A strong backdoor cold front surged through the gaps of the central mountain chain during the very early morning of May 13, 2023. High winds produced repeated gusts to 60 mph at the Albuquerque Sunport.
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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 backdoor cold front surged through the gaps of the central mountain chain during the very early morning of May 13, 2023. High winds produced repeated gusts to 60 mph at the Albuquerque Sunport. A tree was blown down in an Albuquerque neighborhood. Meanwhile, an unrelated brief landspout tornado was reported near Gallup by the acting fire chief of McKinley County. The landspout caused no 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 12, 10:39 AM MST, 1 hour 11 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1139 AM MDT Fri May 12 2023 ...New AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 221 AM MDT Fri May 12 2023 Quieter conditions are expected today amongst seasonable temperatures. A pattern change is expected this weekend into next week with multiple rounds of widespread showers and thunderstorms. East canyon winds will push through the gaps of the central mountains Friday night into Saturday morning, bringing strong gusts to the Albuquerque and Santa Fe metros. Temperatures will trend below to near normal Saturday through next week. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Saturday) Issued at 221 AM MDT Fri May 12 2023 Lighter winds and warmer temperatures are expected today but the quiet weather will be short lived. A cold front will surge into northeast NM in the afternoon, where low chances for showers and storms are possible. The front will progress down the eastern plains on gusty northeast winds this evening, and reach the Middle Rio Grande Valley on strong and gusty east winds later tonight. At the same time, chances for showers and storms east of the central mountain chain increase. The MAV guidance for KABQ has been slowly creeping higher each run, with the 00Z version indicating sustained 52 kts at 3am tonight. The ECS and MET are in good agreement in the mid 30 kt range. Hard to tell if there will be a convective element to the east wind, and would like to believe the MAV is the outlier. There will likely need to be a Wind Advisory for the Santa Fe area as well, therefore will leave the High Wind Watch as is for now. Saturday will be around 10-20 degrees cooler over the east, and most locales east of the Continental Divide will see below normal highs. The NAM12 suggests thunderstorms will favor areas near the Continental Divide Saturday afternoon, while portions of northeast NM may be too stable for more than an isolated cell or two. && .LONG TERM... (Saturday night through Thursday) Issued at 221 AM MDT Fri May 12 2023 A wet, convoluted pattern is on tap to dominate the long term forecast. A gaggle of upper level lows wobble around the western CONUS as a healthy tap of moisture filters in from the Gulf Saturday night into Sunday. East winds into the central valleys are likely to persist thanks to continued sfc pressure tightness, though not near to the extend as Friday night/Saturday morning's magnitudes. While rich moisture will remain in place Sunday afternoon, widespread cloud cover will temper instability. Rain showers will prevail across the eastern plains, while western NM remains more likely to see thunderstorms. Said stability will also work in part to limit rainfall rates. Nonetheless, care should be taken in and around already swollen rivers and recent burn scars. High pressure begins to take shape across the Desert Southwest on Tuesday. Storms will then fire off of recycled moisture, initially favoring the high terrain before maturing enough to wander off. This activity is anticipated to persist through late next week. Models seem to be having a tough time given the low amplitude pattern, as evident by lackluster run-to-run consistency. As such, did not stray far from NBM for PoPs. Temperatures will trend below to near normal, rising steadily each day past Monday. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1129 AM MDT Fri May 12 2023 VFR with widespread skc looks to hold true through 00Z today. An increasing cu field will develop over the continental divide, producing a few bkn cigs in that area in the afternoon as the exception. A potent cold front will swing through northeastern NM from CO, crossing the border near 22Z to 23Z. It will bring a nely wind shift to KLVS-KTCC by 02Z. It will bring high winds through the gaps of the central mtn chain to KABQ near 06Z. An Airport Weather Warning will be needed as peak gusts are forecast to reach 40 to 45 kts at the Sunport. Strong sely winds also expected at KSAF, gusting to 30kts. The strongest canyon winds will expand southward through the Manzanos, likely reaching KONM just past the midnight hour. These peak speeds will persist through sunrise before starting to taper off. The ely to sely windshift from the frontal passage will push through the Continental Divide as well, reaching KGUP and KFMN with lesser gusts of 15 to 20kts. Meanwhile, abundant low-level moisture will push into eastern NM providing increased light shra activity to KTCC-KCVN-KROW during the early morning hours. Bkn-ovc cigs will accompany this with MVFR looking likely with pockets of IFR as well through the end of the TAF period. