An upper level trough dove south over the Great Basin merging with an upper low off the coast of California on April 17th. Strong southwest winds moved over New Mexico ahead of these two upper level systems.
Every event with a place to put it; 21 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.
An upper level trough dove south over the Great Basin merging with an upper low off the coast of California on April 17th. Strong southwest winds moved over New Mexico ahead of these two upper level systems. Deep daytime mixing allowed the stronger winds to mix down to the surface resulting in high wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph across much of central and eastern New Mexico. These strong southwest winds combined with the very dry soils to kick up blowing dust across the aforementioned area. Fortunately, visibility in the blowing dust only dropped to around a mile. Winds tapered off during the evening hours at around sunset but remained pretty gusty across the southern high terrain.
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 17, 4:30 AM MST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 530 AM MDT Thu Apr 17 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 417 AM MDT Thu Apr 17 2025 - Dry, warm and windy conditions is on tap areawide today with high fire danger and areas of blowing dust. Warm and windy conditions with high fire danger returns for areas along and south of I-40 and along and east of I-25 on Friday. - Colder with precipitation chances favoring western and northern areas mid Friday through Saturday as a system moves across the state. A few to several inches of snow accumulation possible across the northern mountains on Saturday. - Warmer and dry weather returns early next week. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 217 AM MDT Thu Apr 17 2025 Strong winds with gusts of 45 to 65 mph combined with a very dry and warm airmass will result in a high risk of rapid fire spread areawide today. Cooler, especially western and northern areas, on Friday with lower elevation rain showers and mountain snow showers across western and far northern areas Friday. Temperatures cool down even more areawide on Saturday with rain and mountain snow showers for most as a storm crosses the state. Snowfall accumulations of 4 to 10 inches are expected across the northern mountains. Warmer and drier conditions return Sunday. Chances for diurnal showers and storms across the eastern plains come the middle of next week. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Friday) Issued at 217 AM MDT Thu Apr 17 2025 Southwest winds aloft are on the uptrend today in advance of two upper level troughs/lows, the first is a northern stream low dropping south from over the northern Great Basin and the second is a Pacific low offshore of SoCal. A lee side trough will deepen today in response to the approaching troughs, down to around 989mb across east central/southeast CO. Unusually warm temperatures and deep layer mixing of strong southwest winds aloft, coupled with the deepening lee side trough, will bring very windy conditions with areas of blowing dust by mid afternoon. The strongest winds are forecast across eastern and portions of central NM, where gusts up to 65mph are possible. The wind speed forecast trended up slightly from the previous forecast cycle and needed to upgraded Union and Quay Counties to a warning from an advisory. Otherwise, the wind highlights are on track. Will likely need Dust Advisories and Dust Storm Warnings by mid afternoon in the middle RGV and near Roswell at a minimum. Otherwise, highs will be well above average today and will likely challenge or exceed daily records at Roswell, Fort Sumner, Clovis and Tucumcari. The Pacific low is forecast to open up and phase with the northern stream low as it approaches the Four Corners on Friday. Strong southwest flow aloft will persist Friday, but focus further south across the state and result in very windy conditions across south central and southeast areas where additional wind highlights will likely be required. A cold front will precede the approaching upper low on Friday and bring some cooler temperatures and moisture to western NM. Precipitation chances will ramp up late Friday across north central/northwest NM and a few thunderstorms are possible. Snow will begin to accumulate above 8- 9kft Friday afternoon in the north central/northwest mountains and advisories may be required going into Friday night. The backdoor segment of the cold front will slide into far northeast NM Friday, but strong southwest winds ahead of it will prevent the front from making much progress. Another round of blowing dust is likely Friday afternoon across south central and southeast areas including Roswell. && .LONG TERM... (Friday night through Wednesday) Issued at 217 AM MDT Thu Apr 17 2025 An upper low at the base of a positively tilted trough across the Rockies and northern and central Great Plains will pivot east- southeast from the Utah and Arizona border to northwest NM Friday night into Saturday morning. Ahead of the low along the Pacific front, a band of rain and mountain snow will be ongoing across the Four Corners area Friday evening, spreading southeast turning into predominately snow across western and northern NM heading towards sunrise Saturday. Additionally, a backdoor front across very far northeast NM Friday will dive southeast across much of eastern NM Friday night into Saturday morning helping to increase surface moisture and aid in the development of mainly snow showers across northeast NM and the east slopes of Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Precip type will mainly be snow come Saturday morning