A strong portion of the jetstream overshot northern and eastern NM through Sunday, March 15th. Pre-frontal vertical mixing allowed for these stronger winds aloft to mix down to the surface across much of the northern mountains of NM as early as just prior to midnight March 14th into the predawn and early morning hours of March 15th.
Every event with a place to put it; 13 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.
A strong portion of the jetstream overshot northern and eastern NM through Sunday, March 15th. Pre-frontal vertical mixing allowed for these stronger winds aloft to mix down to the surface across much of the northern mountains of NM as early as just prior to midnight March 14th into the predawn and early morning hours of March 15th. Further high winds followed the backdoor and Pacific portions of a surface cold front during the late morning and early afternoon across central and eastern NM. Wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph were common with a peak gust of 81 mph being recorded at the Raton Airport. While there was some blowing dust, visibility only fell to 5 to 7 miles in a few areas to include the Albuquerque metro area. Winds began to taper off in the mid-to-late afternoon as the strong portion of the jetstream exited into TX and the surface cold fronts advanced to southern NM.
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 14, 10:30 PM MST, 30 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1130 PM MDT Sat Mar 14 2026 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1122 PM MDT Sat Mar 14 2026 - A risk of rapid fire spread will expand across most areas this weekend, especially on Sunday. - Damaging wind gusts will impact portions of central and eastern New Mexico late Saturday night through Sunday. - Most areas will experience a hard freeze Sunday night, including within the Rio Grande Valley. - A strong area of high pressure will move over the region going into the middle of next week resulting in record warmth for March. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Monday night) Issued at 132 PM MDT Sat Mar 14 2026 The 12Z guidance package lowered forecast confidence on the coverage of high wind speeds in some areas for Sunday with decreasing gust speed trends. A High Wind Warning was issued in the area of higher confidence from the central mt chain to the nearby highlands late tonight and Sunday with the Pacific cold frontal passage. Northeast and east-central NM was also upgraded to a warning for the backdoor portion of the cold front. The latest RRFS and HREF prob wind gusts >55 mph were quite low for areas farther south and west so the High Wind Watch will remain in effect. The 00Z guidance package will offer a final opportunity to address trends and potential coverage of Wind Advisories vs High Wind Warnings. Nonetheless, a widespread wind event will unfold over the region Sunday with gusts of 50 to 70 mph, areas of blowing dust, falling temps, very low humidity, and dangerous fire weather. Folks with early season yard and garden projects should prepare for a hard freeze Sunday night. Record warmth so far this spring has allowed many fruit trees, cool season vegetables, and yard projects to get ahead of the calendar. Eastern NM will take the brunt of the colder air with most areas falling into the teens Monday morning. Max temps will remain cool Monday but with much lighter winds, especially eastern NM. It will remain breezy over northwest NM. Another subfreezing night is expected Monday night but not as cold as Sunday night and with less coverage of min temps below 28F. && .LONG TERM... (Tuesday through Friday) Issued at 132 PM MDT Sat Mar 14 2026 Tuesday thru late week will feature a March record H5 high center drifting east across the southwest CONUS. The projected H5 values around 591dm for KABQ by late next week would exceed the previous record of 589dm for March. This impressive high along with single digit humidity each day and weak surface lee troughing will lead to widespread record high temps. The latest NBM max temps remain above MOS guidance so the current forecasts may trend a couple degrees cooler than shown from Wednesday thru Saturday. Either way, even the cooler end of guidance temps have a high chance to break all-time March record highs and even rival some all-time April record highs. Essentially we are seeing temps more typical of late May to early June occurring in late March. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1122 PM MDT Sat Mar 14 2026 While mostly VFR conditions are forecast to prevail through the next 24 hours, weather conditions will deteriorate rapidly tonight as winds aloft surge up in speed. West northwest winds of 50 to 70 kt will be common at 10,000 ft MSL, buffeting mountain peaks and ridgetops and creating mountain wave activity to the lee (east) early Sunday morning. Surface winds in valleys and other sheltered lower elevation locations will stay much lighter through the early morning with just occasional breezy conditions, but this will lead to low level wind shear within the lowest few thousand feet above the surface. Surface winds will then quickly turn strong to severe through the mid to late morning Sunday as a powerful cold front sweeps in with many locations forecast to observe gusts of 35 to 55 kt around mid day. Areas of blowing dust will be a wild card, and some dust prone locations could observe visibility reductions into the MVFR category (3 to 5 miles). Winds will slacken after sunset with speeds continuing to decrease through late Sunday evening. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 132 PM MDT Sat Mar 14 2026 Critical fire weather is ongoing over parts of the area today with the main focus over northeast NM. Southwest to west winds will strengthen in the high terrain tonight then become widespread thru Sunday morning as a powerful cold front surges into NM. Min humidity will fall into the single digits and low teens on Sunday afternoon, despite cooler temps. Northwest to north wind gusts of 50 and 65 mph are likely for most of the area, which will elevate the risk of rapid fire spread in receptive fuels, especially along and east of the central mt chain. Much colder temps will arrive Sunday night but with only fair humidity recoveries. Northwest breezes and very low humidity will continue Monday but with temps near to below normal for mid March. Tuesday thru Saturday will feature a potent upper level high moving east across the region with widespread record high temps, very low humidity, and lighter winds. Mixing will decrease beneath the high with poor to fair vent rates each afternoon. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 36 55 28 64 / 0 0 0 0 Dulce........................... 31 54 20 61 / 0 0 0 0 Cuba............................ 36 51 23 58 / 0 0 0 0 Gallup.......................... 32 58 22 66 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 34 59 29 63 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 36 60 25 66 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 40 63 30 62 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 48 66 33 65 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 43 63 31 62 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 39 70 30 73 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 41 77 33 77 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 29 48 19 55 / 0 0 0 0 Los Alamos...................... 45 55 29 58 / 0 0 0 0 Pecos........................... 39 54 19 59 / 0 0 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 35 45 18 55 / 0 0 0 0 Red River....................... 30 36 15 46 / 0 0 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 31 45 7 51 / 0 0 0 0 Taos............................ 34 51 13 58 / 0 0 0 0 Mora............................ 40 52 19 57 / 0 0 0 0 Espanola........................ 44 59 24 65 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 41 55 24 59 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 40 59 22 61 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 51 60 36 65 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 48 63 33 67 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 47 66 32 71 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 49 63 32 67 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 48 70 29 70 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 48 63 30 68 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 46 67 29 70 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 48 63 30 69 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 46 68 29 70 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 49 59 32 62 / 0 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 49 62 32 67 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 53 73 36 73 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 46 55 30 59 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 47 58 31 60 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 46 58 25 61 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 40 60 15 63 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 41 56 16 56 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 47 60 24 62 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 46 62 21 61 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 48 67 31 61 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 50 61 26 56 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 29 38 8 48 / 0 5 0 0 Raton........................... 36 48 10 51 / 0 0 0 0 Springer........................ 42 54 11 53 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 44 57 15 54 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 36 42 13 50 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 44 53 13 49 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 47 60 17 57 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 53 66 20 55 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 47 59 15 56 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 50 62 20 53 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 51 66 18 55 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 52 68 17 54 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 53 77 26 54 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 55 72 25 58 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 53 69 19 62 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Wind Advisory from 6 AM to 4 PM MDT Sunday for NMZ201-204-212- 218-219-238-240. Red Flag Warning from 9 AM to 8 PM MDT Sunday for NMZ101-104>106- 109-120>126. Red Flag Warning until midnight MDT tonight for NMZ104-123-125. High Wind Warning from 6 AM to 4 PM MDT Sunday for NMZ221-222- 224-230>232-234>237. Wind Advisory from 3 AM to 4 PM MDT Sunday for NMZ206>208-211. High Wind Warning from 3 AM to 4 PM MDT Sunday for NMZ213>215- 223-226>229-233-239. && SHORT TERM...42 LONG TERM....42 AVIATION...52
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
13 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
The KRTN ASOS measured a peak gust of 81 mph. High sustained winds also reached 46 mph during this timeframe.
The KSRR AWOS measured a 64 mph wind gust. High sustained winds also reached 43 mph during this timeframe.
The Mountainair RAWS measured a 60 mph wind gust.
A public weather station north of Sandia Park measured a 62 mph wind gust.
The Highline Ridge station within Taos Ski Valley recorded a 58 mph wind gust.
The LANL5 mesonet station saw a 68 mph wind gust, while several other LANL stations and the KLAM AWOS saw gusts of 58 to 64 mph.
The KLVS ASOS measured a peak gust of 58 mph.
A public weather station at the Hartley Ranch near Roy measured a peak wind gust of 58 mph.
The NMCC SW Clayton mesonet station measured a 67 mph wind gust. Several other mesonet stations and the KCAO ASOS measured wind gusts of 58 to 67 mph while high sustained winds reached 48 mph during this timeframe.
A mesonet station at the Thompson Cattle Ranch measured a peak gust of 62 mph. High sustained winds also reached 42 mph during this timeframe.
A trained spotter in the southern portion of the county estimated a 58 mph wind gust.
A public weather station north of Clines Corners along U.S. Highway 285 measured a 77 mph wind gust.
The KCVN Airport measured high sustained winds of 40 to 43 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: 1310488, 1310487, 1310484, 1310482, 1310481, 1310479, 1310489, 1310491, 1310490, 1310494, 1310495, 1310483, 1310496.