Overall drought conditions continued to worsen and expand across northern and central NM due to above normal temperatures and well below normal precipitation. Several storms brought high winds, high fire danger and widespread blowing dust due to the antecedent dry conditions in place.
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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.
Overall drought conditions continued to worsen and expand across northern and central NM due to above normal temperatures and well below normal precipitation. Several storms brought high winds, high fire danger and widespread blowing dust due to the antecedent dry conditions in place. The high winds from these storms also helped play a role in worsening drought conditions across the region.
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 28, 10:42 PM MST, 1 hour 18 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1042 PM MST Fri Feb 28 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1035 PM MST Fri Feb 28 2025 - Light rain and snow showers Saturday night and Sunday morning across the higher terrain may briefly reduce visibility with localized slick travel possible through high mountain passes. - Strong west winds with low humidity across southern and eastern areas Sunday afternoon may lead to rapid fire spread and areas of blowing dust with low visibility and reduced air quality. - Very strong west/southwest winds Monday will be followed by very strong northwest winds Tuesday. Rapid fire spread may occur from any new starts with areas of blowing dust, low visibility, and reduced air quality. Light snow may also produce localized slick travel across the northern mountains Monday night and Tuesday. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 205 PM MST Fri Feb 28 2025 A spring-like weather pattern will impact the region through next week with several bouts of strong winds, dangerous fire weather, large temperatures swings, and perhaps even some rain and snow near the high terrain. A preview will arrive Saturday with breezy southwest winds, warm temperatures, and low humidity. Westerly winds will be much stronger on Sunday with gusts of 45 to 55 mph possible, especially for southern and eastern areas. Rapid fire spread may occur from any new fire starts. It will also trend cooler Sunday with a few rain and snow showers possible across northern New Mexico. Monday will be warmer and very windy again with low humidity and high fire danger. A few more rain and snow showers may slide across northern NM Monday night. Potentially damaging winds are then possible Tuesday with very dangerous fire weather. Blowing dust and reduced air quality will occur with each of these rounds of strong winds given the extended drought developing over the area. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Saturday night) Issued at 205 PM MST Fri Feb 28 2025 It's a very pleasant last day of meteorological winter across the Land of Enchantment today with mostly clear skies, light winds, and above normal temperatures. This will allow for near-optimal radiational cooling tonight, leading to the development of strong valley inversions. A shortwave ridge will move overhead tomorrow out ahead of a Pacific Low that will push into the Low desert of CA/AZ on Saturday afternoon. Temperatures climb even further on Saturday due to the ridging and a southerly breeze will be on the increase out ahead of the Low. Winds will be strongest in SW NM near the AZ border, but the Rio Grande Valley could get breezy as well since that area tends to outperform guidance with a southerly wind direction. Winds will remain strong through the night, even intensifying over the high terrain south of I-40 as the upper-level jet max swings through. Now, there is still uncertainty with regard to how deep this upper- low will be so the main corridor of winds could still pass to the south of the forecast area. While this Low won't be the wettest thing ever, there will be enough moisture near the center and along the back-side to generate some showers, beginning Saturday night. There is even a low chance of a quick burst of snow along the Cont. Divide around sunrise Sunday with the passage of a Pacific cold front, but impacts will be minor at most given the marginal temperatures and brevity of snowfall. && .LONG TERM... (Sunday through Thursday) Issued at 205 PM MST Fri Feb 28 2025 Noteworthy forecast changes have occurred for Sunday with regard to the timing and placement of the H5 wave crossing NM. 12Z ensembles with support from cluster analysis and variance trends are favoring a more southerly, slightly faster track. This places the core of