S. March 17th strengthening into a closed upper low over Colorado on March 18th.
Every event with a place to put it; 45 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.
Another unseasonably deep upper trough moved into the western U.S. March 17th strengthening into a closed upper low over Colorado on March 18th. Strong south to southwest winds ahead of the trough resulted in blowing dust across southern Chaves County resulting in the closure of the Roswell Relief route on the southwest side of town during the afternoon of March 17th. High wind gusts of 60 to 80 mph began across the high terrain during the morning hours of March 18th moving down to lower elevations late morning as the Pacific front moved through the state. The subsidence behind the front helped to mix down strong mid and upper-level winds at the base of the newly developed low down to the surface. A strong pressure gradient was also present across the state south of a 990 mb surface low over eastern Colorado. These high wind gusts resulted in downed trees at Corrales in the Albuquerque Metro and in southwest Chaves County and blew a roof off a workshop near San Mateo in the west central mountains. The high winds also resulted in widespread blowing dust and near zero visibility across the Rio Grande Valley and eastern NM. The near zero visibility from the blowing dust resulted in multi-vehicle crashes on I-25 between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, I-40 in Torrance and Guadalupe County, and on U.S. Highway 285 south of Roswell. U.S. Highway 54 in the Carrizozo area was shut down for several hours due to the near zero visibility from the blowing dust. High winds from a shower induced microburst resulted in some power outages in east central Albuquerque during the mid evening. Winds and blowing dust subsided during the late evening hours across central and southern New Mexico, but continued across far northeast New Mexico behind a backdoor front until the late morning hours of March 19th.
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 Mar 17, 1:27 PM MST, 1 hour 33 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 227 PM MDT Mon Mar 17 2025 ...New SYNOPSIS, SHORT TERM, LONG TERM, FIRE WEATHER... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 222 PM MDT Mon Mar 17 2025 - A potent spring storm impacts the region on Tuesday, bringing strong winds area wide, blowing dust to much of eastern and south central NM, and snow/blowing snow to the northern mountains. Critical fire weather conditions also return and will continue to promote rapid fire spread across much of eastern and central NM. - Strong winds will persist across far northeast NM through Wednesday morning. - Gusty winds and critical fire weather conditions are likely again Thursday and Friday across eastern NM. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 222 PM MDT Mon Mar 17 2025 Winds will trend up overnight ahead of a Pacific cold front, which will race east across the area tomorrow. Tuesday will be the windiest day of the work week with widespread blowing dust and the potential for damaging wind gusts, especially across central and eastern NM. Snow will likely fly in the northern mountains Tuesday, but only a couple inches of accumulation are expected. Winds will trend down behind the cold front Wednesday, with high temperatures forecast well below average. Thursday and Friday will be fairly typical spring-like days, with temperatures near average and breezy to locally windy conditions. Stronger winds will hit on Saturday, but decrease on Sunday. Temperatures over the weekend will be slightly above average. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Tuesday night) Issued at 222 PM MDT Mon Mar 17 2025 The synoptic setup features an upper level trough digging down the Pacific Coast with strengthening southwesterly flow aloft ahead of the trough moving into the desert southwest. Abundant scattered to broken cirrus is covering much of AZ and NM this afternoon as breezy to locally windy southerly to southwesterly winds reach much of the area. Surface winds will subside somewhat for most areas tonight as winds aloft strength in response to the approaching 100-120kt H3 jetmax. The leading nose of a 50-60kt H7 speedmax will bring high winds into the south-central mountains near Ruidoso late tonight and early Tuesday morning. These winds quickly expand to the southwest mountains and highlands in Catron and western Socorro Counties Tuesday morning, then expanding to lower elevation areas of central and eastern NM. Model guidance has stayed fairly consistent with max wind gusts reaching 45 to 60 most areas of central and eastern NM with peak gusts up to 70 mph possible. As mentioned in an earlier update, have leaned into high winds occurring along the Pacific cold front and immediately behind in the area of subsidence behind the front through areas along the Rio Grande Valley from the CO border southward and through the west-central highlands toward the Continental Divide between Gallup and Grants. Strong westerly winds will also be felt along the AZ border, but a bit weaker in comparison to areas further east. Another round of widespread blowing dust will result from these winds across central and eastern NM with visibilities commonly falling to 3 to 5 miles. This includes dust prone areas of the Rio Grande Valley from Socorro northward to Albuquerque and Santa Fe. There is a high