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 221 AM MDT Fri May 12 2023 Warmer temperatures and localized elevated fire weather conditions this afternoon will give way to an unseasonably cool and more moist air mass over the region Saturday and into the middle of next week. Gusty northeast winds will spread down the eastern plains this evening and strong east winds are possible into the Rio Grande Valley later tonight and early Saturday. A few showers and storms over northeast NM this afternoon will become more widespread over the east tonight and storms Saturday will favor areas near the Continental Divide with widespread showers and a few storms possible over the eastern plains. Weather models suggest moisture will remain over the region through next week keeping showers and storms in the forecast, although there are differences in the details of pinpointing favored locales for wetting rain. Areas of poor ventilation will plague the north central and east Saturday through Monday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 78 48 80 51 / 0 5 20 30 Dulce........................... 73 36 73 41 / 5 5 50 40 Cuba............................ 72 44 68 43 / 0 0 30 40 Gallup.......................... 75 41 76 43 / 0 0 30 30 El Morro........................ 72 43 70 44 / 0 0 50 40 Grants.......................... 77 42 73 41 / 0 0 40 30 Quemado......................... 75 43 74 43 / 0 5 40 30 Magdalena....................... 76 47 69 47 / 0 0 40 40 Datil........................... 74 44 69 43 / 0 5 60 40 Reserve......................... 80 42 80 40 / 0 0 30 20 Glenwood........................ 83 50 85 50 / 0 0 30 20 Chama........................... 68 34 66 38 / 5 5 60 50 Los Alamos...................... 73 49 67 48 / 0 5 40 50 Pecos........................... 73 46 64 45 / 0 10 50 70 Cerro/Questa.................... 67 40 63 43 / 10 10 60 60 Red River....................... 60 35 54 37 / 20 20 80 70 Angel Fire...................... 64 34 57 36 / 10 20 80 80 Taos............................ 72 40 68 41 / 5 10 50 60 Mora............................ 71 41 61 42 / 5 20 60 80 Espanola........................ 79 48 75 48 / 0 5 40 50 Santa Fe........................ 74 49 67 47 / 0 10 50 60 Santa Fe Airport................ 77 48 70 46 / 0 10 40 60 Albuquerque Foothills........... 79 54 72 53 / 0 5 30 50 Albuquerque Heights............. 80 55 74 52 / 0 5 20 40 Albuquerque Valley.............. 82 54 76 51 / 0 5 20 40 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 81 54 75 52 / 0 5 30 40 Belen........................... 83 52 76 49 / 0 5 30 40 Bernalillo...................... 81 54 75 51 / 0 5 30 40 Bosque Farms.................... 83 52 76 48 / 0 5 20 40 Corrales........................ 81 53 75 51 / 0 5 30 40 Los Lunas....................... 83 52 76 49 / 0 5 30 40 Placitas........................ 78 53 71 52 / 0 5 30 50 Rio Rancho...................... 80 53 74 51 / 0 5 30 40 Socorro......................... 85 52 77 51 / 0 5 30 40 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 73 48 65 47 / 0 5 40 50 Tijeras......................... 75 50 68 47 / 0 5 30 50 Edgewood........................ 76 47 66 45 / 0 5 30 50 Moriarty/Estancia............... 78 45 67 42 / 0 10 30 50 Clines Corners.................. 74 44 63 43 / 0 10 40 60 Mountainair..................... 76 47 65 45 / 0 10 30 40 Gran Quivira.................... 77 47 64 45 / 0 10 30 40 Carrizozo....................... 82 52 68 50 / 0 20 40 40 Ruidoso......................... 74 46 59 44 / 0 30 60 40 Capulin......................... 68 40 61 44 / 10 20 40 80 Raton........................... 74 42 67 45 / 10 20 40 80 Springer........................ 76 45 68 47 / 10 20 50 80 Las Vegas....................... 75 43 63 44 / 0 20 50 70 Clayton......................... 75 48 68 49 / 5 10 40 90 Roy............................. 77 47 66 48 / 5 30 60 80 Conchas......................... 85 52 70 52 / 0 40 50 90 Santa Rosa...................... 84 51 66 49 / 0 50 50 80 Tucumcari....................... 86 53 68 52 / 0 50 60 90 Clovis.......................... 86 52 64 50 / 0 60 80 80 Portales........................ 88 53 66 51 / 0 60 80 80 Fort Sumner..................... 87 53 67 50 / 0 60 60 80 Roswell......................... 92 59 70 56 / 0 50 70 50 Picacho......................... 85 51 64 49 / 0 50 60 40 Elk............................. 81 48 62 45 / 0 40 60 30 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... High Wind Warning from 11 PM this evening to 11 AM MDT Saturday for NMZ219. Wind Advisory from 11 PM this evening to 11 AM MDT Saturday for NMZ220. && SHORT TERM...99 LONG TERM....12 AVIATION...24
The Albuquerque radar (KABX), 16 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:15 UTC.
1 high wind, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
The Albuquerque Sunport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 61 mph. These winds downed a tree in the Northeast Heights area of the Albuquerque metro area.
The acting fire chief of McKinley County sent a video of a brief landspout tornado near Gallup. It caused no damage.
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 historyThe tornado archive for New Mexico, 2023Warnings 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: 1087171, 1092360.