the mid and upper level speed max farther south into southern NM Sunday afternoon. While MET/MAVMOS guidance is much stronger, this latest forecast decreases wind speeds Sunday and shifts the stronger core in line with the LREF maximum across Lincoln and Chaves counties. The NBM prob max wind gusts >50 mph is >90% along the Sacramento Mts and nearby highlands of southwest Chaves County, while much lower across much of eastern NM (where the MOS is much higher). Blowing dust from southern NM may be significant for Lincoln and Chaves counties. There is a secondary area of potential strong west winds along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mts Sunday where mt waves amplify as the H5 low ejects eastward into west TX. Max temps trended cooler as well which leads to higher humidity for northern and western NM and less areal coverage of critical fire weather. Monday is very likely to be much windier than Sunday for a larger area of NM as a deep upper level trough approaches from the Great Basin. Flow aloft will back to the southwest while the H3 speed max increases to near 150kt over southeast NM Monday. The latest NBM prob max wind gusts >50 mph are above 70% for nearly all of the high terrain and nearby highlands. Warmer temps are expected with a more unstable airmass leading to larger areas of blowing dust. Any new fire starts may spread rapidly just about anywhere. There is also a chance (25-50%) for rain/snow across the northern and western high terrain Monday night but QPF is very light at this time. Tuesday may also be very windy in the wake of the H5 trough with northwest wind gusts >50 mph again for central and eastern NM. Temps are likely to trend cooler with slightly higher humidity. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1035 PM MST Fri Feb 28 2025 A horizontal shear axis at around 18,000 ft. MSL is currently producing a high-level ceiling at KROW, per GOES IR satellite imagery and RAP model analyses. Confidence still very high in VFR prevailing at all TAF sites over the next 24 hours. Still only moderate confidence on a repeat of the gusty northerly drainage winds Saturday morning at KSAF. Window for these will be relatively short, as low-pressure aloft approaching from Arizona will begin driving southerly surface winds. Funneling up the Rio Grande Valley should locally enhance breezes at KABQ. Light showers are currently forecast to approach KGUP after 06Z Sunday, but confidence very low on these occurring before that time. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 205 PM MST Fri Feb 28 2025 ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FOR SOUTHERN AND EASTERN AREAS LATE MONDAY MORNING THROUGH MONDAY EVENING... Light winds and above normal temperatures prevail around the region today. Southerly winds will be on the increase tomorrow afternoon as a Pacific Low moves inland into the desert southwest. It will be very dry out west with 7-12% minimum afternoon RH, but winds are a tad too weak for critical conditions so did not issue a Red Flag Warning. Southwest to west winds increase Sunday in eastern areas as the center of the Low moves overhead. Models continue to trend slightly slower and deeper with this Low so the corridor of strongest winds has trended south and the magnitude of gusts has trended down as well. That being said, there is low to moderate confidence in critical fire weather conditions for the eastern plains and central highlands so decided to not issue a Fire Weather Watch for Sunday. Gusty winds are expected again on Monday as another trough deepens over the Great Basin. This will create more widespread critical fire weather conditions which may include almost the entire forecast area outside of the northern mountains. Confidence is highest for south- central and eastern areas where a Fire Weather Watch was issued. The fire weather pattern will likely continue into Tuesday as gusty northwest winds develop in the wake of an exiting low. Tuesday could end up being the windiest day of the period thanks to strong lee- cyclogenesis east of the Rockies. RH will likely be on the rise with cooler temperatures Tuesday afternoon so that is something that could limit the coverage of critical conditions. Precipitation will favor the northern mountains Sunday through Tuesday, but QPF amounts remain below 0.25" during this multi-day period. Lower elevations shouldn't expect much, with 0.1" at most. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 25 68 35 61 / 0 0 30 20 Dulce........................... 22 66 25 52 / 0 0 20 50 Cuba............................ 25 63 28 54 / 0 0 20 30 Gallup.......................... 