April saw below normal precipitation across much of the state, resulting in a significant expansion of Extreme Drought conditions, mainly along and west of the Rio Grande Valley. The below normal precipitation combined with several strong wind events allowed for the worsening drought conditions.
Every event with a place to put it; 28 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.
April saw below normal precipitation across much of the state, resulting in a significant expansion of Extreme Drought conditions, mainly along and west of the Rio Grande Valley. The below normal precipitation combined with several strong wind events allowed for the worsening drought conditions.
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 Mar 31, 11:11 PM MST, 49 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1211 AM MDT Tue Apr 1 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1155 PM MDT Mon Mar 31 2025 - Breezy to windy conditions are forecast each day through at least mid-week with Tuesday being the windiest day. There are moderate to high probabilities for damaging wind gusts of 65 mph and widespread areas of reduced visibility in blowing dust on Tuesday. - Mostly dry conditions and low humidity will lead to elevated to critical fire weather each day through Wednesday. This will increase the risk of rapid fire spread, particularly on Tuesday. - A storm system looks to move into the southwest United States late in the upcoming week, bringing greater chances for rain and accumulating mountain snow along with cooler temperatures. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 320 PM MDT Mon Mar 31 2025 Strong to damaging winds are highly likely Tuesday, especially along and east of the central mountain chain. Widespread areas of significant blowing dust are expected with the potential for near zero visibility near the most dust prone areas. Hazardous crosswinds are also expected for motorists. Along with strong winds, low humidities will promote the rapid growth and spread of any fires that start. Winds decrease Wednesday, but still remain breezy to windy, mainly across southern New Mexico. Temperatures fall below average on Wednesday and remain that way through the rest of the week. Precipitation chances increase this upcoming weekend, with low elevation rainfall and accumulating mountain snow. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Tuesday night) Issued at 320 PM MDT Mon Mar 31 2025 A 130kt jet rounding the base of a broad upper low circulation off of the Pacific NW will advance rapidly southeast overnight and move over northern NM Tuesday. The result will be increasing and strong winds throughout the column overnight into Tuesday, with a lee side trough forecast deepen to near 983mb over east central CO by Tuesday afternoon. Strong winds aloft will hit the peaks overnight and keep the lower boundary layer at least partially mixed, bringing well above average low temperatures. The latest GFS shows the 130kt jet at 300mb oriented over west central and north central NM by 21Z Tuesday. Needless to say, Tuesday will be very windy and dusty and have upgraded the High Wind Watch to a Warning and added several western zones to a Wind Advisory. We'll likely require a long-fused Dust Advisory for Tuesday that later shifts will evaluate and will also likely require a few Dust Storm Warnings that will be issued based on observed data. Winds will gradually diminish Tuesday evening and some of the advised/warned zones in the north and west will likely be canceled early. Weak cold air advection behind a Pacific cold front will bring low temperatures down to below average for most locales Tuesday night. && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday through Sunday) Issued at 320 PM MDT Mon Mar 31 2025 Upper level low continues to spin over the Intermountain West on Wednesday, focusing another corridor of elevated 50kt 700mb winds just south of our forecast area. Breezy to locally windy conditions favor the south central mountains and lower Rio Grande Valley, where Wind Advisories may be needed, though winds will be well below what is forecast for Tuesday. The upper low begins to wobble around UT and the Four Corners region, initially sending an embedded vorticity lobe into northwest NM Thursday, likely to initiate a few light rain and snow showers across the western and northern areas. The main focus of the long term period comes this weekend with increasing confidence in wetting precip being observed across a majority of the forecast area. The upper low continues to spin around the Four Corners region heading into the weekend, siphoning moisture from the Gulf and ejecting it over the region. There remains a bit of uncertainty with the track of the low, but current ensemble guidance favors a slow west to east movement across central to northern NM over Friday and Saturday. This