Another very dry month kept much of far west Texas in Severe(D2) to Exceptional(D4) drought in December.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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 EPZ wrote it up.
Another very dry month kept much of far west Texas in Severe(D2) to Exceptional(D4) drought in December.
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 El Paso, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Nov 30, 10:16 PM MST, 1 hour 44 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 1016 PM MST Sat Nov 30 2024 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1015 PM MST Sat Nov 30 2024 - Above normal to well above normal temperatures expected through next weekend. - Dry and quiet conditions to persist through most of the forecast period. Slight chance for precipitation next weekend from Deming east next weekend. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1224 PM MST Sat Nov 30 2024 Dry and benign weather with light winds expected to continue through at the latter part of this week. Satellite this afternoon shows mid and high level clouds streaming over the area due to strong mid and high level west to northwest flow aloft. High pressure over the Borderland will slide eastward over northern Mexico then flatten by Monday with zonal flow expected through Monday night. By Tuesday, an upper low over the Pacific will begin to move eastward toward the coast of California. Both the deterministic GFS and ECMWF showing the low coming ashore somewhere in southern California sometime Tuesday night into early Wednesday morning. The deterministic model solutions then begin to divergence on the track of the upper low for next weekend into early next week. The track and intensity of the low will determine how much if any precipitation is seen over the Borderland. At this time, will keep slight chance pops in the forecast due to natural spread and solutions of deterministic and ensemble guidance for next weekend. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1015 PM MST Sat Nov 30 2024 VFR conditions will prevail through the period. Winds will be light variable, favoring NW through NE. Skies will range from SKC to FEW-SCT200-250 at all terminals. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 1224 PM MST Sat Nov 30 2024 Light winds and Min RH values at or well above 20% each afternoon with the expection of tomorrow, which could see some values in the upper teens. No critical fire weather concerns are expected through the forecast period as conditions are expected to remain above critical levels. Vent rates are expected to be poor to fair through at least next Friday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... El Paso 43 69 42 69 / 0 0 0 0 Sierra Blanca 39 67 37 62 / 0 0 0 0 Las Cruces 36 66 36 66 / 0 0 0 0 Alamogordo 33 65 34 64 / 0 0 0 0 Cloudcroft 28 51 28 49 / 0 0 0 0 Truth or Consequences 34 62 35 63 / 0 0 0 0 Silver City 38 65 39 63 / 0 0 0 0 Deming 34 67 36 67 / 0 0 0 0 Lordsburg 33 69 34 68 / 0 0 0 0 West El Paso Metro 43 67 43 67 / 0 0 0 0 Dell City 32 67 33 63 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Hancock 36 72 35 70 / 0 0 0 0 Loma Linda 41 61 40 60 / 0 0 0 0 Fabens 37 69 38 69 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Teresa 36 65 37 66 / 0 0 0 0 White Sands HQ 42 66 42 65 / 0 0 0 0 Jornada Range 32 65 32 64 / 0 0 0 0 Hatch 33 67 34 67 / 0 0 0 0 Columbus 37 66 38 66 / 0 0 0 0 Orogrande 35 62 36 63 / 0 0 0 0 Mayhill 31 64 29 59 / 0 0 0 0 Mescalero 30 60 30 59 / 0 0 0 0 Timberon 30 58 29 56 / 0 0 0 0 Winston 26 61 27 58 / 0 0 0 0 Hillsboro 33 64 34 63 / 0 0 0 0 Spaceport 31 64 32 63 / 0 0 0 0 Lake Roberts 34 67 35 65 / 0 0 0 0 Hurley 33 65 34 64 / 0 0 0 0 Cliff 23 73 24 73 / 0 0 0 0 Mule Creek 35 67 35 66 / 0 0 0 0 Faywood 36 64 37 63 / 0 0 0 0 Animas 34 71 34 69 / 0 0 0 0 Hachita 32 68 33 66 / 0 0 0 0 Antelope Wells 36 69 36 66 / 0 0 0 0 Cloverdale 43 68 41 65 / 0 0 0 0 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. NM...None. && FORECASTER...14-Bird
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
The entire zone remained in Severe(D2) drought in December.
The entire zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought for all areas except the far southeast that remained in Severe(D2) drought. The El Paso Airport received only a trace of precipitation which was 0.63 inches below normal.
The northern half of the zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought while the south remained in Severe(D2) drought.
Extreme(D3) drought continued throughout December for the entire zone.
The western half of the zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought while the east remained in Exceptional(D4) drought.
Severe(D2) drought continued for the entire zone in December. No precipitation was reported by the Tornillo Cooperative Observer which was 0.54 inches below normal.
The western half of the zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought while the east remained in Exceptional(D4) drought.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, December 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: 1225371, 1225372, 1225373, 1225374, 1225375, 1225376, 1225377.