because of 700 mb temperatures dropping to -4 to -7 deg C. Precip along the Pacific front could dissipate across the RGV along and south of I-40 mid to late Saturday morning due to westerly downslope flow south of the upper low circulation across northern NM. However, if the low ends up tracking a little further south than what guidance shows, this could bring some better rain and snow chances to the ABQ Metro. Surface forcing from the aforementioned fronts and upper level forcing ahead of the upper low will help light to moderate snow to ramp up across the northern mountains Saturday morning continuing through much of the day. Precip will spread across northeast and north central NM come the afternoon due to increasing upper level divergence ahead of the upper low over north central NM combining with surface upslope flow behind the backdoor front. With all the cloud cover and precip due to the storm overhead, temperatures will be well below average by 15 to 25 degrees for mid April. The system exits east into the southern Great Plains Saturday evening into Saturday night with precip quickly coming to an end from west to east. In the end, a tenth a quarter of an inch of liquid is expected across lower elevations in western NM and areas along and north of I- 40 with amounts of a quarter to three quarters of an inch across the higher terrain of northern NM. Snowfall accumulations look to be limited to the northern mountains with amounts of generally 4 to 10 inches with the higher end of this range being observed across the peaks. Much warmer temperatures and dry conditions return Sunday with northwest flow quickly turning into zonal flow in the wake of the upper low. Temperatures will be below average by only about 5 degrees on Sunday warming up above average by around 5 to 10 degrees come Tuesday. Return flow sets up across eastern NM late Monday into Tuesday bringing higher Gulf moisture into this part of the state. Dry westerly flow looks to push it east into Texas on Tuesday, but moisture looks to return across much of eastern NM on Wednesday behind a weak backdoor front. This higher moisture could set the stage for diurnal shower and storm chances come then. && .AVIATION... (12Z TAFS) Issued at 417 AM MDT Thu Apr 17 2025 VFR conditions prevail and are forecast to persist at most TAF sites, but MVFR conditions in blowing dust are likely at KABQ and KAEG this afternoon with strong west-southwest winds developing. An Airport Weather Warning will be required later for KABQ due to gusts exceeding 35kts. KROW will be impacted more by blowing dust, with LIFR conditions likely during the afternoon and early evening hours. Gusts to between 45-55kts are likely across much of central and eastern NM this afternoon. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 217 AM MDT Thu Apr 17 2025 ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS THROUGH FRIDAY, WITH EXTREMELY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS TODAY... A fire growth pattern will persist through Friday as an upper level trough/low approaches from the west. Today will be the windiest and warmest day of the two, with widespread critical fire weather conditions. Extremely critical fire weather conditions are likely across much of central and eastern NM today. A cold front associated with the approaching trough will bring cooler temperatures, higher humidity and chances for wetting precipitation to northwest NM Friday, but another round of critical fire weather conditions are forecast for much of central and portions of eastern NM. Much cooler conditions are forecast Saturday with good chances for wetting precipitation as the upper level trough/low moves east over the state. A warming/drying trend will begin Sunday and continue into early next week, with very low probabilities for critical fire weather conditions going through the middle of the week. Gulf moisture may invade the eastern plains early/mid next week and result in wetting storms, but low forecast confidence at this time. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 72 39 53 32 / 0 30 70 60 Dulce........................... 67 31 50 27 / 0 20 60 60 Cuba............................ 69 33 52 27 / 0 5 40 50 Gallup.......................... 68 31 52 22 / 0 10 50 70 El Morro........................ 66 31 53 26 / 0 0 30 60 Grants.......................... 71 32 57 24 / 0 0 20 50 Quemado......................... 69 31 58 27 / 0 0 20 50 Magdalena....................... 74 37 64 34 / 0 0 5 20 Datil........................... 69 33 58 30 / 0 0 5 30 Reserve......................... 71 32 62 26 / 0 0 0 40 Glenwood........................ 76 37 66 30 / 0 0 0 30 Chama........................... 61 28 45 26 / 0 10 80 60 Los Alamos...................... 70 37 55 34 / 0 0 30 40 Pecos........................... 71 37 58 30 / 0 0 20 30 Cerro/Questa.................... 65 32 52 28 / 0 0 30 60 Red River....................... 55 27 43 22 / 0 5 40 70 Angel Fire...................... 61 28 49 21 / 0 0 30 60 Taos............................ 69 31 56 26 / 0 0 20 50 Mora............................ 69 34 56 27 / 0 0 20 40 Espanola........................ 77 37 62 35 / 0 0 10 40 Santa Fe........................ 73 37 60 34 / 0 0 20 40 Santa Fe Airport................ 76 38 62 34 / 0 0 10 40 Albuquerque Foothills........... 77 44 66 41 / 0 0 10 30 Albuquerque Heights............. 80 44 68 39 / 0 0 10 30 Albuquerque Valley.............. 81 43 70 38 / 0 0 10 30 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 80 43 68 39 / 0 0 10 30 Belen........................... 84 42 72 37 / 0 0 0 20 Bernalillo...................... 81 43 68 39 / 0 0 10 30 Bosque Farms.................... 82 41 71 36 / 0 0 0 20 Corrales........................ 