would bring precipitation across a majority of the forecast area and especially favoring eastern NM. Another point of uncertainty is the timing and strength of a backdoor front moving into northeast NM sometime Saturday. Interaction between the upper low and surface backdoor front would lead to enhanced precipitation rates should the moisture influx be timed correctly with the passage of the front. This remains to be ironed out in subsequent model runs and forecast packages. Currently, NBM probabilities for >0.5in of liquid precipitation in 48 hours sits around 50% for eastern NM, especially the counties along the NM/TX border, lowering to about 20% near Albuquerque. In contrast, nearly the entire forecast area has at least a 50% chance for >0.1in of liquid precip. In terms of 48 hour snowfall, the northern mountains, Raton Pass, and south central mountains have a 50-70% chance of >4in, with higher confidence in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Raton Pass. Overall, there is moderate confidence in wetting precip and appreciable snowfall returning to the forecast area this weekend. Temperatures drop below average Wednesday, remaining that way through the rest of the week and through the weekend. High temperatures may get up to 15-25F below average as the weekend system impacts the region. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1155 PM MDT Mon Mar 31 2025 A powerful jet stream and associated Pacific cold front entering the region Tuesday will spread widespread strong winds across the region. West/southwest winds will first increase around the higher terrain tonight with LLWS and turbulence strengthening thru sunrise. Surface wind gusts will then quickly increase after 9am with gusts of 35-50KT likely at many terminals by 1pm. Widespread BLDU is very likely with local MVFR vsbys expected at dust prone locations. KROW will see IFR vsbys at times as has been observed with the past several wind events. An area of SHRA/SN will develop along the Pacific frontal boundary within northwestern NM while winds turn west/northwest. Brief MVFR cigs/vsbys are possible for KFMN and KGUP with this activity. Winds will then taper off in all areas after sunset although gusts will still be elevated to btwn 25-35KT along and east of the central mt chain. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 320 PM MDT Mon Mar 31 2025 ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE AREA THROUGH WEDNESDAY... Humidity recovery will be poor to fair across eastern and much of central NM tonight due to increasing winds and cloud cover holding low temperatures well above average. Tuesday will be very windy and dusty, with critical to extremely critical fire weather conditions across eastern and much of central NM. Only near-critical fire weather conditions are forecast Wednesday, partially due to lower wind speeds and partially due to improved humidity. A troughing pattern along the west coast will move east over the Intermountain West from Wednesday into the weekend, bringing higher humidity and chances for wetting precipitation that will peak Fri/Sat and favor eastern and northern portions of NM. Warming and drying is forecast beginning next Monday, with an upper level ridge strengthening over the Desert SW. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 44 54 24 52 / 20 40 5 30 Dulce........................... 33 50 17 49 / 40 60 10 20 Cuba............................ 36 54 20 47 / 5 20 10 30 Gallup.......................... 36 54 17 48 / 0 20 20 40 El Morro........................ 36 53 21 46 / 5 10 20 40 Grants.......................... 36 58 18 50 / 0 10 20 20 Quemado......................... 39 58 24 48 / 0 0 10 30 Magdalena....................... 44 64 29 53 / 0 0 5 10 Datil........................... 40 59 25 48 / 0 0 10 20 Reserve......................... 35 61 23 52 / 0 0 5 20 Glenwood........................ 37 65 29 57 / 0 0 0 20 Chama........................... 31 44 14 42 / 50 60 10 20 Los Alamos...................... 44 57 27 47 / 5 10 10 10 Pecos........................... 40 59 23 49 / 5 10 10 10 Cerro/Questa.................... 37 49 19 46 / 10 30 10 5 Red River....................... 32 39 15 37 / 10 40 10 10 Angel Fire...................... 32 46 16 42 / 10 30 10 5 Taos............................ 34 54 17 50 / 10 30 10 5 Mora............................ 37 56 22 49 / 5 10 10 5 Espanola........................ 43 65 26 55 / 5 10 10 5 Santa Fe........................ 43 60 25 49 / 5 10 10 20 Santa Fe Airport................ 42 63 25 53 / 5 5 10 10 Albuquerque Foothills........... 51 66 35 55 / 0 0 5 20 Albuquerque Heights............. 48 68 33 57 / 0 0 5 10 Albuquerque Valley.............. 46 70 32 59 / 0 0 5 10 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 47 67 32 57 / 0 0 10 10 Belen........................... 44 73 30 60 / 0 0 5 10 Bernalillo...................... 