 / 0 5 0 0 Belen........................... 81 43 80 45 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 81 46 78 48 / 0 10 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 82 41 80 43 / 0 5 0 0 Corrales........................ 81 46 78 48 / 0 10 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 81 42 80 43 / 0 5 0 0 Placitas........................ 79 46 75 49 / 0 10 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 80 46 77 49 / 0 10 0 0 Socorro......................... 81 46 82 47 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 73 41 69 46 / 0 10 0 0 Tijeras......................... 75 42 72 46 / 0 5 0 0 Edgewood........................ 75 41 71 43 / 0 5 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 77 36 73 37 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 75 37 69 41 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 75 40 72 44 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 75 40 72 44 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 79 45 76 50 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 73 41 69 45 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 76 40 67 38 / 50 30 20 10 Raton........................... 79 39 71 38 / 30 20 20 10 Springer........................ 80 41 73 40 / 30 20 10 5 Las Vegas....................... 77 39 71 40 / 20 5 5 0 Clayton......................... 83 48 76 45 / 50 50 5 10 Roy............................. 80 43 74 44 / 30 20 5 0 Conchas......................... 89 49 82 47 / 20 20 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 86 47 79 46 / 10 5 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 88 49 82 48 / 30 30 0 0 Clovis.......................... 88 47 82 48 / 30 30 0 0 Portales........................ 90 48 83 48 / 20 30 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 90 47 82 48 / 10 5 0 0 Roswell......................... 94 52 88 52 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 86 47 79 50 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 80 42 76 46 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 10 PM MDT this evening for NMZ101-104>106- 109-120>126. Fire Weather Watch from Thursday afternoon through Thursday evening for NMZ101-104-106-121-123>126. Wind Advisory until 8 PM MDT this evening for NMZ207>241. && SHORT TERM...12 LONG TERM....11 AVIATION...44
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:12 UTC.
8 high wind, 6 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
The Clines Corners ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The Raton Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 68 mph from a thunderstorm gust.
A public weather station near Des Moines, NM measured a peak thunderstorm wind gust of 61 mph.
The Las Vegas Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
The Albuquerque Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
A mesonet station southwest of Vaughn measured a peak gust of 71 mph.
The Santa Fe Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The Tucumcari Airport ASOS measured a peak thunderstorm wind gust of 61 mph.
The Clines Corners ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
The Clayton Municipal Airpark ASOS measured a thunderstorm wind gust of 71 mph.
A mesonet station in western Guadalupe County measured a peak gust of 61 mph.
A trained spotter estimated a few nickel size hail stones fell at San Jon. Strong wind gusts also were ripping through their trees, but no damage was reported.
A mesonet station near Sedan, NM in Union County measured a peak thunderstorm wind gust of 60 mph.
A public weather station measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
The Clayton Municipal Airpark measured a second peak thunderstorm wind gust of 71 mph.
A trained spotter reported penny size hail just southwest of Clovis.
A social media post showed a photo of a measured 1 inch hail stone.
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: 1086493, 1086505, 1086507, 1086495, 1086491, 1086496, 1086479, 1086509, 1086494, 1086510, 1086497, 1086498, 1086512, 1086492, 1086513, 1086499, 1086501.