A strong upper level high pressure remained over southern California and Nevada with higher moisture across central and eastern NM. Strong daytime heating resulted in the development of showers and storms across the higher terrain of central New Mexico around midday July 9th with storms slowly drifting to the southeast.
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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 upper level high pressure remained over southern California and Nevada with higher moisture across central and eastern NM. Strong daytime heating resulted in the development of showers and storms across the higher terrain of central New Mexico around midday July 9th with storms slowly drifting to the southeast. Storms over the Sacramento Mountains dropped 1 to 2 inches of rain on the South Fork and Salt Fire burn scars around Ruidoso. This resulted in catastrophic burn scar flash flooding and debris flows in the Rio Ruidoso, NM48, and U.S. Highway 70 from Alto east to Ruidoso Downs. The runoff and debris flow caused the Rio Ruidoso at Hollywood to quickly spike to 11.65 feet in the mid afternoon. A landspout was also observed in the upper canyon area west of downtown Ruidoso. Neighborhoods west of downtown Ruidoso were evacuated and 64 swift water rescues were conducted. Storms exited east of Ruidoso late in the afternoon with flash flooding subsiding in the evening. Elsewhere in the state, isolated severe storms produced quarter size hail at Chamizal in Socorro County and a mile east of Ute Park in Colfax County. Storms across central and eastern New Mexico dissipated overnight. Another round of storms developed across the central mountain chain midday July 10th. Multiple rounds of training storms over the Sacramento Mountains dropped a half inch to two inches across the Ruidoso area including the South Fork and Salt Fire burn scars. This resulted in a second consecutive day of catastrophic flash flooding, debris flows and road collapses in the same areas of Ruidoso. Several swift water rescues were conducted again along U.S. Highway 70. The Rio Ruidoso at Hollywood spiked to a record level of 12.51 feet from the runoff and debris flow off the burn scars. Storms and high flows in area creeks and streams across Ruidoso slowly decreased during the evening hours. Elsewhere, storms caused high wind gusts at the Little Burro mesonet on the White Sand Missile Range and at the Dunken Mesonet on the White Sands Missile Range. Storms across the state dissipated shortly after sunset. Another round of diurnal storms developed during the afternoon and evening hours on July 11th. Outflow winds from thunderstorms resulted in roof damage to a residence in Little Water in west central San Juan County.
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 Jul 9, 11:06 AM MST, 1 hour earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1206 PM MDT Tue Jul 9 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 159 AM MDT Tue Jul 9 2024 Storm coverage will increase today and Wednesday. Enough moisture and instability will be present for isolated severe storms as well as heavy rainfall each afternoon and evening favoring areas along and east of the Central Mountain Chain. Flash flooding is possible, and recent burn scars will be extremely susceptible. Showers and thunderstorms will focus across western and central New Mexico Thursday through the weekend. High temperatures will be near to slightly below normal for the next few days. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Wednesday) Issued at 159 AM MDT Tue Jul 9 2024 It's a much quieter night across northern and central NM with just some lingering mid to high level clouds from yesterday's convection across central areas. The 595 dam upper high remains over the CA Inland Empire and southern Nevada with northwest flow over NM. Higher moisture in the form of dewpoints in the mid to upper 40s have also made its way to the Arizona border. After a quiet morning under mostly clear skies, strong daytime heating along with the higher moisture will result in the development of showers and storms across the mountain ranges along and east of the Continental Divide. Far northwest and west central NM, including Farmington and Gallup, will remain dry due to deep daytime mixing tapping into the northwest flow aloft and pushing the higher moisture back east towards the Rio Grande Valley. Showers and storms over the higher terrain will be capable of producing locally heavy rainfall and flash flooding over recent burn scars including the ones surrounding Ruidoso and the HPCC burn scar across the east slopes of the central mountain chain. A Flash Flood Watch remains in effect for these two areas. Showers and storms will spread into lower elevations across parts of central and eastern NM come the evening. A few storms across the northeast plains extending south to the east slopes of the central mountain chain could become strong to severe due higher bulk and directional shear from the northwest flow aloft. A mesoscale surface high is expected to develop over northeast NM in the wake of the convection this evening. This mesohigh will help send another northeast to east canyon wind and moisture back to the Santa Fe and ABQ Metro areas come the evening hours just before sunset. Gust of up to 35 mph will be possible across eastern ABQ. The higher moisture and east wind will make it as far west as the Arizona border come sunrise Wednesday morning. Convection this afternoon and evening will slowly taper off Tuesday night with activity lingering longest across southeast NM. On Wednesday, the upper high strengthens to 597 dam and nudges a bit northeast to the Great Basin with northerly upper level flow over New Mexico. Additionally, a shortwave trough dives south