Near normal precipitation in April kept drought conditions mainly in Severe(D2) drought category or better.
Every event with a place to put it; 16 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.
Near normal precipitation in April kept drought conditions mainly in Severe(D2) drought category or better.
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 31, 9:51 PM MST, 2 hours 9 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM
1051 PM MDT Tue Mar 31 2026
...New DISCUSSION, AVIATION...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 1038 PM MDT Tue Mar 31 2026
- An upper level disturbance will bring breezy to windy
conditions on Wednesday, and some scattered showers. Gusts 35
to 45 will be common , with stronger gusts around 50 mph in
the Sacramento Mountains.
- Higher humidity, especially in the higher terrain will limit
fire weather concerns.
- Mild temperatures through Friday before a cold front pushes in
this weekend, bringing near to slightly below normal
temperatures.
&&
.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 1038 PM MDT Tue Mar 31 2026
An upper level trough currently moving into western Nevada will
track eastward. The core of this system will graze northern New
Mexico, but the trough axis will extend south of the border,
reaching the Rio Grande in New Mexico by mid-afternoon tomorrow
(Wed). Some limited mid and low-level moisture will get pulled up
ahead of this system, sweeping a band of scattered showers across
the area from late morning through mid-afternoon. The best chances
for (light) measurable rainfall will be across the Gila Region
and the Sacramento Mountains, with spotty precip across the
lowlands.
Surface lee low formation with this system will be across east-
central Colorado, due to the northerly track of the main trough.
The pressure gradient and low level winds will still support W to
WSW winds gusting around 35 to 45 mph, with gusts around 50 mph in
exposed areas of the Sacramento Mountains. This will be enough
wind to kick up a least patchy blowing dust, but with the lack of
strong winds so far this spring, confidence in how dust sources
will react is low.
Behind this system, temperatures will climb back into the mid-80s
across the lowlands for Thursday and Friday. But a cold front
working in from the north will cool temperatures down to near
normal for Saturday, and a few degrees below normal for Sunday.
Easterly flow could try to sneak some limited moisture into the
area early next week, but precip chances look low.
&&
.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 1038 PM MDT Tue Mar 31 2026
SCT-BKN mid and high clouds overnight, with generally light winds
favoring westerly. Winds will begin increasing late morning ahead
of an incoming shortwave trough. A band of light rain showers
will move west to east across the area from late morning to early
afternoon, generally accompanied by increasing west winds, with
gusts 30 to 35 knots common, persisting into the afternoon. Patchy
blowing dust is also likely, with minor visibility restrictions
expected. DMN and LRU will be most favored for dust. Confidence
for dust is low, however, given the lack of wind events so far
this year.
Winds will begin subsiding before sunset, then diminish fairly
quickly afterwards.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 1050 AM MDT Tue Mar 31 2026
Fire weather concerns will be low-moderate for the rest of the
workweek. For this afternoon, elevated fire weather conditions are
forecast with min RHs near or just below critical thresholds and
modestly breezy W winds of 10-15 mph at 20 feet. A few light rain
showers develop this afternoon W of the Divide with an isolated
dry lightning strike or two possible. Some showers could produce
gusty and erratic outflow winds up to 40 mph. Overnight recoveries
will be good. A storm system passes to the north on Wed, bringing
a low chance of rain during the day, mainly for area mtns.
Rainfall will be light; up to 0.25" for the Sacs. Winds become
breezy to low-end windy for the afternoon, shifting SW to W behind
the Pacific front. The rain chances and added moisture from the
system will limit fire wx concerns Wed afternoon.
For Thu, drier conditions are forecast, but winds return to
modestly breezy levels, resulting in elevated fire wx. Critical
fire danger is not expected through Fri. A cold front shifts winds
E for Sat before moisture levels increase early next week.
Temperatures cool to near normal for Wed, warming a few degrees
for Thu/Fri.
Min RHs range from 10-25% this afternoon, 20-45% for Wed; then
8-20% through Fri. Ventilation will be very good to excellent
through Fri.
