High based thunderstorms developed ahead of an upper level trough around the Lordsburg Playa. Due to the very dry air at the surface, wind gusts in excess of 75 mph developed and brought near zero visibilities to the area.
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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.
High based thunderstorms developed ahead of an upper level trough around the Lordsburg Playa. Due to the very dry air at the surface, wind gusts in excess of 75 mph developed and brought near zero visibilities to the area.
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 May 13, 11:35 AM MST, 4 hours 20 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 1235 PM MDT Wed May 13 2026 ...New DISCUSSION, AVIATION, FIRE WEATHER... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 1213 PM MDT Wed May 13 2026 - Above average temperatures will continue through the weekend, with today being the hottest of the period,with lowland highs in the upper 90s or even 100 degrees in a few spots. - Spotty thunderstorms with dry lightning strikes possible today over the Gila Region, with virga or sprinkles in the southwest New Mexico lowlands. Any thunderstorms or attempted showers may produce gusty winds and patchy blowing dust in the lowlands. - Breezy and very dry conditions from Thursday onward, creating elevated fire weather, with Thursday and Sunday slightly gustier than Friday and Saturday. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1213 PM MDT Wed May 13 2026 The upper level ridge axis is shifting east of the area today, allowing for south to southwest flow aloft to stream into the area. It is carrying with it plenty of high-level moisture (thus all the cirrus clouds), but also a modicum of mid-level moisture and a very weak embedded impulse. This will all be just enough to pop off a few mostly dry thunderstorms over the Gila, but also in parts of the SW New Mexico lowlands later this afternoon. With dewpoint depressions of 50-60 degrees, any showers (probably virga) or thunderstorms could produce some stronger wind gusts. Added PoPs just high enough to get a mention of thunder with gusty winds in SW New Mexico this afternoon and early evening, along with patchy blowing dust. The dust will be entirely dependent on getting downburst winds in the right place, and should be relatively localized. For tomorrow (Thursday), a weak trough settles across Arizona, and lee troughing develops east of the Rockies. It'll be a breezy day, with winds generally 15 to 25 mph, and some gusts 30 to 35 mph. Likely not enough for blowing dust. Otherwise, relatively quiet weather with occasionally breezy afternoons with southwest winds will persist through the next several days. Temperatures will slowly drop into the upper-80s by early next week as troughing carves out over the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1213 PM MDT Wed May 13 2026 Mostly VFR with light winds through today, but isolated high-based convection with virga and gusty winds will develop this afternoon in SW New Mexico. DMN would stand the best chance of being impacted by stronger wind gusts. Otherwise, some outflow pooling will bring an uptick in west winds to LRU and ELP this evening. Breezy southwest winds are expected on Thursday, with a few gusts 25 to 30 knots possible, mainly after 18Z. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 1213 PM MDT Wed May 13 2026 Risk of isolated dry lighting strikes today in the Gila region and southwestern New Mexico as a very weak disturbance and a sliver of moisture aloft work through the area. Any thunderstorms or attempted showers could produced localized gusty and erratic winds. Hot, dry, and breezy conditions are expected on Thursday for most of the area. With ERCs popping back up to the 90th Percentile, a Red Flag Warning is likely to be issued for our NM zones. Then next several days will bring similarly breezy afternoons, flirting with critical thresholds on Friday and Saturday, and perhaps a more solid uptick on Sunday. Early next week looks similar as troughing digs over the northern Rockies. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... El Paso 73 96 69 93 / 10 0 0 0 Sierra Blanca 64 90 65 88 / 0 0 0 0 Las Cruces 63 92 63 89 / 10 0 0 0 Alamogordo 66 93 60 91 / 0 0 0 0 Cloudcroft 52 71 53 67 / 0 0 0 0 Truth or Consequences 65 92 62 89 / 20 0 0 0 Silver City 57 83 53 80 / 20 0 0 0 Deming 61 94 60 91 / 20 0 0 0 Lordsburg 59 90 55 88 / 30 0 0 0 West El Paso Metro 70 94 67 91 / 10 0 0 0 Dell City 60 95 55 92 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Hancock 68 98 63 96 / 0 0 0 0 Loma Linda 65 87 58 84 / 0 0 0 0 Fabens 66 97 67 94 / 10 0 0 0 Santa Teresa 64 93 65 90 / 10 0 0 0 White Sands HQ 75 94 66 91 / 10 0 0 0 Jornada Range 63 92 56 89 / 0 0 0 0 Hatch 63 95 59 92 / 20 0 0 0 Columbus 66 94 66 92 / 30 0 0 0 Orogrande 65 92 60 88 / 0 0 0 0 Mayhill 56 84 52 81 / 0 0 0 0 Mescalero 55 82 48 78 / 10 0 0 0 Timberon 53 79 45 76 / 0 0 0 0 Winston 51 84 50 82 / 40 0 0 0 Hillsboro 62 90 58 87 / 20 0 0 0 Spaceport 60 92 56 89 / 10 0 0 0 Lake Roberts 52 83 35 81 / 20 0 0 0 Hurley 57 87 54 83 / 20 0 0 0 Cliff 52 90 47 89 / 10 0 0 0 Mule Creek 52 85 42 83 / 0 0 0 0 Faywood 58 86 56 83 / 20 0 0 0 Animas 58 91 55 88 / 20 0 0 0 Hachita 60 90 58 88 / 20 0 0 0 Antelope Wells 59 90 59 88 / 20 0 0 0 Cloverdale 59 84 51 82 / 0 0 0 0 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. NM...None. && FORECASTER...25-Hardiman
The El Paso radar (KEPZ), 181 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:55 UTC.
1 dust storm, 1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
NMDOT cameras captured near zero visibilities around mile marker 11 on Interstate 10.
A mesonet site on Interstate 10 near mile marker 11 recorded a peak gust of 80 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, May 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: 1341212, 1341214.