A strong backdoor cold front in the wake of an upper level disturbance moved through far eastern New Mexico during the early morning hours of March 11th. A brief high wind gust of 58 mph was measured at Clayton Municipal Airport during the passage of the cold front.
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The episode as NWS ABQ wrote it up.
A strong backdoor cold front in the wake of an upper level disturbance moved through far eastern New Mexico during the early morning hours of March 11th. A brief high wind gust of 58 mph was measured at Clayton Municipal Airport during the passage of the cold front. North winds across the eastern plains remained gusty throughout the morning in the wake of the cold front with a CWOP station in Clovis measuring a brief high wind gust of 59 mph. North winds slowly tapered off during the afternoon 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 Mar 11, 12:02 AM MST, 12 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 102 AM MDT Wed Mar 11 2026 ...New SHORT TERM, LONG TERM, AVIATION, FIRE WEATHER... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1203 AM MDT Wed Mar 11 2026 - Notably colder and brisk conditions will prevail across the eastern plains behind a backdoor cold front today, with high temperatures below average. - Breezy to locally windy conditions, very low humidities, and dry vegetation will increase the risk of rapid fire spread from Thursday into the weekend across eastern and portions of central NM. - A strong backdoor cold front will bring notably colder and brisk conditions to eastern NM Sunday into Monday. - Strong high pressure will move over the region going into the middle of next week, with temperatures rising to challenge daily records. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Thursday) Issued at 1203 AM MDT Wed Mar 11 2026 Strong NW flow aloft will prevail today in the wake of the departing upper low as a backdoor cold front barrels south down the eastern plains. A Wind Advisory has been issued for strong winds behind the backdoor cold front through 18Z, with the strongest winds along the TX border where gusts to between 50-55mph are likely. The backdoor cold front is just now pushing into northeast NM per area surface observations, but will advance south rapidly and arrive in Roswell around sunrise. Notably colder temperatures will prevail behind the front today, with highs forecast below average for a change. West of the frontal boundary, daytime mixing will bring gusty northwest winds and high temperatures that will be up to 10 degrees above average. Northwest flow aloft will weaken some overnight into Thursday, but daytime mixing and lee side troughing will bring breezy to locally windy conditions by afternoon, especially across eastern NM. Temperatures on Thursday are forecast to rise 10-15 degrees above average across the area. && .LONG TERM... (Thursday night through Tuesday) Issued at 1203 AM MDT Wed Mar 11 2026 NW flow aloft will weaken further Thursday night into Friday, but daytime mixing is still forecast to bring breezy conditions during the afternoon and early evening hours across central and western NM. Winds will trend down across the eastern plains Friday due to much weaker lee side troughing. Temperatures will rise further on Friday, with highs forecast to be 10-20 degrees above average. The flow aloft will strengthen some on Saturday in response to a stronger jet stream moving southeast into the northern and central Rockies, resulting in deeper lee side troughing and breezy to locally windy conditions across the area. Temperatures will rise another few degrees on Saturday, in part due to downslope winds, and generally be 15-20 degrees above average. As the jet stream ejects southeast out over the central US Plains, a west coast ridge and eastern US troughing pattern will develop, allowing a strong backdoor cold front to push south across eastern NM on Sunday. Strong winds behind the cold front and much colder conditions are forecast Sunday into Monday across eastern NM, while areas west of the central mountain chain remain warm with above average temperatures. The west coast ridge is forecast to strengthen and transition southeast across the Great Basin and Desert SW toward NM next week. Temperatures are forecast to soar to between 15-25 degrees above average under anomalously high pressure heights by mid week. Daily record high temperatures are likely as 500mb heights rise to 590-592dam over NM from Wednesday through Friday. May in March is the theme. The KABQ all time high for March is 85 degrees, hit on 3/19 in 1907 and again on 3/26 in 1971. Dont' be surprised if we challenge that record as early as Wednesday of next week. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1203 AM MDT Wed Mar 11 2026 Strong northwest winds aloft, with surface winds gradually decoupling overnight, will bring areas of low level winds shear going into Wednesday morning. A backdoor cold front will bring strong northerly winds to the eastern plains overnight, hitting KROW around 13Z. Gusty northwest winds will develop across western NM Wednesday and continue into the early evening hours. Otherwise, VFR conditions prevail and are forecast to persist through the TAF period. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 1203 AM MDT Wed Mar 11 2026 Elevated fire weather conditions are forecast across portions of central and western NM today with dry conditions and daytime mixing of gusty northwest winds. A strong backdoor cold front will bring brisk conditions to the eastern plains today. A warming and drying trend is forecast from Thursday through Saturday, with lee side troughing and daytime mixing of northwest flow aloft bringing the threat of critical fire weather conditions. A Fire Weather Watch has been issued for east central and northeast NM for Thursday. Winds decrease some Friday, which will limit critical fire weather conditions to the Central Highlands. Stronger lee side troughing and even warmer temperatures on Saturday will enable deeper atmospheric mixing and more critical fire weather conditions that will expand west to include the Rio Grande Valley as ERCs continue to trend up. A strong backdoor cold front will cool down eastern NM Sun/Mon, but the threat for critical fire weather conditions will persist west of the central mountain chain as very dry and breezy conditions persist with rising ERCs. Winds will relax some going into the middle of next week as an upper high moves over the region, but very dry conditions will persist and temperatures are forecast to rise to near daily records. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 62 32 69 34 / 0 0 0 0 Dulce........................... 64 22 67 25 / 0 0 0 0 Cuba............................ 60 29 65 32 / 0 0 0 0 Gallup.......................... 63 23 70 27 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 61 30 66 33 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 64 24 71 28 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 62 29 68 32 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 65 36 70 40 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 62 32 67 34 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 69 29 74 31 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 74 32 77 35 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 57 23 59 26 / 0 0 0 0 Los Alamos...................... 61 34 65 39 / 0 0 0 0 Pecos........................... 63 27 66 38 / 0 0 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 59 29 62 33 / 0 0 0 0 Red River....................... 48 25 53 30 / 0 0 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 55 18 59 23 / 0 0 0 0 Taos............................ 62 23 66 26 / 0 0 0 0 Mora............................ 58 26 67 36 / 0 0 0 0 Espanola........................ 69 29 73 34 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 63 33 67 39 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 66 30 69 35 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 67 40 72 44 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 69 37 74 40 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 72 35 77 37 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 69 37 75 40 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 72 31 77 33 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 71 36 75 40 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 72 30 77 33 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 72 36 76 39 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 72 32 77 35 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 66 37 70 42 / 0 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 70 36 75 40 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 74 38 79 41 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 62 35 66 41 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 64 36 67 40 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 66 32 69 38 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 67 27 70 33 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 60 28 65 35 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 66 32 69 36 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 66 32 68 37 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 69 37 70 42 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 61 33 65 43 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 49 24 69 33 / 0 0 0 0 Raton........................... 56 21 72 31 / 0 0 0 0 Springer........................ 58 25 74 31 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 57 26 70 35 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 51 29 74 41 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 55 27 74 37 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 62 29 81 38 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 60 30 75 42 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 61 29 80 38 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 61 30 75 42 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 63 29 75 42 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 63 30 78 42 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 70 36 78 41 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 66 32 76 44 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 67 29 76 41 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory until noon MDT today for NMZ230-234>236. && SHORT TERM...11 LONG TERM....11 AVIATION...11
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The Clayton Airport ASOS measured a high wind gust of 58 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, March 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: 1310145.