Deep daytime mixing allowed strong winds at the base of an upper low over the Great Plains to mix down to the surface across southern and eastern NM. This resulted in a brief high wind gust of 58 mph at the Roswell Air Center.
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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.
Deep daytime mixing allowed strong winds at the base of an upper low over the Great Plains to mix down to the surface across southern and eastern NM. This resulted in a brief high wind gust of 58 mph at the Roswell Air Center. The strong winds resulted in some blowing dust in the Hagerman area which led to an approximately 2 hour closure of State Highway 2. Strong winds and blowing dust subsided during the mid evening hours.
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 28, 10:58 AM MST, 1 hour 18 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...CORRECTED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1158 AM MDT Mon Apr 28 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1154 AM MDT Mon Apr 28 2025 - Critical fire weather today for the northeast highlands and southern mountains will increase the risk of rapid fire spread. - An active weather pattern will return by the middle to latter half of this week with increasing chances for showers and storms, cooler temperatures, gusty winds, and perhaps some high mountain snow across far northern New Mexico. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 322 AM MDT Mon Apr 28 2025 Breezy conditions today will contribute to another day of elevated to critical fire weather conditions, particularly for the Northeast Highlands and southern mountains. The rest of the week sees an active weather pattern with increased chances of precipitation and some high elevation snow, as well as a couple of backdoor fronts through eastern New Mexico. More widespread rain late in the week, with chances for thunderstorms for areas east of the central mountain chain on Friday and Saturday. Strong winds and critical fire weather return on Sunday as a Pacific storm system approaches from the west. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Tuesday) Issued at 322 AM MDT Mon Apr 28 2025 Westerly winds have slowly diminished overnight in the wake of a Pacific cold front. The new airmass is cooler but still very dry with surface dewpoints in the single digits in many areas. Flow aloft will remain stout today but considerably weaker compared to Sunday. Breezy to locally windy conditions are expected again but with high temperatures around 10F cooler than yesterday. High fire danger will continue over parts of northeast NM where the strongest winds combine with single digit humidity. Otherwise, a tranquil and breezy day is expected with sunny skies. An H5 low currently spiraling over western UT will drift south tonight and evolve into a trough axis stretched from southwest to northeast across the southern Rockies Tuesday. Meanwhile, a surface high building south down the Front Range will force a moist backdoor cold front into northeast NM after midnight. Another Pacific front associated with the upper wave approaching from the west will enter northwest NM Tuesday afternoon. Increasing moisture with both of these airmasses along with ascent along a 90kt speed max in the upper wave will help to develop scattered showers and storms over northern NM. The greatest chances for measurable rainfall will be after 3pm in the northern high terrain. Max temps will be cool for late April with many areas 5 to 10F below normal. && .LONG TERM... (Tuesday night through Sunday) Issued at 322 AM MDT Mon Apr 28 2025 Tuesday night through Wednesday, the upper level low will continue to swing east and through New Mexico. Snow levels will still be quite high with 700 mb temperatures still a couple degrees above freezing, but some light mountain snow will look to fall overnight along the peaks of the northern mountains. Guidance indicates that some parts of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains have about a 60% chance of receiving greater than an inch of snowfall. Aside from some breezy west winds resulting from lee-side surface troughing, most areas will see a break in the weather as the trough exits east on Wednesday. Chances for showers will mainly be limited to northeastern areas during the early afternoon (50% chance). Upper level flow will then become quasi-zonal, while a shortwave trough looks to develop another weak low over the Desert Southwest on Thursday. A backdoor cold front will swing through northeastern New Mexico on Thursday evening, pushing through the gaps of the central mountain chain by early Friday morning. Higher confidence for a stronger east canyon gap wind for the Albuquerque and Santa Fe metro areas, with some 35 kt gusts possible. Increased forcing along this front will also serve to produce some showers and an isolated thunderstorm or two. High temperatures on Friday look to be 10 to 15 degrees below normal for this time of year for areas east of the central highlands. Moist southeasterly flow from the Gulf will return for eastern areas on Friday and Saturday, leading to the redevelopment of the dryline farther west into New Mexico. As a result, greater confidence for more widespread showers and thunderstorms, particularly on Saturday when there looks to be deeper moisture, more instability, and more shear. There is currently about a 30% chance for showers to form as far west as the Rio Grande Valley on Saturday afternoon. All attention then turns to a deepening Pacific storm system in the Great Basin on Sunday. Strong southwest winds will return to the Land of Enchantment, increasing the threat of widespread critical fire weather condtions. As the storm crosses the intermountain west on Monday, it looks to bring another round of precipitation and below average temperatures for this time of year. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1154 AM MDT Mon Apr 28 2025 West-southwest winds continue to increase through the afternoon, with gusts of 25-35kts likely across eastern NM. A backdoor cold front begins to push southward through northeast NM after 06z, pushing up against the central mountain chain by 12-15z. Moderate confidence in northeast winds gusting to 20-25kts across eastern NM behind the front. A gusty east wind is likely (>50%) to occur at both KABQ and KSAF, with the potential for gusts up to 30kts after 12z. Low chance of MVFR to IFR ceilings north of KRTN after 06z. Cloud bases below 10,000ft may develop behind the backdoor front across northeast NM, extending as far south as KTCC near the end of the TAF period. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 322 AM MDT Mon Apr 28 2025 A very dry Pacific cold front that moved through NM overnight has shifted winds out of the west with only poor to fair recoveries in its wake. Another day of very low humidity is in store today but with lighter winds for most of the region. Northeast NM will still see southwest winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. A Red Flag Warning has been issued for the I-25 corridor from near Raton to Las Vegas where several hours of critical conditions will occur again today. Widespread elevated fire weather is expected for other parts of eastern NM that received rain over the weekend, as well as the lower Rio Grande Valley around Socorro. A backdoor cold front arriving tonight over northeast NM will surge southwest toward the central mt chain Tuesday. Much higher humidity with increasing cloud cover and cooler temps are likely. A few rain showers are possible along the central mt chain. Slight breezes and drier air is possible Wednesday followed by more unsettled weather Thursday through Saturday. The greatest chances for wetting rainfall appear more likely by Friday and Saturday. A return to critical fire weather is possible by Sunday with stronger southwest winds and very low humidity once again. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 63 36 67 38 / 0 0 10 5 Dulce........................... 61 26 65 28 / 0 0 20 10 Cuba............................ 62 33 64 34 / 0 0 20 20 Gallup.......................... 63 25 65 29 / 0 0 20 10 El Morro........................ 61 31 62 33 / 0 0 20 10 Grants.......................... 67 27 65 30 / 0 0 10 10 Quemado......................... 65 31 64 32 / 0 0 20 10 Magdalena....................... 70 39 67 39 / 0 0 10 5 Datil........................... 65 33 64 34 / 0 0 10 5 Reserve......................... 69 27 70 27 / 0 0 10 10 Glenwood........................ 73 33 74 34 / 0 0 5 0 Chama........................... 55 27 59 29 / 0 0 40 20 Los Alamos...................... 64 39 63 40 / 0 0 40 30 Pecos........................... 62 37 61 36 / 0 0 40 40 Cerro/Questa.................... 59 29 58 33 / 0 0 50 30 Red River....................... 55 25 51 26 / 0 0 70 40 Angel Fire...................... 56 24 53 20 / 0 0 60 40 Taos............................ 63 29 64 29 / 0 0 50 30 Mora............................ 62 32 58 32 / 0 0 50 40 Espanola........................ 69 36 71 37 / 0 0 30 30 Santa Fe........................ 62 38 64 39 / 0 0 40 40 Santa Fe Airport................ 66 38 68 37 / 0 0 30 30 Albuquerque Foothills........... 70 46 71 47 / 0 0 20 20 Albuquerque Heights............. 71 44 73 43 / 0 0 20 10 Albuquerque Valley.............. 73 42 75 37 / 0 0 10 10 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 71 44 73 44 / 0 0 10 10 Belen........................... 75 38 75 39 / 0 0 10 10 Bernalillo...................... 72 43 74 41 / 0 0 10 20 Bosque Farms.................... 73 38 75 37 / 0 0 10 10 Corrales........................ 73 43 74 42 / 0 0 10 20 Los Lunas....................... 73 39 75 39 / 0 0 10 10 Placitas........................ 69 44 69 44 / 0 0 20 20 Rio Rancho...................... 71 44 73 43 / 0 0 10 20 Socorro......................... 79 43 77 42 / 0 0 5 5 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 64 39 63 39 / 0 0 30 20 Tijeras......................... 68 35 67 40 / 0 0 30 20 Edgewood........................ 68 33 65 35 / 0 0 20 30 Moriarty/Estancia............... 69 33 66 31 / 0 0 20 30 Clines Corners.................. 64 36 61 35 / 0 0 20 30 Mountainair..................... 68 36 67 36 / 0 0 10 10 Gran Quivira.................... 68 38 68 37 / 0 0 10 10 Carrizozo....................... 72 43 72 42 / 0 0 5 5 Ruidoso......................... 66 42 66 37 / 0 0 5 10 Capulin......................... 65 32 55 33 / 0 0 30 30 Raton........................... 69 34 61 32 / 0 0 40 30 Springer........................ 71 34 63 34 / 0 0 30 30 Las Vegas....................... 65 34 60 35 / 0 0 40 40 Clayton......................... 75 39 59 40 / 0 0 20 40 Roy............................. 70 37 60 38 / 0 0 30 40 Conchas......................... 78 42 66 44 / 0 0 30 40 Santa Rosa...................... 76 41 66 42 / 0 0 20 40 Tucumcari....................... 79 43 66 45 / 0 0 20 50 Clovis.......................... 81 48 70 48 / 0 0 30 60 Portales........................ 83 47 72 47 / 0 0 20 60 Fort Sumner..................... 80 45 71 47 / 0 0 20 40 Roswell......................... 87 50 82 50 / 0 0 5 20 Picacho......................... 79 45 76 42 / 0 0 5 10 Elk............................. 76 43 74 40 / 0 0 5 10 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 6 PM MDT this evening for NMZ123. && SHORT TERM...42 LONG TERM....25 AVIATION...77 Please note: The SYNOPSIS section will be terminated by the end of April.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind, 1 dust storm. Local standard time, as filed.
The Roswell Air Center measured a 58 mph wind gust.
Near zero visibility from blowing dust resulted in the closure of State Highway 2 from mile marker 17, Hagerman to mile marker 21, 1 mile north of Greenfield.
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: 1238939, 1238941.