January brought another month of below normal precipitation to the region which resulted in worsening drought conditions for Grant and Sierra counties.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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 EPZ wrote it up.
January brought another month of below normal precipitation to the region which resulted in worsening drought conditions for Grant and Sierra counties.
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 El Paso, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 7, 10:57 AM MST, 1 hour 3 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM
1057 AM MST Tue Jan 7 2025
...New AVIATION...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 1046 AM MST Tue Jan 7 2025
- Cooling down continues, culminating in very chilly temperatures
Wednesday and Thursday. Dangerous wind chill temperatures
Tuesday night.
- Light snow is in the forecast for the desert lowlands and area
mountains Wednesday through Friday morning.
- Partial temperature recovery Saturday and Sunday with highs
back close to normal.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 138 AM MST Tue Jan 7 2025
An active complex weather pattern will continue to evolve through
the end of the work week over the Borderland. Satellite analysis
this morning shows high level clouds streaming over the area
associated a speed max over the northern Baja. Models this morning
show a short wave currently over the four corners will continue
diving south into Baja by Tuesday afternoon. The shortwave will
close off into a low late over northwest Mexico tonight into
early Wednesday morning allowing for modest moisture to advect
into the area. Latest analysis of CAMs showing some light snow
developing over mountains late this afternoon into this evening,
then more widespread light snow fall developing area wide by
Wednesday morning. A look at various PW models show max readings
up to just over a quarter of an inch with highest values in
mountain and higher terrain areas. Latest NBM 48 hour probability
of 1" or great of accumulating snow for El Paso at 45% with
probabilities in higher terrain of the Gila and Sacramento
Mountains greater than 80%, but still feel confident that lowland
regions will see snow fall through Friday morning.
Easterly flow will advect cold air into the area through Wednesday
with model guidance showing a low level jet setting up over parts
of Hudspeth and Otero counties. Breezy conditions overnight in the
area Tuesday into Wednesday morning with the west slopes of the
Franklin and Organ mountains seeing gusts up to 45 mph. This will
lead to dangerous wind chill temperatures in the area. The entire
CWA will see very low apparent temperatures Tuesday night into
Wednesday morning, thus a Cold Weather Advisory will continue.
Another short wave currently over the eastern Gulf of Alaska will
cut over the ridge and drop south through the front side of the
ridge currently over the eastern Pacific, reaching the four
corners by late Wednesday night. Models keep the wave open as
dives south into northern Chihuahua state of Mexico helping to
produce snow shows over the entire CWA Thursday afternoon into the
overnight hours. The shortwave will push east of the area by late
Friday morning allowing for snow showers to end Friday morning
with skies clearing out by Friday night. For Saturday through
early next week, persist north to northwest flow through Sunday,
then turning westerly for Monday and Tuesday and advecting warmer
air into the Borderland. Temperatures will slowly rebound through
early next week closer to normal but likely fall short.
&&
.AVIATION...
(18Z TAFS)
Issued at 1056 AM MST Tue Jan 7 2025
VFR conditions with SCT100 BKN-OVC250. Developing after 22Z west
of Deming...scattered BKN-OVC050 -SHSN. These conditions spreading
east over most of the remainder of the area by 06Z. Surface winds
east 8-12 knots. After 03Z across counties adjacent to the
International Border...winds increasing to east 15-20 knots with
gusts to 30 kts. All TAF sites have slight chance of a snow shower
by this evening, but not enough confidence to include in TAFs at
this time.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 138 AM MST Tue Jan 7 2025
Fire weather concerns will remain low through the Friday, with
light snow expected in all zones through Wednesday. Gusty winds
will develop Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, but with high
humidities will remain below elevated. Min RH values today will be
in the 25-31% range, then 25-40 for Wednesday, and above 40%
Thursday into Friday. Min RH will fall back into 20-30% range this
