A shortwave trough moved across the Four Corners region and central Rockies during the day Thursday. Deep boundary layer mixing across eastern New Mexico behind a dryline allowed stronger winds aloft to mix down to the surface, resulting in high wind gusts during the afternoon and early evening hours across the south central mountains extending northeast to northeast New Mexico.
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 shortwave trough moved across the Four Corners region and central Rockies during the day Thursday. Deep boundary layer mixing across eastern New Mexico behind a dryline allowed stronger winds aloft to mix down to the surface, resulting in high wind gusts during the afternoon and early evening hours across the south central mountains extending northeast to northeast New Mexico. Additionally, the cold front passage across western New Mexico during the evening hours resulted in one high wind gust at the Gallup Municipal Airport. Winds across the region tapered off around sunset.
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 25, 10:20 AM MST, 1 hour 55 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1120 AM MDT Thu Apr 25 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 312 AM MDT Thu Apr 25 2024 Windy to very windy conditions expected nearly areawide this afternoon. Winds combined with very low humidity will lead to critical fire weather conditions for much of northern and central New Mexico. Breezy to locally windy conditions will persist through Saturday. Cooler temperatures prevail Saturday and thunderstorms will be possible across portions of the central mountains and westward. Drier conditions take hold Sunday, save for isolated activity in the northern mountains, and temperatures will gradually warm up through midweek. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Friday) Issued at 312 AM MDT Thu Apr 25 2024 Low level moisture has surged back into eastern NM this morning with dewpoints just shy of 60 degrees. A batch of low clouds has developed across the northeast and additional low clouds and perhaps patchy fog will also be possible across Curry and Roosevelt counties later this morning. An elongated upper level low pressure system over southern NV and SoCal early this morning will lift northeastward over AZ today and cross CO this evening. A potent dry slot evident on satellite imagery is currently pushing into western NM and will continue to spread across the state. Additionally, a strong mid level jet will cross NM, with the strongest winds expected over eastern NM. With mixing heights above 600mb today, much of the momentum aloft will mix to the surface this afternoon with daytime heating. Previous shifts had already issued a High Wind Warning a few Wind Advisories across eastern NM. Have added a few more Wind Advisories west of the High Wind Warning and also upgraded Quay County from an advisory to a warning. Gusts between 50 and 60 mph will be common today east of the Central Mountain Chain. Elsewhere, gusts between 35 and 45 mph will be common. A Pacific cold front will race from west to east today, and some of the strongest wind gusts will be possible along the frontal boundary. With these strong winds, blowing dust will be a concern, especially around Chaves County where drought continues to plague the area. Though the wind and dust will be the big concerns today, the storm system will also bring some showers and thunderstorms to the northwest third or so of the area, to include the northern mountains. Wind gusts may be enhanced with any shower or thunderstorm activity this afternoon. Additionally, temperatures will cool behind the aforementioned cold front, thus, late today and especially overnight, 1 to 3 inches of snow will be possible across the highest peaks of the northern mountains. As the storm system moves away from NM, strong winds will continue overnight at mid levels. Models are indicating that a mountain wave will develop which would result in gusty and erratic wind gusts along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and perhaps southward toward Clines Corners and potentially as far east as I-25. Any mountain wave activity would diminish by mid morning Friday. Friday will feature breezy to windy conditions for most areas, but not as strong as today. Temperatures will be cooler, especially across eastern NM in the wake of the front. && .LONG TERM... (Friday night through Wednesday) Issued at 312 AM MDT Thu Apr 25 2024 An upper low swinging down from the Great Basin will organize and deepen Friday night as it pushes into NM. This will bring isolated to scattered rain showers with a slight chance of thunder through the night to northwestern NM, spreading in coverage to the northern mts and RGV by Saturday afternoon. Placement of the low will allow for strong winds to favor the southwest and south central mts and their adjacent highlands, as well as the southeast plains in the afternoon. Cooler temperatures will prevail in the wake of the low, with most locales seeing reductions of 5F to 10F compared to Friday's readings. The low is pulled north Saturday night, leaving the eastern plains wanting for precip. A baggy shortwave trough may offer some comfort to at least far northeast NM Saturday night into Sunday afternoon, with isolated to scattered showers, though little is expected in the arena of appreciable rainfall. Temperatures begin to warmup Sunday, starting a warming trend that will last through Tuesday. Dry conditions, mostly sunny skies, and near to above average temperatures prevail on Monday and Tuesday. Return flow increases on Wednesday, priming the eastern plains for a round of thunderstorms Wednesday afternoon. While still quite a ways out, ingredients look favorable for storms to have the potential to become strong to potentially severe. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1010 AM MDT Thu Apr 25 2024 VFR conditions prevail and are forecast to persist, except at KROW where IFR vsbys are possible in blowing dust later today. Otherwise, them main story will be strong southwest winds today, which will frequently gust to between 40-50kts at KLVS, KTCC and KROW. Will issue an Aviation Weather Warning for wind gusts to between 35-40kts at KABQ shortly. A few showers will impact northwest NM this afternoon and may bring strong/erratic wind gusts. Winds on Friday will be more westerly and not as strong as today's. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 312 AM MDT Thu Apr 25 2024 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FOR MUCH OF NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO ON THURSDAY AND A FIRE WEATHER WATCH REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR EASTERN AND PORTIONS OF CENTRAL NM ON FRIDAY... Critical fire weather conditions are expected today across central and eastern NM as well as the west central basin and range. A storm system will cross the Four Corners area, steering a dry slot and strong winds across much of NM. The strongest winds and lowest humidity values will be across eastern NM where several hours of single digit RH values are possible. The storm system will eject northeastward but breezy to windy conditions will persist on Friday. Therefore, critical fire weather conditions are once again possible for all of eastern NM as well as the middle Rio Grande Valley (particularly within Socorro County). Critical fire weather conditions will also be possible for the east central plains on Saturday as another storm system crosses the Four Corners region. Both storm systems will bring showers and thunderstorms to northwest third to half of the state. The second system will be stronger and more moist, thus will have better potential to bring some wetting precipitation. Critical fire weather conditions are not expected for Monday through Wednesday with less wind in store. However, it will remain dry with sub-15% humidity likely Monday and Tuesday areawide, and across western and central NM on Wednesday. Gulf moisture will return across eastern NM on Wednesday, which will bring a better chance for thunderstorms by the afternoon. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 69 40 66 41 / 20 20 20 50 Dulce........................... 67 33 62 34 / 20 30 20 60 Cuba............................ 65 34 63 34 / 30 20 10 40 Gallup.......................... 62 34 63 33 / 20 20 5 40 El Morro........................ 59 35 62 35 / 20 20 0 30 Grants.......................... 65 35 66 33 / 20 20 0 30 Quemado......................... 62 33 65 35 / 20 10 0 20 Magdalena....................... 68 40 68 40 / 0 0 0 5 Datil........................... 62 35 63 36 / 10 10 0 10 Reserve......................... 66 30 67 34 / 10 5 0 20 Glenwood........................ 70 41 71 44 / 5 5 0 10 Chama........................... 62 31 57 31 / 30 30 20 50 Los Alamos...................... 65 40 62 40 / 20 20 5 30 Pecos........................... 67 36 64 36 / 10 10 0 10 Cerro/Questa.................... 63 37 58 36 / 20 30 5 20 Red River....................... 60 31 55 29 / 30 30 10 20 Angel Fire...................... 62 30 55 27 / 20 30 5 10 Taos............................ 68 32 64 32 / 20 20 0 20 Mora............................ 67 35 63 33 / 10 20 0 10 Espanola........................ 73 40 70 41 / 10 20 5 20 Santa Fe........................ 68 39 65 40 / 10 20 0 20 Santa Fe Airport................ 71 38 69 39 / 10 10 0 20 Albuquerque Foothills........... 72 46 70 47 / 5 10 0 10 Albuquerque Heights............. 73 45 72 45 / 5 5 0 10 Albuquerque Valley.............. 75 43 74 45 / 5 5 0 10 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 74 44 73 45 / 5 5 0 10 Belen........................... 77 43 76 43 / 0 5 0 5 Bernalillo...................... 75 44 73 45 / 5 10 0 20 Bosque Farms.................... 76 42 74 43 / 5 5 0 10 Corrales........................ 75 44 74 44 / 5 5 0 10 Los Lunas....................... 76 42 75 43 / 5 5 0 10 Placitas........................ 71 44 69 45 / 5 10 0 20 Rio Rancho...................... 74 44 72 45 / 5 5 0 20 Socorro......................... 79 46 78 45 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 65 40 63 41 / 5 10 0 10 Tijeras......................... 69 41 66 42 / 5 10 0 10 Edgewood........................ 69 40 67 39 / 5 10 0 10 Moriarty/Estancia............... 72 39 69 36 / 0 5 0 5 Clines Corners.................. 68 37 65 36 / 0 5 0 5 Mountainair..................... 69 40 67 40 / 0 5 0 5 Gran Quivira.................... 70 38 67 39 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 74 44 71 48 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 67 40 64 42 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 73 39 69 37 / 0 0 5 0 Raton........................... 76 37 71 36 / 0 5 0 5 Springer........................ 76 39 71 37 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 70 39 67 37 / 0 5 0 5 Clayton......................... 81 46 76 44 / 5 0 0 0 Roy............................. 76 43 72 41 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 84 47 78 46 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 79 46 74 44 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 84 49 79 47 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 86 48 78 48 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 87 49 79 49 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 84 47 78 47 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 91 50 84 52 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 79 46 74 48 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 76 43 71 46 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ104-106-109- 121-123>126. High Wind Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for NMZ223>229- 231>234-237>240. Wind Advisory until 8 PM MDT this evening for NMZ212-215-220>222- 230-235-236. Fire Weather Watch from Friday morning through Friday evening for NMZ104-106-123>126. && SHORT TERM...34 LONG TERM....12 AVIATION...11
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A mesonet station in Nogal measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph. Additionally, the station at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport reported high sustained winds peaking at 46 mph and a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
The Pole 616 mesonet at White Sands Missile Range measured a wind gust of 58 mph.
A wunderground station south of Las Vegas measured high sustained winds peaking at 49 mph.
A wunderground station just northwest of Santa Rosa measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph and high sustained winds peaking at 40 mph.
A wunderground station just north of Corona measured high sustained winds peaking at 42 mph.
The ASOS at the Roswell Air Center measured a peak wind gust of 75 mph. This resulted in blowing dust across the area with visibility at the Roswell Air Center as low as 3 statute miles. There were no reports of road closures due to the blowing dust.
The ASOS at the Clayton Municipal Airport measured a wind gust of 60 mph.
The ASOS at the Gallup Municipal Airport measured a wind gust of 63 mph during a cold front passage.
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: 1164608, 1164606, 1164609, 1164611, 1164605, 1164612, 1164610, 1164604.