over the upper Mississippi River Valley on the backside of Beryl's remnant circulation over the Great Lakes. Between the two synoptic features a piece of the subtropical jet moves over New Mexico with some diffluence aloft over the central mountain chain. This will result in an uptick in shower and storm activity across the central mountain chain and adjacent highlands Wednesday afternoon and evening with storm motion to the south. With a higher risk of flash flooding from multiple rounds of storms, a Flash Flood Watch has been issued for the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, South Central Mountains, and surrounding highland zones. WPC has put a slight risk for excessive rainfall (level 2 out of 4) across the south central highlands and mountains for Wednesday. Additionally, SPC has put a marginal risk for severe storms across south central NM and eastern NM Wednesday afternoon and evening due to the high directional shear in place (southerly surface winds with northerly flow aloft). Outflow from these storms will likely produce another east canyon wind for the ABQ metro Wednesday evening. && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday night through Monday) Issued at 159 AM MDT Tue Jul 9 2024 Showers and thunderstorms with heavy rainfall will continue into the evening Wednesday. Flash flooding will remain possible and unlike most days, it's possible that the Sacramento Mountains may receive multiple rounds of precipitation. Most of the precipitation will trail off by midnight. On Thursday, the focus for showers and thunderstorms will be over the high terrain of both western and central NM, with less emphasis across the eastern plains. Storms will move toward the S or SSW which will bring somewhat better chances for precip in the ABQ metro. There is still a good chance for precipitation over both the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon and Sacramento Mountain burn scars, though amounts may not be as great as they will be on Wednesday. On Friday, the upper level high that has been parked over Las Vegas, NV will shift over UT and CO. This will allow storm motion to change again, with most storms moving toward the southwest or west. This will also allow some mid level dry air to move into southeastern portions of the CWA. This is good news in that storms will focus across the northwest half of NM, and should allow for what will likely be a much needed break in the action across the Sacramento Mountain burn scars. That break should continue into Saturday as well. Thereafter, all eyes will be on an inverted trough moving northward from Old Mexico. Models are struggling with the timing of this feature and if it will even make it into NM. If it arrives early next week, the upper high will weaken and push northeastward, and moisture will return allowing for scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms with little to no storm motion. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1201 PM MDT Tue Jul 9 2024 Scattered showers and thunderstorms are forecast to develop over the high terrain of the central mountain chain and to a lesser extent over the Continental Divide in western New Mexico early this afternoon. Storms will then drift southeastward at 5 to 15 kt, filling into some nearby highlands and the northeastern plains through the early evening. Storms will produce heavy downpours with brief reductions in ceiling and visibility, and a few of the stronger cells will be capable of hail and damaging downburst winds. Storms will mostly come to an end before midnight, but a stray cell or two may linger into the early morning hours Wednesday. Even more coverage of storms is expected Wednesday afternoon. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 159 AM MDT Tue Jul 9 2024 No critical fire weather is expected across the forecast area through early next week. Through Wednesday, higher surface moisture will remain in place across central and eastern NM with drier air across far northwest and west central areas in the form of afternoon relative humidity values around 10 percent and dewpoints in the 30s. The higher moisture makes it way to these drier areas of the state late week due to the upper high over the Great Basin shifting east to the central Rockies. Diurnal showers and storms will be focused across central and eastern NM through Wednesday shifting to north central and western NM come Friday and this weekend. Winds will overall remain light with the one exception being from the diurnal storm activity. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 93 61 95 63 / 0 0 0 0 Dulce........................... 86 47 87 47 / 30 20 40 20 Cuba............................ 86 53 86 54 / 20 20 30 30 Gallup.......................... 92 50 93 53 / 5 0 5 0 El Morro........................ 87 55 88 56 / 20 20 20 10 Grants.......................... 89 54 90 55 / 20 20 20 10 Quemado......................... 89 56 91 57 / 30 30 40 20 Magdalena....................... 85 62 87 60 / 50 30 60 40 Datil........................... 85 57 86 57 / 50 50 50 20 Reserve......................... 91 52 94 53 / 50 20 60 20 Glenwood........................ 93 65 96 64 / 60 20 60 30 Chama........................... 78 46 77 47 / 50 30 60 30 Los Alamos...................... 80 59 80 59 / 50 30 80 30 Pecos........................... 81 54 79 55 / 50 30 90 30 Cerro/Questa.................... 78 44 80 42 / 60 60 80 30 Red River....................... 69 44 69 44 / 70 60 80 30 Angel Fire...................... 73 39 73 39 / 70 70 80 30 Taos............................ 82 48 84 49 / 50 40 60 20 Mora............................ 77 49 76 49 / 60 40 80 30 Espanola........................ 86 57 87 57 / 30 30 50 20 Santa Fe........................ 83 58 82 58 / 40 40 80 30 Santa Fe Airport................ 