weekend. Vent rates will remain in the poor to fair range through
the weekend.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
El Paso 47 29 39 26 / 0 30 50 40
Sierra Blanca 42 21 32 20 / 0 20 60 40
Las Cruces 46 26 40 24 / 0 40 50 40
Alamogordo 45 21 42 21 / 10 40 40 20
Cloudcroft 33 8 27 14 / 10 50 40 20
Truth or Consequences 44 25 40 23 / 10 30 40 10
Silver City 43 24 39 21 / 20 40 60 40
Deming 46 24 40 20 / 10 40 60 40
Lordsburg 48 22 42 19 / 20 40 60 40
West El Paso Metro 46 29 39 28 / 0 30 60 40
Dell City 43 23 38 19 / 0 20 40 20
Fort Hancock 50 24 39 20 / 0 20 60 40
Loma Linda 37 21 31 22 / 0 20 50 30
Fabens 48 26 39 22 / 0 20 50 40
Santa Teresa 45 26 38 23 / 0 30 60 40
White Sands HQ 45 28 41 28 / 0 50 50 40
Jornada Range 45 23 41 23 / 10 40 50 30
Hatch 48 25 44 24 / 0 40 50 30
Columbus 48 26 39 22 / 10 30 60 40
Orogrande 43 25 39 23 / 0 40 50 20
Mayhill 33 11 32 17 / 10 40 40 20
Mescalero 39 11 36 15 / 10 50 40 20
Timberon 38 8 34 13 / 10 50 50 20
Winston 39 13 35 12 / 10 40 40 20
Hillsboro 44 21 40 22 / 10 40 50 30
Spaceport 46 23 43 21 / 0 30 30 20
Lake Roberts 47 21 41 19 / 30 40 60 30
Hurley 45 20 39 17 / 20 40 50 30
Cliff 51 16 51 11 / 20 50 50 30
Mule Creek 49 26 45 21 / 20 40 40 30
Faywood 43 23 39 22 / 20 40 50 30
Animas 51 22 41 19 / 20 40 60 40
Hachita 46 21 39 18 / 20 40 50 40
Antelope Wells 50 21 39 20 / 20 50 60 50
Cloverdale 52 22 34 21 / 20 50 70 50
&&
.EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...Winter Weather Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 5 AM MST
Friday for Eastern/Central El Paso County-Northern Hudspeth
Highlands/Hueco Mountains-Rio Grande Valley of Eastern El
Paso/Western Hudspeth Counties-Rio Grande Valley of Eastern
Hudspeth County-Salt Basin-Southern Hudspeth Highlands-
Western El Paso County.
Cold Weather Advisory from midnight tonight to 11 AM MST
Wednesday for Eastern/Central El Paso County-Northern
Hudspeth Highlands/Hueco Mountains-Rio Grande Valley of
Eastern El Paso/Western Hudspeth Counties-Rio Grande Valley
of Eastern Hudspeth County-Salt Basin-Southern Hudspeth
Highlands-Western El Paso County.
NM...Winter Weather Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 5 AM MST
Friday for Central Grant County/Silver City Area-East
Central Tularosa Basin/Alamogordo-East Slopes Sacramento
Mountains Below 7500 Feet-Eastern Black Range Foothills-
Lowlands of the Bootheel-Northern Dona Ana County-Otero
Mesa-Sierra County Lakes-Southeast Tularosa Basin-Southern
Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley-Southern Gila
Foothills/Mimbres Valley-Southwest Desert/Lower Gila River
Valley-Southwest Desert/Mimbres Basin-Uplands of the
Bootheel-Upper Gila River Valley-West Central Tularosa
Basin/White Sands-West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below
7500 Feet.
Cold Weather Advisory from midnight tonight to 11 AM MST
Wednesday for Central Grant County/Silver City Area-East
Central Tularosa Basin/Alamogordo-East Slopes Sacramento
Mountains Below 7500 Feet-Eastern Black Range Foothills-
Lowlands of the Bootheel-Northern Dona Ana County-Otero
Mesa-Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet-Sierra County
Lakes-Southeast Tularosa Basin-Southern Dona Ana
County/Mesilla Valley-Southern Gila Foothills/Mimbres
Valley-Southern Gila Region Highlands/Black Range-Southwest
Desert/Lower Gila River Valley-Southwest Desert/Mimbres
Basin-Uplands of the Bootheel-Upper Gila River Valley-West
Central Tularosa Basin/White Sands-West Slopes Sacramento
Mountains Below 7500 Feet.
Winter Weather Advisory from 10 PM this evening to 11 AM MST
Wednesday for Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet-Southern
Gila Region Highlands/Black Range.
&&
FORECASTER...17-HefnerThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
The zone started the month in Moderate(D1) drought and on January 7th was placed in Severe(D2) drought. The Cooperative Observer in Cliff reported 0.27 inches of precipitation which was 0.89 inches below normal.
The month started with the entire zone in Moderate(D1) drought and on January 7th was placed in Severe(D2) drought.
The zone transitioned from Moderate(D1) drought to Severe(D2) drought on January 7th. The White Signal Cooperative Observer reported 0.20 inches of precipitation which was 0.90 inches below normal.
The month started out with the entire zone in Moderate(D1) drought. On January 7th, the western half of the zone was placed in Severe(D2) drought.
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, January 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: 1229892, 1229894, 1229897, 1229900.