probability of low to near visibility near dust prone areas, like the dust source region southwest of Roswell. Dust Advisories will be issued with this forecast package for areas along and south of I-40 from Moriarty eastward to the TX line. Winds subside Tuesday evening as the core of the H5 low ejects out over the Great Plains. Westerly to northwesterly winds persist well into Tuesday night through the highlands and portions of the east- central plains and northeastern plains. Winds will be northwesterly to northerly through northeastern NM behind the backdoor portion of the cold front persisting the longest into Wednesday morning. Winter weather with this system will be limited to the high terrain of the northern mountains, notably a few inches, 3 to 5 inches, atop the peaks of the Tusas Mountains. Minor impacts from blowing snow will be limited to the U.S. 64 corridor from Tres Piedras to Tierra Amarillo. && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday through Sunday) Issued at 222 PM MDT Mon Mar 17 2025 The upper low will continue racing northeast and away from NM on Wednesday, but moderate northwest flow aloft will persist on the backside over our area. Very windy conditions will persist across far northeast NM Wedesday morning, but will diminish through the day. Otherwise, windy conditions will prevail from Albuquerque to Clines Corners south through the South Central Mountains and eastern Chaves County. Stronger westerlies will hit on Thursday as a low amplitude trough moves toward the Rockies. The result will be breezy to locally windy conditions by afternoon Thursday. The trough will steer strong winds aloft over the northern mountains Thursday night and may result in those winds being forced to the surface along the east slopes of the Sangre De Cristos and adjacent eastern highlands Friday morning. Otherwise, winds on Friday will trend down from Thursday and temperatures will generally be below average north and near average south. Stronger westerly flow will come back on Saturday and combine with above average temperatures to produce good mixing of the atmosphere and windy conditions with the potential for patches of blowing dust by afternoon. Look for some improvement Sun/Mon with some warming as an upper level ridge builds over the Desert Southwest, setting the stage for a much less windy week. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1132 AM MDT Mon Mar 17 2025 Windy conditions are already beginning in some spots like Las Vegas this hour. Windy conditions expand across northeastern NM, with breezy to locally windy conditions elsewhere this afternoon. Winds subside some overnight, not completely dying down. Stronger southwesterly winds arrive early Tuesday morning ahead of the next high wind event forecast Tuesday morning and afternoon. Widespread blowing dust will produce MVFR to localized IFR conditions near dust prone areas Tuesday afternoon across central and eastern NM. Look for this to be included into the next 00Z TAF issuance. Otherwise, LLWS will also be a concern tonight for some western and central areas adjacent to the mountains, KGUP included. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 222 PM MDT Mon Mar 17 2025 ...FIRE GROWING PATTERN ALL WEEK EXCEPT FOR WEDNESDAY... Critical fire weather conditions ongoing this afternoon as dry, warm southwesterly winds have reached much of the forecast area. Critical fire weather conditions subside this evening as winds weaken, not entirely dying out. Southwesterly winds reach high wind speeds tomorrow over a large swath of the southeastern two-thirds of the state. This combined with another round of low humidity will result in more critical fire weather conditions through the middle Rio eastward thru central NM and all of the eastern plains. These winds turn westerly behind a Pacific cold front progressing west to east across NM through the late morning and afternoon period before turning northwesterly Tuesday evening. Strong northwesterly to northerly winds persist longest through portions of the central highlands and northeastern plains Wednesday morning. Critical fire weather conditions abate Wednesday with lesser winds, returning Thursday as dry, warm, and windy southwesterlies arrive. This will be notably true through northeastern NM. Elevated fire weather is favored Friday as westerlies subside somewhat, increasing again Saturday. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 37 49 24 49 / 0 50 5 0 Dulce........................... 30 45 17 46 / 5 70 5 5 Cuba............................ 32 46 18 42 / 0 40 10 0 Gallup.......................... 30 46 15 48 / 0 30 5 0 El Morro........................ 31 42 19 47 / 0 30 5 0 Grants.......................... 31 48 17 49 / 0 20 5 0 Quemado......................... 34 46 19 47 / 0 10 0 0 Magdalena....................... 40 56 25 51 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 34 49 22 48 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 32 52 18 54 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 33 55 21 60 / 0 5 0 0 Chama........................... 27 38 12 40 / 10 80 10 10 Los Alamos...................... 39 48 23 45 / 0 20 5 5 Pecos........................... 37 52 19 45 / 5 10 5 10 Cerro/Questa.................... 32 45 19 40 / 10 20 10 10 Red River....................... 