A shortwave moved over the central Rockies early on February 7th. Stronger westerly winds at the base of the trough moved across the northern mountains resulting in mountain wave activity.
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The episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.
A shortwave moved over the central Rockies early on February 7th. Stronger westerly winds at the base of the trough moved across the northern mountains resulting in mountain wave activity. Some of these mountain waves crashed to the surface early in the morning resulting in brief high wind gusts at personal weather stations across the east slopes of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains and far northeast highlands. Daytime mixing late in the morning allowed these higher winds to mix down to the surface resulting a few hours of high sustained winds and high wind gusts at Las Vegas Municipal Airport. Winds tapered off during the afternoon and 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 Feb 7, 3:32 AM MST, 38 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 332 AM MST Fri Feb 7 2025 ...New SYNOPSIS, SHORT TERM, LONG TERM, FIRE WEATHER... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 310 AM MST Fri Feb 7 2025 - Near record to record high temperatures are expected in many areas today, especially east. - Warm, dry, and windy conditions will result in critical fire weather across much of eastern and portions of west central NM today. - Strong winds with potentially dangerous gusts will prevail along and immediately east of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains today. - Colder, more February like, temperatures return to eastern NM and eventually central and western NM early to mid next week. Snow is also possible across northern areas, with potential for accumulations in the northern mountains. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 310 AM MST Fri Feb 7 2025 Unusually warm and dry conditions will persist today, especially across portions of eastern NM where strong westerly winds will prevail. A backdoor cold front will slide into the eastern plains Saturday and then progress gradually west to the central mountain chain by Sunday night, bringing cooler temperatures. A stronger backdoor front will bring even colder air to eastern NM on Tuesday. An unsettled weather pattern involving Pacific moisture and chances for showers will prevail from early to mid next week, with accumulating snow possible across the northern mountains and nearby highlands from Tuesday night through Wednesday night. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Saturday) Issued at 310 AM MST Fri Feb 7 2025 Water vapor imagery early this morning depicts drying along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains associated with the main downdraft of a mountain wave. High resolution cross sections for early this morning depict weakening wind speeds with height (aka. reverse shear) above the main downdraft to about 400 mb, then strengthening wind shear with height above that level, suggesting a breaking wave to at least some extent. Meanwhile, 700 mb winds along the east slopes of the Sangres, including the I-25 corridor from Las Vegas to Raton, are forecast to vary from 50-70 KT today. Interestingly, a surface trough in the lee of the Sangres is forecast to bottom out only around 1010 mb today, and this may have something to do with a surprisingly low MOS guidance wind speed forecast at both Las Vegas and Raton. That said, MOS guidance is notorious for missing high wind events associated with mountain waves along I-25. With this forecast package, we are expanding today's High Wind Warning to include the I-25 corridor from Las Vegas to Raton, and issuing a Wind Advisory for the area from Clines Corners to Vaughn, Santa Rosa, and Conchas Lake. Humidities will also drop into the single digits this afternoon across southern, central, and eastern parts of the forecast area, with fire weather concerns not only east of the central mountain chain, but also around Gallup. High temperatures this afternoon will again break records as readings climb around 11-23 degrees above 1991-2020 averages. The speed max aloft will persist over the Sangre de Cristo and northeast NM well into tonight, then weaken quickly as a shortwave trough finally exits east of the central Rockies. Some high wind speeds will probably linger into the evening and maybe even the late night hours along the upper east slopes of the Sangre de Cristos, but coverage is expected to be fairly localized at this time. In the wake of the shortwave trough, high temperatures will fall a few degrees across most of the forecast area for Saturday, except from 10-24 degrees over northeast areas. Despite the cooling, another round of record and near record warmth is forecast across western, central, and southern areas. && .LONG TERM... (Saturday night through Thursday) Issued at 310 AM MST Fri Feb 7 2025 A weak backdoor cold front will slosh around between the eastern highlands and plains from Saturday night through Sunday before advancing west to the central mountain chain Sunday night. High humidity in the frontal layer combined with weak upslope flow may bring fog/drizzle in addition to low stratus across eastern NM late Saturday night and more likely on Sunday night. Elsewhere across central/western NM, fairly dry conditions with above normal temperatures will persist through the weekend. Pacific moisture will ramp up Monday ahead of a weak upper level trough, resulting in increasing cloud cover and chances for showers, mainly in/near the northern mountains. A stronger backdoor cold front is forecast to move into eastern NM late Monday night and bring below normal temperatures through mid week. An upper level trough is forecast to swing southeast from over the Pacific NW to NM on Tue/Wed, bringing increasing chances for showers Tuesday night into Wednesday across western and northern NM. The atmosphere will be sufficiently cold for snow, especially in the northern mountains and across the northeast and central highlands where the backdoor cold front will provide added forcing. Snow accumulation is looking more likely from Tuesday night through Wednesday across northern NM and Winter Weather Advisories may be required. We'll get a break Thursday, but a more significant upper level trough may impact the area Friday with potential for snow across northern and western NM. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1039 PM MST Thu Feb 6 2025 Mostly clear skies and VFR conditions will continue to prevail through the TAF period. Widespread LLWS is expected tonight in most areas outside of sheltered valleys such as the Rio Grande. Mountain wave activity is likely along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo mountains between 09Z and 15Z as well. Gusty southwest to west winds develop tomorrow, with the strongest gusts (up to 55KT) along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo mountains. Winds aloft remain strong tomorrow, resulting in another round of widespread LLWS after the sun sets. There is a batch of low stratus in the TX Panhandle that is making its way west tonight. There is a very low chance (~10%) that it brings IFR visibility to KCAO, but impacts are not expected at any TAF sites. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 310 AM MST Fri Feb 7 2025 ...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT TODAY FOR NORTHEAST AND EAST CENTRAL AREAS, AS WELL AS THE GALLUP AREA... A mountain wave developing early this morning will continue today along and just east of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Windy conditions will also extend south and east of there with gusts along and east of the central mountain chain generally reaching from 35 to 55 mph, except up to 70 mph along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristos. A broad shortwave trough crossing the central Rockies won't fully exit until Saturday morning, so winds over mountain peaks and upper east slopes of the Sangres will remain quite strong tonight. It will also be very dry today with minimum humidities dropping into the single digits, except for teens across northwest areas. Further, record breaking warmth will continue today. So, we will continue the Red Flag Warning east of the central mountain chain today. With ample atmospheric mixing, winds are now also forecast to reach 45 mph around Gallup today, where another Red Flag Warning will be issued. Another round of record breaking warmth is forecast for Saturday, except northeast and east central where a backdoor cold front will drop temperatures around 10-24 degrees. The first half of the coming week will feature cooling temperatures. Precip chances will also return to the forecast as a longwave trough deepening over the western US draws Gulf moisture and a moist backdoor cold front into the state. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 64 32 59 31 / 0 5 0 0 Dulce........................... 60 22 56 21 / 0 10 10 0 Cuba............................ 64 27 60 29 / 0 0 0 0 Gallup.......................... 65 24 63 23 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 64 32 61 31 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 69 26 66 24 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 67 31 67 31 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 69 39 70 40 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 65 34 66 34 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 69 24 71 25 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 71 35 73 36 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 55 24 50 24 / 0 10 10 0 Los Alamos...................... 63 34 58 36 / 0 0 0 0 Pecos........................... 63 34 59 34 / 0 0 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 58 32 54 33 / 0 5 0 0 Red River....................... 49 29 45 29 / 0 0 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 55 25 51 23 / 0 0 0 0 Taos............................ 62 25 57 26 / 0 0 0 0 Mora............................ 65 34 62 30 / 0 0 0 0 Espanola........................ 69 26 65 31 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 63 33 59 36 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 65 30 62 32 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 66 41 66 44 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 68 36 68 39 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 70 34 71 36 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 69 35 69 38 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 72 29 72 31 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 69 34 68 37 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 71 30 71 32 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 69 35 70 37 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 71 32 70 34 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 66 38 63 40 / 0 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 69 35 69 37 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 76 35 76 38 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 63 35 61 38 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 64 37 62 39 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 66 32 64 34 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 68 27 66 28 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 65 32 62 29 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 67 36 66 36 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 68 33 66 34 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 72 40 71 42 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 67 44 67 44 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 69 34 50 19 / 0 0 0 0 Raton........................... 72 34 61 21 / 0 0 0 0 Springer........................ 73 33 62 21 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 69 36 64 26 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 74 37 50 20 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 74 38 58 21 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 78 43 68 26 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 76 41 72 26 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 79 42 67 24 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 79 41 76 29 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 80 40 76 28 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 80 40 77 28 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 85 42 84 38 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 80 46 80 39 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 77 47 78 43 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 8 AM this morning to 5 PM MST this afternoon for NMZ223-232-233. Red Flag Warning from 9 AM this morning to 7 PM MST this evening for NMZ104-123-125-126. Red Flag Warning from noon today to 4 PM MST this afternoon for NMZ105. High Wind Warning until 5 PM MST this afternoon for NMZ215-227. High Wind Warning until 5 PM MST this afternoon for NMZ228-229. && SHORT TERM...44 LONG TERM....11 AVIATION...44
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A personal wunderground station at Upper Heck measured a high wind gust of 64 mph.
A personal wunderground station at Casa de Gavilan measured a high wind gust of 60 mph.
Peak wind gusts of 64 mph were observed at the Las Vegas Municipal Airport. Additionally, the site observed peak sustained winds of 42 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, 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: 1226745, 1226740, 1226746.