A fast moving, negatively tilted trough moved from the Great Basin into New Mexico during the overnight hours of March 13-14. As the cold front passed through, winds gusted up to 63 mph in El Paso.
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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.
A fast moving, negatively tilted trough moved from the Great Basin into New Mexico during the overnight hours of March 13-14. As the cold front passed through, winds gusted up to 63 mph in El Paso.
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 Mar 13, 10:10 PM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM
1110 PM MDT Thu Mar 13 2025
...New AVIATION...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 300 PM MDT Thu Mar 13 2025
- Series of Pacific storms will bring strong winds and a chance
of showers to the area tonight through Saturday.
- Blowing dust/poor visibility will once again be the biggest
impact on both this evening and into Friday afternoon.
- Mountain snow and lowland rainfall tonight into Friday, with a
chance for light snow in the lowlands Friday morning.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 300 PM MDT Thu Mar 13 2025
A highly amplified pattern is en route to the Borderland from the
Pacific in the short term. Unsettled weather will take hold
overnight, with strong winds and increasing chances for precip,
especially across the high terrain. An incredibly robust 300 mb
jet will slide into the region early in the evening, draping its
135 kt jet max across southern NM and far west TX. Winds at 700mb
strengthen to around 65 kts for nearly the entire CWA by midnight.
Meanwhile, a perpendicular sfc gradient will help to enhance
turbulent flow, allowing for these strong winds to mix down to the
sfc throughout the night. This will translate to significant
gusts between 60 and 75 mph across much of the eastern portion of
the CWA but even before that, sustained winds are near or above
very windy to damaging criteria. Given that sustained speeds alone
are likely to exceed 40 mph, did decide to upgrade eastern
portions of the CWA that were in the Wind Advisory to a High Wind
Warning.
Less certainty exists in the realm of precipitation overnight, as
the system tracks across the CWA. A jet streak will dip down across
southwestern NM around midnight, bringing enhanced dynamics to the
southwest mts. Accompanying moisture will outrun the colder air,
leading to a higher likelihood of a rain dominated event for most
areas. Nonetheless, signal does exist for accumulating snowfall
across the Black/Gila earlier in the night and as such, did
maintain the previously issued Winter Weather Advisory. As the
system pushes eastward, the Sacs come into play. Once again, the
better dynamics and moisture will race ahead of the colder air but
up to 3 inches of snowfall is favored across the terrain above
7500', and did hoist a Winter Weather Advisory for the area as
well. Very cold temperatures will accompany this frontal passage
across the Sacs, with wind chills falling near -10F Friday
morning.
The system ejects quickly into the Great Plains by mid Friday
morning, allowing the H5 pressure gradient to slowly relax. Winds
will steadily decrease throughout the day alongside markedly colder
temperatures. A shortwave will dive down out of the Great Basin
on Saturday but will likely only bring isolated showers/snow and
breezy conditions. Quiet conditions will prevail on Sunday and
Monday before another system sets its sights on the Borderland
Tuesday. Strong winds look to be on the horizon once again, this
time with less hope of precip.
&&
.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 1120 PM MDT Thu Mar 13 2025
High wind event underway with surface winds out of the W 250-270
with sustained speeds 25 to 35 knots and gusts to 50 knots. Winds
will only increase tonight, creating very strong gusts over
mountain tops and east slopes. Strongest winds likely overnight at
KELP with peak gusts of 60 knots early Friday morning. LLWS
likely at KDMN/KLRU.
FROPA between 06-09Z tonight will bring scattered SHRA, which has
already reached western NM and moving eastward. Increase in cloud
coverage with SCT-BKN ceilings falling to FL030-050. Skies
clearing after sunrise Friday, with FEW-SCT200 and continued
strong winds 20 to 30 knots all day.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 300 PM MDT Thu Mar 13 2025
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM FOR THE RIO GRANDE
VALLEY AND EASTWARD...
