Mid and upper level winds over New Mexico increased on February 24th as high pressure flattened over the region. The stronger winds aloft, the development of a surface lee low over southeast Colorado and northeast New Mexico, and deep daytime mixing resulted in gusty westerly winds across east central NM along the I-40 corridor.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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.
Mid and upper level winds over New Mexico increased on February 24th as high pressure flattened over the region. The stronger winds aloft, the development of a surface lee low over southeast Colorado and northeast New Mexico, and deep daytime mixing resulted in gusty westerly winds across east central NM along the I-40 corridor. A brief period of high winds were measured by the ASOS and mesonet at Clines Corners during the early afternoon hours. Winds tapered off during the late afternoon and evening hours.
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 24, 11:11 AM MST, 1 hour 24 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1111 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026 ...New UPDATE, AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1055 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026 - Critical fire weather conditions will increase the risk of rapid fire spread across northeast and east central areas Tuesday. More isolated high fire danger on Wedesday. - Temperatures warm significantly this week, threatening record highs mid to late week in eastern and central New Mexico. && .UPDATE... Issued at 1055 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026 Issued a Wind Advisory for the area from Clines Corners to Vaughn and Santa Rosa for west northwest wind gusts up to 50 mph. A surface trough in the lee of the southern Rockies, brisk flow aloft around 45 KT at 700 mb, and thinning cloud cover will produce a moderately strong wind event there, and will cause the ongoing Red Flag Warning to perform quite well. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Wednesday) Issued at 1253 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026 The ridge presiding over the Intermountain West has begun to flatten, pushing the jet stream further south into the northern Rockies. Winds in the 700-500mb layer will increase enough over New Mexico to induce the development of a lee-side Low in the TX Panhandle. GEFS ensemble mean has this Low deepening to around 998mb, although the deterministic EC is showing the sfc Low getting down to around 995mb. This will be strong enough to create some stronger breezes along and east of the central mountain chain, with windy conditions in the Central Highlands and Eastern Plains. The downsloping breeze will increase temps 5 to 20 degrees from Monday's highs, with the biggest change in the southeast plains. Record highs are currently forecast at locations such as Clayton, Clovis, and Tucumcari, with near records in much of eastern NM. High fire danger will be the main concern on Tuesday, with single digit humidities throughout much of east-central and northeastern New Mexico. The jet stream will continue shifting southward on Wednesday, bringing some mid-level moisture along with it. This will increase humidities a bit more, but winds and temperatures will actually increase a tad in most areas. More record highs are expected to be broken in eastern NM on Wednesday. && .LONG TERM... (Wednesday night through Monday) Issued at 1253 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026 Dry northwest flow will continue to be the story Thursday and Friday, with breezy west to northwest winds and well-above normal temperatures. A backdoor frontal passage Wednesday night will cool temps off a tad in the east, but warm right back up on Thursday and Friday. Temperatures will be the warmest in the Albuquerque metro this weekend, with forecast highs rising well into the 70s. There is a 20% chance that Albuquerque will reach 80F on Sunday for the first time since the Fall. If this low possibility scenario were to occur, it would be the earliest 80 degree day on record by over 1 week. Model uncertainty begins to increase early next week. A minority on ensembles (around 15%) show troughing developing in the Northern Plains, which would likely translate to a strong cold front moving south into eastern NM. As a result, there is high uncertainty for forecast high temperatures in eastern NM during this time period and they will likely fluctuate significantly in the coming days. The most recent CPC outlook is hinting at a transition to wetter weather next week. Ensemble guidance from the EPS is not as excited, with only about 10-25% of its ensembles showing this transition. The GEFS and GEPS are slightly more bullish about wetter weather thanks to the development a closed Low over the desert southwest helping to draw Gulf moisture into eastern NM. If a backdoor cold front were to get into the mix (as shown by the deterministic EC), then this has the potential to become a more active period with cooler temperatures and widespread rain/snow that will favor eastern NM. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1055 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026 West northwest winds will be gusty today, with the strongest gusts reaching up to 45 KT for a time over east central areas in the afternoon. Northwest flow aloft will remain brisk tonight with low level wind shear from the central and south central mountains eastward to the Pecos River Valley, including KROW. The low level wind shear will taper off by mid morning Wednesday, as winds become gusty again at the surface. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 1253 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026 Strengthening northwest flow will translate to stronger west/northwest winds, lower humidities, and warmer temperatures in eastern NM today. This will create several hours of critical fire weather conditions in fine fuels east of the central mountain chain. 6-10 hours of Red Flag conditions are forecast for portions of the Central Highlands and East Central Plains along I-40 where fire danger is greatest today. Furthermore, many of these areas have not seen wetting precipitation since late January and the recent windy/dry weather has only further contributed to the drying of grasses. West/northwest wind speeds on Wednesday will be very similar to those on Tuesday, except humidities will trend higher as mid-level moisture pushes into the area. Widespread near-critical fire weather conditions are likely throughout eastern NM, but the probability of Red Flag criteria being met is too low and isolated right now to issue a Fire Weather Watch. A weak backdoor frontal passage will push move through eastern NM Wednesday night, knocking temperatures down a few degrees. Light to moderate northwest breezes will be present each afternoon through the weekend, with well-above normal to record breaking temperatures in central and eastern New Mexico. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 62 34 65 36 / 0 0 0 0 Dulce........................... 57 24 62 25 / 0 0 0 0 Cuba............................ 61 33 64 34 / 0 0 0 0 Gallup.......................... 66 30 68 32 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 64 34 65 36 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 68 32 70 33 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 66 35 66 36 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 70 43 70 43 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 66 40 65 39 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 72 34 75 36 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 74 37 79 38 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 50 26 55 26 / 0 0 0 0 Los Alamos...................... 61 39 64 39 / 0 0 0 0 Pecos........................... 63 40 66 39 / 0 0 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 58 35 61 35 / 0 0 0 0 Red River....................... 49 32 52 29 / 0 0 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 55 24 57 25 / 0 0 0 0 Taos............................ 61 30 65 31 / 0 0 0 0 Mora............................ 63 38 65 37 / 0 0 0 0 Espanola........................ 68 35 72 39 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 63 40 66 41 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 66 37 69 38 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 68 45 72 47 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 70 40 74 43 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 73 38 77 41 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 71 40 75 43 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 75 36 78 38 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 71 40 75 42 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 73 35 78 37 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 71 40 75 43 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 74 37 77 39 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 68 43 70 44 / 0 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 71 40 74 42 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 77 44 80 47 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 63 41 66 42 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 65 41 67 42 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 66 40 69 42 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 68 37 70 39 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 64 37 65 37 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 68 39 70 40 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 69 40 70 41 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 69 43 74 46 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 65 46 67 47 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 70 34 70 31 / 0 0 0 0 Raton........................... 72 30 72 31 / 0 0 0 0 Springer........................ 73 34 74 34 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 69 37 69 37 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 79 43 77 37 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 74 41 75 37 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 81 43 83 40 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 75 48 76 43 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 82 44 82 40 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 81 48 82 44 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 81 49 83 44 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 80 49 80 44 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 82 48 84 48 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 77 50 78 49 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 75 48 78 47 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Red Flag Warning until 6 PM MST this evening for NMZ104-123-125- 126. Wind Advisory until 6 PM MST this evening for NMZ223-233. && SHORT TERM...44 LONG TERM....44 AVIATION...44
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The ASOS and mesonet station at Clines Corners measured peak sustained winds of 45 mph.
The ASOS at Clines Corners measured high wind gusts peaking at 69 mph. The mesonet station at the same location measured high wind gusts peaking at 60 mph.
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, February 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: 1308347, 1308349.