81 44 69 37 / 0 0 10 30 Los Lunas....................... 83 42 71 36 / 0 0 0 20 Placitas........................ 77 43 64 39 / 0 0 10 40 Rio Rancho...................... 80 43 68 39 / 0 0 10 30 Socorro......................... 84 44 74 41 / 0 0 0 10 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 73 39 61 34 / 0 0 10 30 Tijeras......................... 74 40 62 35 / 0 0 10 30 Edgewood........................ 75 39 64 33 / 0 0 10 30 Moriarty/Estancia............... 77 38 66 28 / 0 0 0 30 Clines Corners.................. 73 37 62 28 / 0 0 0 20 Mountainair..................... 75 40 65 33 / 0 0 0 20 Gran Quivira.................... 76 42 65 32 / 0 0 0 10 Carrizozo....................... 80 50 69 40 / 0 0 0 5 Ruidoso......................... 74 46 62 37 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 75 35 57 25 / 0 0 30 50 Raton........................... 77 35 60 27 / 0 0 20 50 Springer........................ 79 37 63 29 / 0 0 10 40 Las Vegas....................... 74 37 60 28 / 0 0 5 30 Clayton......................... 85 45 66 32 / 0 0 10 40 Roy............................. 80 42 64 31 / 0 0 0 30 Conchas......................... 89 49 74 37 / 0 0 0 20 Santa Rosa...................... 85 47 73 36 / 0 0 0 10 Tucumcari....................... 91 53 76 38 / 0 0 0 10 Clovis.......................... 89 55 78 40 / 0 0 0 5 Portales........................ 90 56 79 38 / 0 0 0 5 Fort Sumner..................... 88 53 78 38 / 0 0 0 5 Roswell......................... 95 58 85 47 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 87 52 75 40 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 83 50 72 40 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning from 10 AM this morning to 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ101-104>106-109-120>126. High Wind Warning from 11 AM this morning to 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ215-222>225-227>234-239-240. Wind Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ205-208-210>212-216-218>221-235>238-241. Red Flag Warning from noon to 7 PM MDT Friday for NMZ106-123>126. High Wind Warning until 9 PM MDT this evening for NMZ213-214-226. && SHORT TERM...11 LONG TERM....71 AVIATION...11 Please note: The SYNOPSIS section will be terminated by the end of April.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
20 high wind, 1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
The mesonet station at Nogal saw peak wind gusts surpassing the limits of their instrumentation of 67 mph. Additionally, the Sierra Blanca AWOS measured peak wind gusts of 67 mph.
A wunderground station near Holman measured peak wind gusts of 62 mph.
The Clines Corners ASOS measured peak wind gusts of 66 mph and peak sustained winds of 45 mph.
The weather station at Magdelena Ridge Observatory measured estimated peak wind gusts of 81 mph.
The mesonet station southeast of Vaughn saw peak wind gusts surpassing the limits of their instrumentation of 67 mph. Additionally, the station observed peak sustained winds of 48 mph. Additionally, peak wind gusts of 63 mph were observed at a mesonet station east of Vaughn and a peak wind gust of 60 mph was observed at the Santa Rosa Airport.
Two public weather stations near Estancia measured peak wind gusts of 61 and 60 mph, respectively.
The Las Vegas Municipal Airport measured peak wind gusts of 79 mph and peak sustained winds of 53 mph.
A wunderground station at Tequesquite Ranch measured peak sustained winds of 42 mph.
A wunderground station in the zone observed peak wind gusts of 67 mph.
The Tucumcari Regional Airport measured peak wind gusts of 61 mph and peak sustained winds of 45 mph.
The Little Burro mesonet on White Sands Missile Range measured peak wind gusts of 74 mph.
Several White Sands Missile Range mesonet station observed high wind gusts with a peak wind gust of 64 mph at the Stallion WIT Site.
The Dunken RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph and peak sustained winds of 40 mph.
The Raton Crews Regional Airport measured peak wind gusts of 73 mph and peak sustained winds of 47 mph.
The Roswell Air Center measured a peak wind gust of 64 mph.
The weather station at Kachina Peak in Taos Ski Valley observed a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
The mesonet station on White Sands Missile Range at Pole 616 observed peak wind gusts of 66 mph. Additionally, the mesonet station on White Sands Missile Range at Oscura Range Camp observed peak wind gusts of 62 mph.
The Valencia County emergency management confirmed a wildfire burning within the bosque along the west side of the Rio Grande on Bureau of Indian Affairs land during the afternoon of April 17th. Strong and very dry southwesterly winds creating critical fire weather conditions allowed the fire to jump the Rio Grande River and into Bosque Farms just south of the Valencia and Bernalillo County line. Evacuations were ordered in Bosque Farms between Truchas Trail and Cottonwood Drive west of West Bosque Loop. The fire caused major damage to three homes with two of those being destroyed. There are no reports of injuries or fatalities. Damage is an estimate based on number of homes destroyed.
The Albuquerque Sunport observed a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
A public weather station on the western outskirts of Santa Fe measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The NM DOT station on I-40 at State Road 6 measured a peak wind gust of 65 mph.
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: 1236230, 1236221, 1236227, 1236214, 1236236, 1236225, 1236233, 1236234, 1236224, 1236239, 1236228, 1236223, 1236242, 1236231, 1236240, 1236220, 1236229, 1238903, 1236222, 1236219, 1236210.