86 57 86 56 / 30 30 60 30 Albuquerque Foothills........... 90 64 89 63 / 30 30 50 30 Albuquerque Heights............. 91 64 90 64 / 20 20 30 30 Albuquerque Valley.............. 93 64 92 63 / 10 20 20 20 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 91 64 91 64 / 20 20 30 20 Belen........................... 94 62 94 61 / 20 30 30 20 Bernalillo...................... 92 63 91 63 / 20 20 30 20 Bosque Farms.................... 93 60 93 60 / 10 20 30 30 Corrales........................ 92 62 91 64 / 20 20 30 20 Los Lunas....................... 93 61 94 62 / 10 30 30 20 Placitas........................ 90 62 88 61 / 20 30 50 30 Rio Rancho...................... 91 64 91 64 / 20 20 30 20 Socorro......................... 93 66 95 64 / 30 30 50 30 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 84 58 82 57 / 30 40 60 30 Tijeras......................... 88 59 86 58 / 30 30 60 30 Edgewood........................ 87 57 84 54 / 30 40 60 30 Moriarty/Estancia............... 88 54 86 52 / 30 30 60 40 Clines Corners.................. 83 54 80 53 / 50 30 70 40 Mountainair..................... 86 56 85 54 / 40 30 60 40 Gran Quivira.................... 87 56 86 54 / 50 40 70 50 Carrizozo....................... 87 62 86 60 / 50 50 80 50 Ruidoso......................... 77 56 76 54 / 70 40 90 50 Capulin......................... 78 53 83 54 / 60 20 40 10 Raton........................... 83 52 86 53 / 60 20 40 10 Springer........................ 85 53 88 54 / 70 30 50 20 Las Vegas....................... 79 52 78 52 / 60 40 80 20 Clayton......................... 86 59 90 60 / 30 20 20 5 Roy............................. 81 57 84 56 / 60 40 50 20 Conchas......................... 90 61 90 61 / 40 50 40 30 Santa Rosa...................... 88 60 88 59 / 40 40 50 50 Tucumcari....................... 91 61 91 61 / 20 40 30 40 Clovis.......................... 88 64 89 63 / 10 40 40 40 Portales........................ 89 64 90 63 / 5 30 40 40 Fort Sumner..................... 90 63 90 62 / 20 60 40 50 Roswell......................... 94 69 95 67 / 10 20 50 30 Picacho......................... 86 62 83 60 / 50 30 70 40 Elk............................. 81 58 81 57 / 70 30 80 40 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch until 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ214-215-226. Flood Watch from Wednesday afternoon through Wednesday evening for NMZ214-215-222>224-226-229-239-240. && SHORT TERM...71 LONG TERM....34 AVIATION...52
The Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:04 UTC.
3 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 2 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
The Ruidoso emergency manager forwarded a video of a landspout in the Upper Canyon area. The time, length and width of landspout estimated based on derived radar products and video footage.
Heavy rainfall from thunderstorms on the South Fork and Salt Fire burn scars resulted in flash flooding and debris flows across the Upper Canyon and Brady Canyon neighborhoods along the Rio Ruidoso. A bridge on Main Road at McDaniel Road was washed from the debris flow and runoff. Video on social media showed the roof of a house along with other household debris sliding down the Rio Ruidoso upper canyon among fast moving water. Additionally, a woman was trapped in a tree due to high rushing water. Runoff from the rainfall moved downstream through the Rio Ruidoso exceeding its banks and impacting the Fern Trail and Paradise Canyon near downtown Ruidoso. Several car and water rescues were conducted in this area. The Riverside RV Park in Hollywood along the banks of the Rio Ruidoso was completely flooded out. Another video on social media showed the Rio Ruidoso at Ruidoso Downs Racetrack and Casino out of its banks flooding the horse racetrack. Additionally, crews with excavators are seen digging up dirt along the banks of the Rio Ruidoso at the racetrack cleaning up prior flash flood damage. Thankfully, no injuries or fatalities were reported from the catastrophic flash flooding. Property damage cost is an estimate.
A severe thunderstorm dropped quarter size hail in Ute Park.
A trained spotter reported 1 inch hail in Chamizal from a severe thunderstorm.
Multiple rounds of heavy rainfall from thunderstorms impacted the South Fork and Salt Fire burn scars for a second day in a row. This resulted in exacerbated flash flooding and debris flow in the same locations along the Rio Ruidoso. A house near downtown Ruidoso was reported to have been pushed 10 feet due to flash flooding. A busted water line and gas leak were also reported in the area. An SUV with 3 occupants inside floated down the Rio Ruidoso. Thankfully, all 3 occupants were rescued. The worst impacts from this episode of flash flooding and debris flow occurred on U.S. Highway 70 in Hollywood. The highway and its various intersections, including Mechem Drive and Sudderth Drive were shut down. Fast and heavy debris flow resulted in a road collapse near the Sudderth Dr. and U.S. Highway 70 intersection. The debris flowing down U.S. Highway 70 at one point included a large shipping container. Property damage cost is an estimate.
A mesonet at Dunken measured a wind gust of 68 mph from nearby thunderstorms.
The Little Burro mesonet on the White Sand Missile Range observed a peak wind gust of 64 mph from nearby thunderstorms.
Thunderstorm outflow winds partially removed the roof of a residence in Little Water, New Mexico. Time estimated based on limited radar data. Property damage cost estimated.
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 historyThe tornado archive for New Mexico, 2024Warnings in New Mexico, July 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: 1182643, 1182636, 1182650, 1182652, 1182646, 1182666, 1182674, 1182681.