Critical fire weather conditions will prevail through the remainder
of the day today ahead of an incoming system. Gusty winds will
strengthen through the evening hours, peaking overnight as a frontal
passage makes its way across the Borderland. An influx of moisture
with the system will help to keep critical fire weather conditions
at bay through the the weekend, though near-critical conditions will
exist across portions of far west Texas. Another system will advance
into the area on Tuesday, bringing strong winds in conjunction with
very low humidity. Widespread critical fire weather conditions are
expected, with extreme conditions across the Rio Grande Valley and
eastward. Much drier air will fall in behind the system on
Wednesday, but lighter winds will help to keep fire conditions only
elevated.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
El Paso 41 58 39 59 / 60 0 30 50
Sierra Blanca 37 55 35 55 / 30 10 10 40
Las Cruces 32 52 32 57 / 80 0 20 40
Alamogordo 30 55 30 56 / 90 10 20 30
Cloudcroft 15 32 17 33 / 90 20 40 40
Truth or Consequences 35 55 32 58 / 80 0 20 30
Silver City 24 40 27 43 / 100 10 60 70
Deming 32 52 32 55 / 90 0 40 50
Lordsburg 28 49 31 53 / 100 10 60 70
West El Paso Metro 41 55 39 57 / 60 0 30 50
Dell City 38 58 35 59 / 40 10 10 30
Fort Hancock 41 62 38 61 / 30 10 20 40
Loma Linda 33 49 34 51 / 60 10 30 50
Fabens 40 59 37 60 / 50 10 20 40
Santa Teresa 36 54 36 56 / 70 0 30 50
White Sands HQ 38 54 37 57 / 80 10 30 40
Jornada Range 32 53 31 58 / 80 10 20 30
Hatch 33 55 33 59 / 90 0 20 40
Columbus 36 55 36 58 / 80 0 30 50
Orogrande 35 53 34 56 / 70 10 20 40
Mayhill 22 44 24 45 / 80 10 20 30
Mescalero 19 42 21 43 / 90 10 30 40
Timberon 17 41 20 43 / 80 10 30 40
Winston 18 45 22 48 / 90 0 30 40
Hillsboro 28 50 29 54 / 90 10 30 40
Spaceport 30 56 27 58 / 80 10 20 30
Lake Roberts 20 39 24 43 / 100 20 60 70
Hurley 25 44 27 47 / 100 10 50 60
Cliff 22 47 27 51 / 100 20 60 70
Mule Creek 24 41 28 45 / 100 20 70 70
Faywood 27 45 29 48 / 100 10 40 60
Animas 30 53 32 57 / 90 10 50 60
Hachita 30 52 31 55 / 80 10 40 50
Antelope Wells 31 54 34 57 / 80 10 40 60
Cloverdale 29 48 34 51 / 90 10 50 70
&&
.EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...Wind Advisory until noon MDT Friday for Rio Grande Valley of
Eastern El Paso/Western Hudspeth Counties-Rio Grande Valley
of Eastern Hudspeth County-Western El Paso County.
High Wind Warning until noon MDT Friday for Eastern/Central El
Paso County-Northern Hudspeth Highlands/Hueco Mountains-
Salt Basin-Southern Hudspeth Highlands.
NM...Wind Advisory until noon MDT Friday for Lowlands of the Bootheel-
Northern Dona Ana County-Sierra County Lakes-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.
Winter Weather Advisory until 9 AM MDT Friday for Central Grant
County/Silver City Area-Southern Gila Region
Highlands/Black Range.
High Wind Warning until noon MDT Friday for East Central
Tularosa Basin/Alamogordo-East Slopes Sacramento Mountains
Below 7500 Feet-Eastern Black Range Foothills-Otero Mesa-
Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet-Southeast Tularosa
Basin-West Central Tularosa Basin/White Sands-West Slopes
Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet.
Winter Weather Advisory until 6 AM MDT Friday for Sacramento
Mountains Above 7500 Feet.
&&
FORECASTER...30-DennhardtPreliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM
700 PM MDT Thu Mar 13 2025
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0651 PM Dust Storm 2 E Fort Bliss 31.81N 106.39W
03/13/2025 El Paso TX Official NWS Obs
El Paso International ASOS KELP reports DUST
STORM with visibility 1/2 miles.
&&
CADThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A peak gust of 63 mph was recorded in northeast El Paso. The Biggs Field AWOS recorded a gust of 62 mph and the El Paso Airport reported 58 mph.
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, 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: 1245954.