February 2025 was a well above normal warm and dry month across New Mexico. The western two-thirds of the state saw temperature anomalies in the warmest 10 percent on record with some spots seeing their warmest February on record.
Every event with a place to put it; 15 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.
February 2025 was a well above normal warm and dry month across New Mexico. The western two-thirds of the state saw temperature anomalies in the warmest 10 percent on record with some spots seeing their warmest February on record. This, alongside roughly two-thirds of the state see little to no precipitation exacerbated the return of moderate and severe drought across much of the western two-thirds of NM. Extreme drought was introduced into the far southwestern corner of Catron 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 Jan 31, 10:24 PM MST, 1 hour 36 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1024 PM MST Fri Jan 31 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1011 PM MST Fri Jan 31 2025 - Rapid warming trend will continue through early next week. Record high temperatures may be threatened in some areas. - Warm, dry, and breezy to windy conditions will create elevated fire weather concerns for portions of NM through early next week, especially Saturday and Wednesday over eastern NM. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 201 PM MST Fri Jan 31 2025 Weather conditions will become more spring-like as we progress through the weekend and into next week. Temperatures will trend warmer each day until reaching about 20 to 25 degrees above normal Monday through Wednesday. Record highs are possible. West winds will also increase over the region with very low humidity, thus elevating the risk for wildfires. Far northeast NM may experience more erratic temperature fluctuations as a weak cold front flirts with the area by the middle of next week. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Saturday night) Issued at 201 PM MST Fri Jan 31 2025 Clear skies will give way to increasing cirrus tonight while a weak lee-side surface trough develops. This will offer a slight reduction in radiational cooling while the light downsloping wind component in the eastern half of NM gives a hint of compressional warming. The lee-side surface trough will deepen on Saturday while the flow aloft turns more zonal and increases (700mb speeds reaching 25 to 45 kt). Breezy conditions will turn widespread Saturday afternoon as vertical mixing ensues, and windy conditions will impact the central highlands to the eastern plains where gusts of 25 to 40 mph will occasionally hit, especially along the I-40 corridor. Valley areas such as the San Juan basin and Rio Grande valley will stay mostly sheltered from the deeper mixing and gusty conditions Saturday. The west winds will cause temperatures to warm a few more degrees after today’s significant rebound, and this will put daytime highs 5-15 degrees above normal in most locations. Cirrus will thin out in western zones Saturday night, but otherwise a very similar scenario with lee-side troughing and milder overnight temperatures will prevail. && .LONG TERM... (Sunday through Thursday) Issued at 201 PM MST Fri Jan 31 2025 An unseasonably strong 589dm H5 high over the eastern Pacific will drift east thru early next week while breaking down across northern Mexico ahead of an approaching upper level trough. The synoptic pattern will generate quasi-zonal flow across NM Sunday thru Tuesday with warming temps, patchy cirrus, and breezy west winds over the high terrain and adjacent highlands of eastern NM. West winds may become strong by Wednesday as the aforementioned trough along the west coast ejects rapidly eastward across the northern Rockies. It will also be very warm for early February. The latest NAEFS 700mb temps are btwn +2 and +3 stdev above climo along with downslope flow into eastern NM. Max temps near 25F above normal are likely with several record Max T's possible, especially Monday thru Wednesday. The upper level ridge over northern Mexico will strengthen northward again late next week while more shortwaves shift east across the northern Rockies. This will keep temps above normal over NM with persistent breezy to windy conditions. Folks are encouraged to be mindful of fire safety as very low humidity with warm temps and stronger winds will elevate the risk for wildfires next week. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1011 PM MST Fri Jan 31 2025 VFR conditions prevail and are forecast to persist, but with the development of VFR cigs overnight in the form of high clouds. Winds will remain fairly light overnight, but pick up out of the southwest and get gusty across eastern NM Saturday afternoon with impacts to KLVS and KTCC. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 201 PM MST Fri Jan 31 2025 A stretch of warmer weather is getting underway with daytime temperatures starting to climb above normal today, and this trend will persist well into next week. Dry conditions will also prevail as a stout, but mostly unperturbed westerly jet remains relatively close to NM. Bouts of breezy to windy conditions will also develop each day as a lee-side surface trough seems to take up a semi- permanent residence over southeast CO and northeast NM. The dry westerly, and often downslope, wind will help warm temperatures while depleting moisture with daily bouts of widespread minimum humidity of 15-20 percent, and even lower on Wednesday and Friday of next week. This will cause marginal to elevated critical fire weather conditions to creep back into the forecast Saturday and each day onward with Wednesday having the potential for more definitive critical conditions due to the anticipated lower humidity and higher wind speeds that day. Smoke ventilation rates will get a boost as mixing heights and winds increase, but prescribed and any outdoor burning will need to be done with caution, especially from the central highlands to the east central plains (Clines Corners to Santa Rosa to Tucumcari and nearby areas). && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 21 55 27 61 / 0 0 0 0 Dulce........................... 