A well organized upper level storm system brought a strong section of the jet stream over NM April 15th and 16th. A combination of mountain wave activity lee of mountain ridges and vertical mixing brought these strong winds to ground level over portions of central and eastern NM.
Every event with a place to put it; 9 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 well organized upper level storm system brought a strong section of the jet stream over NM April 15th and 16th. A combination of mountain wave activity lee of mountain ridges and vertical mixing brought these strong winds to ground level over portions of central and eastern NM. Peak gusts of 50 to 65 mph were common during April 15th, with a peak gust of 68 mph reported at the Roswell Airport. Blowing dust was again reported by the Roswell Airport ASOS reducing visibility to one statute mile. Thankfully, no impacts or damage was reported. The strongest observed gust was 81 mph at the Magdalena Ridge Observatory west of Socorro. Winds subsided during the overnight period before picking up again out of the northwest over parts of the northern mountains and adjacent highlands during the morning of April 16th. Gusts peaked to 58 to 66 mph at isolated spots from Los Alamos to parts of western Guadalupe County. Winds finally tapered off Tuesday afternoon.
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 15, 8:05 AM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 905 AM MDT Mon Apr 15 2024 ...New UPDATE... .UPDATE... Issued at 854 AM MDT Mon Apr 15 2024 Upgraded today's Wind Advisories for the Southwest Mountains and Chaves County Plains zones to a High Wind Warning given the propensity for these particular areas to over perform in similar patterns. Deep layer mixing this afternoon will effectively transfer momentum of stout winds aloft, bringing gusts of 50 kts to the sfc. These winds will have the capability of producing blowing dust which will significantly reduce visibility, making travel hazardous along area roadways, including US Hwy 285, US Hwy 60, and US Hwy 380. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 206 AM MDT Mon Apr 15 2024 A strong low pressure system is moving out of California and toward Colorado today, and this will create very windy conditions over most of northern and central New Mexico. Temperatures will also turn cooler today as an associated cold front sweeps across the Land of Enchantment. A few light rain and snow showers will even struggle to develop over the northern areas of the state today and tonight, but the very gusty southwest winds will pose bigger concerns with areas of blowing dust and even possible damage to trees, utility poles and vulnerable structures, particularly in the south central highlands. Drier conditions in portions of central New Mexico and most eastern areas of the state will create high fire danger with a dangerous threat for rapid fire spread along with the gusty winds. Winds will shift more northwesterly on Tuesday, remaining very strong and gusty with dry conditions and near to slightly above average temperatures. Breezy conditions will linger on Wednesday with a cold front expected to lower temperatures by a few degrees later in the week. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Tuesday) Issued at 206 AM MDT Mon Apr 15 2024 Today's forecast for strong to high winds and widespread critical to extreme fire weather remains on track. Satellite imagery shows a clear 554dm H5 upper low over far northwestern AZ while the LA, Tuscon and Las Vegas 00Z upper air soundings sampled a stout 100- 110kt jetmax at 250mb. This strong jetmax is still expected to scream over the south-central mountains with mountain wave activity and vertical mixing translating some of this wind potential to the surface. Vertical mixing and a deep 986mb lee side surface low over northeastern CO will spread these stronger winds across the rest of central and eastern NM this afternoon. The High Wind Warning and Wind Advisories remain in tact for today through this evening. Wind speeds are marginal for an advisory through far northeastern NM to include Union, Harding, and eastern San Miguel Counties, while they are just below high wind threshold at Roswell. Blowing dust will be a main concern near the usual source regions, notably Roswell. Isolated bouts of low visibility from brownouts in blowing dust will be possible. If caught in a dust storm, play it smart and pull off to the side of the highway and wait it out. Meanwhile, a sharp cool down is forecast for much of western and central NM thanks to a strong Pacific cold front. Highs in this area fall 10F to 15F from yesterday's readings. This front also brings a northwesterly wind shift that will shift focus over the northern mountains tonight into Tuesday morning. Strong northwest winds aloft and mountain wave activity will allow for high winds to impact parts of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and adjacent highlands. These winds shift southward over the Central Highlands along I-40 over Guadalupe and Torrance Counties, expanding to eastern Lincoln County late morning and through the afternoon. The High Wind Watch has been expanded to eastern Lincoln County as a result for Tuesday. Winds finally taper off toward the end of Tuesday. && .LONG TERM... (Tuesday night through Sunday) Issued at 206 AM MDT Mon Apr 15 2024 The upper low will continue to mover farther into the upper MidWest Tuesday night into Wednesday morning with a zonal flow prevailing over NM. Speeds aloft have been trending down with last evening's model runs advertising generally 15 to 25 kt at 700 mb, but a lee side surface low in southeastern CO could still deepen below 