16 70 24 57 / 0 0 30 10 El Morro........................ 29 65 26 54 / 0 0 40 10 Grants.......................... 19 67 26 56 / 0 0 30 10 Quemado......................... 27 67 27 56 / 0 0 20 10 Magdalena....................... 36 65 35 59 / 0 0 10 5 Datil........................... 31 65 29 56 / 0 0 10 5 Reserve......................... 21 71 23 62 / 0 0 20 5 Glenwood........................ 26 75 29 65 / 0 5 10 5 Chama........................... 24 59 25 45 / 0 0 20 50 Los Alamos...................... 35 60 35 54 / 0 0 20 30 Pecos........................... 29 62 33 53 / 0 0 20 20 Cerro/Questa.................... 29 60 31 50 / 0 0 10 20 Red River....................... 25 52 26 41 / 0 0 10 40 Angel Fire...................... 16 57 25 46 / 0 0 20 40 Taos............................ 21 63 28 54 / 0 0 5 20 Mora............................ 25 63 28 49 / 0 0 10 30 Espanola........................ 25 69 32 62 / 0 0 10 20 Santa Fe........................ 33 63 34 55 / 0 0 20 30 Santa Fe Airport................ 28 66 34 58 / 0 0 20 20 Albuquerque Foothills........... 40 68 39 63 / 0 0 20 20 Albuquerque Heights............. 35 70 38 64 / 0 0 10 10 Albuquerque Valley.............. 31 72 37 67 / 0 0 10 10 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 34 70 38 65 / 0 0 10 10 Belen........................... 26 72 35 67 / 0 0 10 10 Bernalillo...................... 30 71 37 65 / 0 0 10 20 Bosque Farms.................... 24 72 36 67 / 0 0 10 10 Corrales........................ 32 71 37 66 / 0 0 10 10 Los Lunas....................... 25 71 37 67 / 0 0 10 10 Placitas........................ 35 67 38 59 / 0 0 20 20 Rio Rancho...................... 34 70 37 65 / 0 0 10 10 Socorro......................... 35 74 38 70 / 0 0 5 5 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 33 64 34 55 / 0 0 20 20 Tijeras......................... 34 65 36 58 / 0 0 20 20 Edgewood........................ 29 66 33 56 / 0 0 10 10 Moriarty/Estancia............... 19 67 31 58 / 0 0 10 10 Clines Corners.................. 27 62 34 52 / 0 0 10 10 Mountainair..................... 29 67 36 57 / 0 0 10 10 Gran Quivira.................... 28 66 36 58 / 0 0 10 5 Carrizozo....................... 37 69 42 62 / 0 0 10 5 Ruidoso......................... 36 64 41 53 / 0 0 10 5 Capulin......................... 25 61 33 54 / 0 0 0 20 Raton........................... 22 65 29 57 / 0 0 0 20 Springer........................ 19 67 29 58 / 0 0 5 20 Las Vegas....................... 24 62 31 54 / 0 0 10 10 Clayton......................... 31 66 36 62 / 0 0 0 30 Roy............................. 25 62 35 59 / 0 0 5 20 Conchas......................... 29 70 37 66 / 0 0 10 20 Santa Rosa...................... 31 67 36 62 / 0 0 10 10 Tucumcari....................... 28 70 39 67 / 0 0 10 30 Clovis.......................... 34 71 40 68 / 0 0 10 20 Portales........................ 32 72 41 69 / 0 0 10 20 Fort Sumner..................... 30 70 37 67 / 0 0 10 10 Roswell......................... 36 74 43 75 / 0 0 5 5 Picacho......................... 35 70 40 66 / 0 0 5 0 Elk............................. 36 71 40 64 / 0 0 5 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Fire Weather Watch from Monday morning through Monday evening for NMZ106-109-124>126. && SHORT TERM...71 LONG TERM....42 AVIATION...53
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Extreme drought conditions were expanded to include the entire zone.
Extreme drought conditions were expanded to include the entire zone.
Severe drought conditions were introduced to the entire zone.
Severe drought conditions were introduced to the entire zone.
Extreme drought conditions introduced to the far southern portions of the zone.
Severe drought conditions were introduced to the far southern portion of the zone.
Severe drought conditions were introduced to a majority of the zone.
Severe drought conditions were introduced to the western part of the zone.
Severe drought conditions were introduced to southwestern areas of the zone.
Severe drought conditions were introduced to southern two thirds section of the zone.
Severe drought conditions persisted over the northeastern portion of the zone while extreme drought was introduced to the southern two-thirds of the zone.
Severe drought conditions in the far southern portions of the zone were expanded across the entire zone.
Extreme drought conditions were introduced to much of the zone with severe drought conditions continuing across the rest 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, March 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: 1234033, 1234034, 1234050, 1234051, 1234054, 1234055, 1234056, 1234057, 1234058, 1234059, 1234060, 1234061, 1234062.