10 52 17 58 / 0 0 0 0 Cuba............................ 18 54 26 61 / 0 0 0 0 Gallup.......................... 12 59 21 64 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 17 55 24 62 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 13 59 23 66 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 17 58 25 63 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 27 61 35 67 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 21 57 29 64 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 13 63 21 72 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 26 64 34 72 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 11 47 21 53 / 0 0 0 0 Los Alamos...................... 26 52 32 57 / 0 0 0 0 Pecos........................... 25 53 32 59 / 0 0 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 20 49 27 54 / 0 0 0 0 Red River....................... 12 42 21 50 / 0 0 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 4 45 18 51 / 0 0 0 0 Taos............................ 12 50 20 57 / 0 0 0 0 Mora............................ 23 56 31 62 / 0 0 0 0 Espanola........................ 18 56 24 64 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 25 51 30 58 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 23 54 28 60 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 30 55 34 63 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 29 57 35 65 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 23 59 29 67 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 26 57 32 65 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 20 63 27 68 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 25 57 31 66 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 20 60 26 68 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 25 58 31 66 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 21 61 26 68 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 27 55 33 61 / 0 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 26 57 31 66 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 26 65 34 71 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 26 53 34 59 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 27 53 34 63 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 22 54 31 62 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 13 58 24 64 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 22 54 30 60 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 23 57 33 63 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 23 55 30 63 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 27 59 35 66 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 26 56 36 65 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 23 57 31 64 / 0 0 0 0 Raton........................... 20 59 26 66 / 0 0 0 0 Springer........................ 17 61 26 69 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 24 59 31 67 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 31 67 38 74 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 23 61 34 71 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 28 67 36 76 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 28 65 41 71 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 29 68 38 77 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 30 67 40 76 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 28 68 38 77 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 24 68 37 77 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 28 71 37 78 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 29 68 40 77 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 28 66 39 78 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && SHORT TERM...52 LONG TERM....42 AVIATION...11
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
15 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe drought was introduced to the southern and eastern third of the zone.
Severe drought expanded across the western two-thirds of the zone.
Severe drought was introduced to the western two-thirds of the zone.
Severe drought was introduced to nearly all of the zone.
Severe drought was introduced to nearly all of the zone.
Severe drought was introduced to the western portion of the zone.
Severe drought expanded to nearly all of the zone, while extreme drought was introduced to the southern portion of the zone.
Severe and extreme drought was expanded to the rest of the zone.
Severe drought persisted over the northwest portion of the zone.
Severe drought conditions expanded across the southern and central portions of the zone.
Severe drought conditions persisted across the far southern border of the zone around Lake Arthur.
Severe drought conditions persisted across the southern portion of the zone.
Severe drought conditions persisted across a majority of the zone.
Severe drought conditions were introduced to the western half of the zone.
Extreme drought was introduced to the southern portion 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, February 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: 1231050, 1231051, 1231052, 1231053, 1231054, 1231055, 1231056, 1231057, 1231058, 1231059, 1231060, 1231061, 1231062, 1234032, 1245582.