47 68 32 57 / 0 0 10 10 Bosque Farms.................... 42 71 29 59 / 0 0 5 10 Corrales........................ 45 68 31 58 / 0 0 10 10 Los Lunas....................... 42 71 29 59 / 0 0 5 10 Placitas........................ 49 65 33 53 / 0 0 10 20 Rio Rancho...................... 48 67 33 56 / 0 0 10 10 Socorro......................... 47 75 36 64 / 0 0 0 10 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 44 61 28 50 / 0 5 5 20 Tijeras......................... 46 64 30 52 / 0 5 5 20 Edgewood........................ 43 64 28 53 / 0 0 0 20 Moriarty/Estancia............... 36 66 22 54 / 0 0 0 10 Clines Corners.................. 39 61 24 50 / 0 0 0 5 Mountainair..................... 43 66 28 53 / 0 0 0 20 Gran Quivira.................... 43 68 28 54 / 0 0 0 10 Carrizozo....................... 50 71 35 57 / 0 0 0 10 Ruidoso......................... 46 66 32 50 / 0 0 0 10 Capulin......................... 39 64 23 51 / 0 0 0 0 Raton........................... 39 66 23 56 / 0 0 0 0 Springer........................ 41 67 23 56 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 40 61 22 52 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 44 73 32 60 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 43 70 28 56 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 49 77 33 63 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 46 74 33 59 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 49 81 35 64 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 47 82 38 66 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 48 83 37 66 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 47 80 35 63 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 51 85 43 70 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 50 76 37 62 / 0 0 0 5 Elk............................. 51 73 38 60 / 0 0 0 5 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 6 AM to 9 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ202-204>206- 209. Red Flag Warning from noon to 9 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ104-106- 123>126. High Wind Warning from noon to 9 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ207- 216>222-224-225-230>232-234>238-241. High Wind Warning from 6 AM to 9 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ208- 210>215-223-226>229-233-239-240. && SHORT TERM...11 LONG TERM....77 AVIATION...42 Please note: The SYNOPSIS section will be terminated on or about Friday, April 4.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
28 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme drought was introduced to the eastern third of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the southwestern tier of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the southern tier of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the majority of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the western and eastern edges of the zone.
Extreme drought conditions persisted across the zone.
Extreme drought conditions persisted across the zone.
Extreme drought conditions were introduced to the majority of the zone.
Extreme drought conditions were introduced to the majority of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the southern tier of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the northern tier of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the west-central tier of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the southern half of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the entire zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the western quarter zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to a vast majority of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the southern half of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the majority of the zone.
Severe drought was removed from the zone.
Severe drought conditions were removed from the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the southwestern half of the zone while severe drought persisted most other areas.
Extreme drought was expanded to the entire zone.
Extreme drought was expanded to nearly the entire zone.
Severe drought persisted southern and western portions of the zone while being removed from the northeastern portion of the zone.
Severe drought was removed from a majority of the zone.
Severe drought expanded to a majority of the zone.
Severe drought was introduced to the western half of the zone.
Severe drought persisted across the western section of the zone.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2025
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: 1242671, 1242672, 1242673, 1242674, 1242675, 1242676, 1242677, 1242678, 1242679, 1242681, 1242682, 1242683, 1242684, 1242686, 1242687, 1242688, 1242689, 1242691, 1242692, 1242693, 1245584, 1245585, 1245586, 1245587, 1245588, 1252825, 1252826, 1271883.