1000 mb, making a sufficient enough gradient to keep breezy to windy conditions at work. The highest surface gusts would be focused over the northeastern highlands where 35 to 40 mph will be possible, but most outside zones will tend to just observe breezy conditions (gusts of 25 mph or less). Temperatures would gain a few degrees Wednesday as pressure heights keep nudging upward. A Canadian low will move from Saskatchewan to Manitoba on Wednesday and toward far western Ontario by Thursday with a westerly polar jet streak rounding the base of this feature into the northern Rockies and Great Plains of the ConUS. At the surface, a cold front will lead a charge of surface high pressure sliding southward. This cooler air should invade northeastern NM by late Thursday. This could bring Union county just below temperature normalcy for mid April, while remaining zones tend to rise 5 to 10 degrees above average. The front will be poised to overtake the eastern half of the state by late Thursday night and early Friday morning with an easterly upslope wind developing and creating extensive low stratus. No appreciable precipitation is expected Thursday night, but some patchy drizzle or sprinkles cannot be entirely ruled out. The surface front is now modeled to retreat farther east on Friday with winds veering southerly in the plains and west southwesterly in remaining zones. A gentle shortwave trough near the Gulf of CA will draw in some mid level clouds to NM, but very dry boundary layer conditions will prevail. Temperatures on Friday will run near to just slightly below average in the far eastern tier of counties where the front retreats to, with the above normal readings continuing elsewhere. Return flow off of the Gulf of Mexico would be seeping over the TX coast and up the lower Rio Grande valley nearby Friday evening. High pressure at the surface will nudge westward Friday night into Saturday morning, reinforcing a much more moist boundary layer toward the central mountain chain of NM. More widespread low stratus, drizzle and/or light showers are expected overnight with a few thunderstorms possible, most likely during the day Saturday when more destabilization will be possible. The same song and dance should commence again Saturday night into Sunday morning, but the low level moisture should be able to advance farther west toward the Continental Divide. && .AVIATION... (12Z TAFS) Issued at 505 AM MDT Mon Apr 15 2024 Strong SW winds pick up in strength this morning with widespread gusts of 30 to 40 kts and peaking to 50 to 55 kts over the south- central mountains near KSRR. Blowing dust is likely to result near the typical source regions, and have included mention of this at KROW with a tempo for IFR vis this afternoon. SW winds shift W/NW with the passage of a cold front from west to east across the forecast area through the afternoon. SW winds begin to taper off this evening, with strong NW winds becoming dominant over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the adjacent northeastern and central highlands from KRTN-KAXX-KLVS late tonight into Tuesday morning. LLWS will also be a concern tonight into Tuesday morning for the same areas plus a few isolated spots elsewhere across the forecast area. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 206 AM MDT Mon Apr 15 2024 ...CRITICAL TO EXTREME FIRE WEATHER FOR CENTRAL AND EASTERN ZONES TODAY... Strong to potentially damaging southwest winds gusting 45 to 55 mph most areas and up to 65 mph through the south-central highlands and mountains will combine with high Haines and single-digit humidity to create widespread critical fire weather through the southeastern half of the forecast area. This will mainly focus in areas along and east of I-25 to include the Middle Rio Grande Valley. Portions of the central highlands and eastern plains zones will see extreme fire weather conditions from the high winds and abysmally dry conditions. The Red Flag Warning remains in tact for today. The upper level storm system responsible for these strong winds and dry conditions will track east over CO late day and tonight with winds shifting out of the northwest behind its associated Pacific cold front. These northwest winds pick up in intensity tonight through Tuesday morning and afternoon. Despite a cool down behind the cold front, low humidity below 15 percent is forecast again for central and eastern NM. The aforementioned strong northwesterly winds will combine with these dry conditions to produce another round of critical fire weather conditions through the central highlands, east-central plains and northeastern plains Tuesday afternoon. A weak backdoor front brings a quick northerly to easterly wind shift along the TX border Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. These winds quickly veer back out of the south by Wednesday afternoon. Southerly winds will allow for a warmup most areas, and another round of critically low humidity most areas. The breeziest to locally windiest conditions allowing for one more round of critical fire weather will focus through the northeastern highlands and plains Wednesday afternoon. Thursday sees zonal flow arrive over NM with a second backdoor front getting hung-up in northeastern NM before it surges south and westward to the east slopes of the central mountain chain Friday morning. A significant uptick in moisture and a cool down will push in behind this frontal boundary ending the threat of critical fire weather through eastern NM. Dry, warm, breezy conditions remain persistent through western and central NM however. This moisture boundary is favored to swash west and east each day through the weekend with a weak upper level feature capable of generating some showers and convective activity over eastern NM. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 58 36 69 37 / 20 10 0 0 Dulce........................... 57 26 67 29 / 10 20 0 0 Cuba............................ 56 32 64 34 / 10 10 0 0 Gallup.......................... 57 29 68 29 / 5 5 0 0 El Morro........................ 54 31 64 30 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 59 31 69 30 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 58 31 65 32 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 64 38 69 41 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 58 34 64 34 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 64 29 73 32 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 67 40 75 43 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 52 25 61 29 / 10 20 0 0 Los Alamos...................... 58 36 65 41 / 5 10 0 0 Pecos........................... 60 33 66 37 / 5 5 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 54 36 61 37 / 5 10 0 0 Red River....................... 51 25 58 28 / 5 10 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 53 24 57 25 / 5 20 0 0 Taos............................ 60 27 66 30 / 5 10 0 0 Mora............................ 61 33 65 34 / 5 5 0 0 Espanola........................ 67 37 73 38 / 5 10 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 61 35 67 40 / 5 5 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 64 35 70 38 / 5 5 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 66 43 72 46 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 68 41 74 47 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 71 40 76 39 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 68 41 73 43 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 73 40 77 40 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 69 41 75 42 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 72 39 76 39 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 69 41 75 42 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 72 41 76 40 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 64 41 70 43 / 0 5 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 68 41 74 43 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 78 44 80 45 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 58 38 64 41 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 62 38 67 41 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 64 38 68 37 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 67 36 70 32 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 64 34 65 36 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 67 37 68 38 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 68 37 68 38 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 73 43 73 46 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 64 41 65 38 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 68 36 68 34 / 0 0 0 0 Raton........................... 69 36 73 34 / 0 0 0 0 Springer........................ 70 38 73 35 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 64 36 70 36 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 76 44 75 42 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 71 41 74 40 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 78 45 81 42 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 74 44 75 40 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 80 45 80 42 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 82 46 79 45 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 86 47 81 44 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 81 46 80 43 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 87 48 85 48 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 78 45 76 46 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 76 42 75 44 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ104-106- 123>126. Red Flag Warning from 11 AM to 8 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ104-125- 126. Wind Advisory from noon today to 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ220>223-227>229. High Wind Warning until 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ208. High Wind Watch from late tonight through Tuesday afternoon for NMZ214-215-229. High Wind Warning until midnight MDT tonight for NMZ224>226- 238>240. Wind Advisory from noon today to midnight MDT tonight for NMZ233>237. High Wind Watch from Tuesday morning through Tuesday afternoon for NMZ223-233-237-239. && SHORT TERM...24 LONG TERM....52 AVIATION...24
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
9 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Sierra Blanca Airport observed a peak wind gust of 67 mph.
The Magdalena Ridge Observatory observed a peak wind gust of 81 mph.
The Roswell Airport observed a peak wind gust of 68 mph. Blowing dust also reduced visibility to one statute mile at the airport.
A mesonet station southeast of Vaughn observed a peak wind gust of 65 mph.
The Clines Corners ASOS observed a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The Santa Fe Airport observed a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
A public weather station southeast of Las Vegas observed a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The Los Alamos Airport measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
A mesonet station southeast of Vaughn, NM measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph. Another mesonet station measured a peak gust of 60 mph in northwestern Guadalupe County.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2024
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: 1162525, 1162522, 1162528, 1162527, 1162524, 1162523, 1162526, 1162619, 1162620.