28 36 14 29 / 20 30 20 10 Angel Fire...................... 27 43 15 35 / 10 20 20 10 Taos............................ 30 49 16 44 / 10 20 10 10 Mora............................ 35 52 17 42 / 0 10 5 10 Espanola........................ 38 57 23 52 / 0 20 5 5 Santa Fe........................ 37 52 22 46 / 0 20 5 10 Santa Fe Airport................ 37 55 22 50 / 0 20 5 5 Albuquerque Foothills........... 44 59 31 51 / 0 5 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 44 61 29 53 / 0 5 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 44 63 28 55 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 42 61 29 53 / 0 5 0 0 Belen........................... 42 66 26 57 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 43 62 28 54 / 0 10 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 41 64 25 56 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 42 62 27 53 / 0 10 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 40 64 25 56 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 44 57 28 50 / 0 10 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 43 61 28 52 / 0 10 0 0 Socorro......................... 42 69 32 59 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 40 55 24 45 / 0 10 0 0 Tijeras......................... 41 57 26 48 / 0 10 0 0 Edgewood........................ 41 59 25 48 / 0 5 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 35 61 20 50 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 39 56 19 44 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 42 61 24 48 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 41 62 24 49 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 48 64 29 51 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 45 57 26 44 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 39 58 20 41 / 0 0 30 5 Raton........................... 35 59 22 47 / 0 0 20 10 Springer........................ 35 62 24 49 / 0 0 10 10 Las Vegas....................... 39 56 20 45 / 0 0 0 5 Clayton......................... 46 69 28 48 / 0 0 20 5 Roy............................. 43 64 26 48 / 0 0 5 10 Conchas......................... 45 71 32 56 / 0 0 0 10 Santa Rosa...................... 44 69 30 55 / 0 0 0 5 Tucumcari....................... 48 74 33 56 / 0 0 0 5 Clovis.......................... 46 76 33 53 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 47 78 34 55 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 46 74 33 57 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 46 79 37 63 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 50 70 32 56 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 51 68 30 53 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for NMZ104-105- 123>126. Red Flag Warning from 10 AM to 8 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ104-106- 123>126. High Wind Warning from 10 AM Tuesday to 6 AM MDT Wednesday for NMZ227-228-230. High Wind Warning from 10 AM to 11 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ206-207- 212>216-218>225-229-231>238-241. Wind Advisory from 10 AM to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ202-205-209. High Wind Warning from 3 AM to 11 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ208-226- 239-240. Blowing Dust Advisory from noon to 8 PM MDT Tuesday for NMZ223>225-233>240. && SHORT TERM...24 LONG TERM....11 AVIATION...24 Please note: The SYNOPSIS section will be terminated on or about Friday, April 4.
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
32 high wind, 12 dust storm, 1 wildfire. Local standard time, as filed.
Several roads were closed, impassable, or had extremely low visibility due to blowing dust in the Roswell area including South Sunset Road, the Roswell Relief Route, U.S. Highway 285 south of Roswell, NM 2, Hobson Road, McGaffey St., and Sycamore Sreet.
The Magdalena Ridge Observatory measured a peak wind gust of 82 mph.
The mesonet stations in Newkirk, Puerto de Luna, southeast of Vaughn, and Thompson Cattle Ranch all saw peak wind gusts surpassing the limits of their instrumentation of 67 mph. Peak gusts of 60 to 64 mph were measured elsewhere in the zone.
The Sierra Blanca AWOS measured a peak wind gust of 78 mph, as well as a high sustained wind of 60 mph. Peak gusts of 64 and 67 mph were measured elsewhere in the zone. These strong winds blew a roof off a home in Ruidoso.
A historic high wind event producing massive areas of blowing dust resulted in road closures across Chaves County, including along NM 2 at Navajo Road, U.S. Highways 70, 285, and 380, and the Roswell Relief Route. A multi-vehicle pileup of at least 5 cars and 1 semi-truck occurred at Ojibwa Road and U.S. Highway 285 due to zero visibility in blowing dust.
The Very Large Array weather station measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
The Las Vegas Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 68 mph, as well as a high sustained wind speed of 51 mph.
The Albuquerque Sunport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 68 mph, and high sustained winds of 48 mph. Peak gusts of 58 to 61 mph were measured elsewhere in the zone. These high winds uprooted a large tree in Corrales, causing damage to a nearby house.
The North Oscura Peak White Sands Missile Range mesonet station measured a peak wind gust of 69 mph. Other White Sands Missile Range mesonet stations measured peak wind gusts of 58 to 66 mph in the zone.
The Sulf White Sands Missile Range mesonet station measured a peak gust of 65 mph. Other mesonet stations within White Sands Missile Range measured peak gusts of 59 to 63 mph.
