Another dry month lead to all areas of far west Texas ending in Extreme(D3) or Exceptional(D4) drought.
Every event with a place to put it; 7 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.
Another dry month lead to all areas of far west Texas ending in Extreme(D3) or Exceptional(D4) drought.
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 Dec 31, 10:30 PM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 1030 PM MST Tue Dec 31 2024 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1028 PM MST Tue Dec 31 2024 - Warm and dry weather continues through the week. - Breezy winds return next weekend followed by another cool down early next week. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 145 PM MST Tue Dec 31 2024 We start off with flat zonal flow with the main storm track well to the north of the area. A ridge will gradually build through Friday, leading to warming conditions with light winds. On Saturday, a s/w will sweep southeastward through the Great Basin, suppressing the ridge. The s/w is progged to drop far enough south for its jet to sweep across Southern NM, but models are not super consistent with its timing. The Euro is quicker with a passage Saturday afternoon with the GFS showing a passage Saturday night into Sunday morning. Cluster analysis does not really give a clear signal either though with odds tilted toward the Euro's solution. Either way, the impacts would bring breezy to low-end windy conditions with highest winds across higher terrain and east- facing slopes. Ridging will build off the West Coast through the weekend, which sets the stage for a series of fronts, including an open tap to the arctic. The first dose of cooler air arrives Sunday, though this is in the form of a Pacific front behind the aforementioned system. The next front arrives Monday bringing the edge of a Canadian air mass. Even more of that cooler air looks to slip in on Tuesday setting highs back even further. What happens after Tuesday is still unclear. Of note, forecast models, including the majority of ensemble members, show a system dropping south across the Intermountain West early to mid week. This system will drop toward the International Border before sweeping east. Current deterministic models show it scooping up moisture, though this solution is not well supported by ensemble members, with enough cold air for "dare I say" a little snow. Current NBM run gives a portion of the lowlands, including El Paso, about a 20% chance for measurable snow by next Wednesday. It is a week out, however, so it's nothing more than a pipe dream for snow-lovers at this point. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1028 PM MST Tue Dec 31 2024 VFR conditions through the entire forecast period at all terminals. Dry conditions will keep cigs and vsby high. FEW-SCT 250 overnight, trending towards SKC aft 18Z tomorrow. Winds will be 3-8kts from W to NW through 15Z. Tomorrow, aft 18Z winds will be mostly variable in the 3-8kt range. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 145 PM MST Tue Dec 31 2024 A very dry air mass will remain in place through the weekend with temperatures much above normal and min RH values well into the teens. Skies will feature periods of high clouds. Winds will be light for much of the period, but a system will move through the area on Saturday giving the area elevated to near-critical conditions. Venting through Friday will be poor in the lowlands with fair to good in the mountains. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... El Paso 39 65 38 67 / 0 0 0 0 Sierra Blanca 38 63 36 65 / 0 0 0 0 Las Cruces 34 64 33 67 / 0 0 0 0 Alamogordo 29 61 31 65 / 0 0 0 0 Cloudcroft 25 45 28 49 / 0 0 0 0 Truth or Consequences 31 59 33 62 / 0 0 0 0 Silver City 31 60 34 64 / 0 0 0 0 Deming 28 64 28 67 / 0 0 0 0 Lordsburg 26 63 28 67 / 0 0 0 0 West El Paso Metro 40 64 39 66 / 0 0 0 0 Dell City 28 61 28 65 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Hancock 34 69 31 70 / 0 0 0 0 Loma Linda 37 58 38 62 / 0 0 0 0 Fabens 34 66 33 68 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Teresa 34 62 32 65 / 0 0 0 0 White Sands HQ 39 63 39 65 / 0 0 0 0 Jornada Range 28 61 29 65 / 0 0 0 0 Hatch 28 65 29 67 / 0 0 0 0 Columbus 34 63 32 66 / 0 0 0 0 Orogrande 32 61 31 62 / 0 0 0 0 Mayhill 27 58 33 62 / 0 0 0 0 Mescalero 26 53 29 59 / 0 0 0 0 Timberon 25 53 27 58 / 0 0 0 0 Winston 21 58 24 62 / 0 0 0 0 Hillsboro 31 63 33 65 / 0 0 0 0 Spaceport 27 61 28 64 / 0 0 0 0 Lake Roberts 28 60 31 65 / 0 0 0 0 Hurley 27 63 29 65 / 0 0 0 0 Cliff 16 66 17 71 / 0 0 0 0 Mule Creek 29 61 30 66 / 0 0 0 0 Faywood 31 61 34 64 / 0 0 0 0 Animas 29 67 30 70 / 0 0 0 0 Hachita 28 65 28 67 / 0 0 0 0 Antelope Wells 33 69 33 68 / 0 0 0 0 Cloverdale 38 64 39 67 / 0 0 0 0 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. NM...None. && FORECASTER...14-Bird
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
The entire zone went from Severe(D2) drought to Extreme(D3) drought.
The month started with the far southeast portion of the zone in Severe(D2) drought with the remainder of the area in Extreme(D3) drought. By the end of the month, the entire zone was in Extreme(D3) drought conditions. The El Paso Airport reported only 0.04 inches of precipitation which was 0.35 inches below normal.
The month started with the northern half of the zone in Extreme(D3) drought and Severe(D2) drought south. By the end of January, the entire zone was in Extreme(D3) drought.
The entire zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought.
There was no change in drought conditions with the western half of the zone remaining in Extreme(D3) drought and Exceptional(D4) drought over the east.
The zone went from Severe(D2) drought to begin the month and finished in Extreme(D3) drought. The Tornillo Cooperative Observer reported 0.07 inches of precipitation which was 0.29 inches below normal.
The zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought west and Exceptional(D4) drought over the east.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Texas in 2025Every state in 2025This day in weather historyWarnings in Texas, 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: 1229724, 1229725, 1229726, 1229727, 1229728, 1229729, 1229730.