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
El Paso 62 81 53 83 / 0 20 10 0
Sierra Blanca 55 80 53 81 / 0 10 10 0
Las Cruces 55 75 44 80 / 0 30 0 0
Alamogordo 54 76 44 81 / 10 40 10 0
Cloudcroft 42 53 34 57 / 10 70 20 0
Truth or Consequences 59 73 45 81 / 10 20 0 0
Silver City 49 63 38 70 / 20 40 0 0
Deming 56 75 42 82 / 10 20 0 0
Lordsburg 53 71 42 79 / 10 40 0 0
West El Paso Metro 62 78 52 82 / 0 20 10 0
Dell City 53 83 43 85 / 0 20 20 0
Fort Hancock 59 86 49 88 / 0 20 10 0
Loma Linda 56 73 41 76 / 0 30 10 0
Fabens 60 83 52 84 / 0 20 10 0
Santa Teresa 58 77 50 82 / 0 20 0 0
White Sands HQ 62 77 52 81 / 0 30 0 0
Jornada Range 54 74 38 81 / 0 30 10 0
Hatch 57 76 40 83 / 0 20 0 0
Columbus 61 78 47 83 / 0 20 0 0
Orogrande 55 76 44 81 / 10 30 10 0
Mayhill 47 67 34 72 / 10 70 20 0
Mescalero 44 63 33 68 / 10 70 10 0
Timberon 44 62 31 66 / 10 60 20 0
Winston 44 63 33 73 / 10 30 0 0
Hillsboro 54 70 41 79 / 10 20 0 0
Spaceport 53 73 37 82 / 10 20 0 0
Lake Roberts 46 62 26 70 / 20 50 0 0
Hurley 49 67 37 74 / 10 30 0 0
Cliff 49 69 37 78 / 20 50 0 0
Mule Creek 47 65 30 72 / 20 60 0 0
Faywood 51 67 41 74 / 10 30 0 0
Animas 56 73 43 82 / 10 20 0 0
Hachita 56 73 45 82 / 10 20 0 0
Antelope Wells 56 74 44 80 / 10 20 0 0
Cloverdale 52 68 42 76 / 20 20 0 0
&&
.EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...None.
NM...Wind Advisory from noon to 7 PM MDT Wednesday for East Slopes
Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet-Sacramento Mountains
Above 7500 Feet-West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500
Feet.
&&
FORECASTER...25-HardimanThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
16 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
Severe(D2) drought conditions continued through the entire month. The Cliff Cooperative Observer site recorded 0.14 inches of precipitation which was 0.19 inches below normal.
The entire zone remained in Severe(D2) drought through the month of April.
Severe(D2) drought continued for all but the far western portion of the zone where Moderate(D1) drought remained. The Cooperative Observer at Redrock recorded 0.04 inches of precipitation which was 0.17 inches below normal.
Severe(D2) drought continued through the month for all areas of the zone except the far west where Moderate(D1) drought remained in place. The Antelope Wells Cooperative Observer had no precipitation which was 0.15 inches below normal.
The far west portion of the zone remained in Moderate(D1) drought while Severe(D2) drought continued for the remainder of the zone.
The drought conditions across the zone ranged from Severe(D2) west to Abnormally Dry(D0) over the southeast. The Deming Airport reported a trace of precipitation which was 0.21 inches below normal.
Severe(D2) drought continued across the entire zone in April. The Hillsboro Cooperative Observer reported 0.28 inches of precipitation which was 0.07 inches below normal.
Severe(D2) drought continued across the zone except for the southeast where Moderate(D1) drought continued. The Truth or Consequences Airport recorded 0.33 inches of precipitation which was 0.06 inches above normal.
The northern half of the zone remained in Severe(D2) drought while the south was in Moderate(D1) drought through April. The Mountain Park Cooperative Observer recorded 0.62 inches of precipitation which was 0.03 inches above normal.
The northern half of the zone remained in Severe(D2) drought while the south was in Moderate(D1) drought through April. The Mountain Park Cooperative Observer recorded 0.62 inches of precipitation which was 0.03 inches above normal.
Severe(D2) drought continued over the northern half of the zone while the south remained in Moderate(D1) drought. The Cloudcroft Cooperative Observer recorded 1.32 inches of precipitation which was 0.47 inches above normal.
The northern half of the zone remained in Severe(D2) drought while the south was in Moderate(D1) drought through April. The Elk Cooperative Observer reported 0.20 inches of precipitation which was 0.32 inches below normal.
Severe(D2) drought continued for the entire month. There was only a trace of precipitation recorded by the White Signal Cooperative Observer which was 0.30 inches below normal.
Severe(D2) drought continued through the month of April.
The far northern portion of the zone remained in Severe(D2) drought with all other areas staying in Moderate(D1) drought. The White Sands National Park Cooperative Observer recorded 0.51 inches of precipitation which was 0.21 inches above normal.
The northern half of the zone remained in Severe(D2) drought while the south continued to be in Moderate(D1) drought.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in New Mexico in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, April 2026
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: 1332405, 1332406, 1332407, 1332408, 1332410, 1332412, 1332413, 1332416, 1332420, 1332421, 1332423, 1332424, 1332425, 1332428, 1332430, 1332431.