The Brazosfuertes public weather stations measured a peak wind gust of 89 mph. Another public weather station in Edgewood measured a peak wind gust of 67 mph.
The Gallup Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The Dunken RAWS station measured a peak wind gust of 71 mph.
The NM DOT weather station along I-25 at La Bajada Hill measured a peak wind gust of 65 mph. The Santa Fe Airport measured a peak gust of 62 mph.
The Roswell #2 RAWS station measured a peak wind gust of 64 mph.
A historic high wind event producing massive areas of blowing dust resulted in near zero to one quarter mile visibility across the Albuquerque metro. This included at the Albuquerque Sunport and National Weather Service office, Double Eagle Airport, and areas stretching from near Cabezon south to Los Lunas along I-25.
The NM DOT weather station along I-40 at NM 6 measured a peak gust of 59 mph. The Grants Airport AWOS and Laguna RAWS also measured a peak gust of 58 mph.
Widespread blowing dust across eastern Socorro County resulted in brownout conditions along U.S. Highway 380 ten miles west of Bingham, NM.
The Estancia Police Department reported widespread blowing dust resulted in near zero visibility in Estancia. The NM DOT closed a portion of I-40 at Moriarty due to near zero visibility from blowing dust as well.
The Roswell Airport ASOS station measured a peak wind gust of 75 mph, as well as a high sustained wind speed of 53 mph. Peak gusts of 60 to 61 mph were measured elsewhere in the zone.
The Estancia CWOP station measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The Clines Corners ASOS station measured a peak wind gust of 76 mph, as well as a high sustained wind speed of 51 mph.
The Tucumcari Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 69 mph, as well as a high sustained wind speed of 50 mph. Peak wind gusts of 60 to 64 mph were measured elsewhere in the zone.
The Wild River RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 63 mph.
The Taos Ski Valley at Kachina Peak measured a peak wind gust of 73 mph.
The Tower RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
The Pole 616 White Sands Missile Range mesonet station measured a peak wind gust of 64 mph. Other White Sands Missile Range mesonet stations measured peak wind gusts of 59 to 60 mph in the zone.
Emergency management reported blowing dust causing near zero visibility resulting in a multi-vehicle accident along I-25 near La Bajada Hill and NM 16. Visibility below one-quarter mile was also reported along I-25 at NM 509.
A vehicle fire occurred along and just north of I-40 east of Palma, NM. High winds allowed the fire to grow to 312 acres with crews able to gain containment by March 19th.
The Farmington Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph.
The Angel Fire Airport measured a peak wind gust of 73 mph.
The NM DOT weather station along I-25 at Rowe, NM measured a peak wind gust of 70 mph.
The Cannon AFB ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 73 mph, as well as a high sustained wind speed of 50 mph. Peak wind gusts of 59 to 63 mph were measured elsewhere in the zone.
Near zero visibility from blowing dust resulted in a massive multi-car pileup with vehicles in flames on I-40 between Clines Corners and Santa Rosa.
The Raton Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 68 mph.
Emergency management in Cibola County reported a roof blown off from a workshop from an 85 mph wind gust.
The Melrose Range RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
Near zero visibility from blowing dust resulted in multiple traffic accidents on U.S. Highway 54 between Carrizozo and Alamogordo, causing the closure of the highway.
The Clayton Airport ASOS measured a peak wind gust of 67 mph. Peak wind gusts of 64 to 65 mph were measured elsewhere in the zone.
Blowing dust resulting in visibility under a quarter mile resulted in schools in Elida, NM being dismissed early.
The East Fort Sumner CWOP station measured a peak wind gust of 67 mph, as well as a high sustained wind speed of 51 mph.
A Conchas Dam COOP observer reported less than one-quarter mile visibility with very strong wind gusts.
A second dust storm emanating from a dissipating virga shower produced visibility below a quarter mile near the Petroglyph National Monument on the west side of Albuquerque.
The Harbor Court public weather station at Conchas Lake measured a peak wind gust of 62 mph.
Blowing dust producing near zero visibility resulted in the closure of NM Highway 42 between mile markers 2 and 3.
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: 1234886, 1234752, 1234841, 1234836, 1234951, 1234849, 1234838, 1234777, 1234834, 1234829, 1234831, 1234739, 1234848, 1234775, 1234847, 1234956, 1234750, 1235012, 1235016, 1234846, 1234832, 1234833, 1234842, 1234769, 1234765, 1234759, 1234835, 1235023, 1235068, 1234728, 1234766, 1234764, 1234843, 1235019, 1234837, 1234748, 1234844, 1235018, 1234839, 1235020, and more.