A weak upper low was located over southwest Arizona with southerly flow over the Rio Grande Valley. This southerly flow helped draw up enough moisture for some high based thunderstorms to develop over the White Sands Missile Range and drop some strong wind gusts with them.
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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.
A weak upper low was located over southwest Arizona with southerly flow over the Rio Grande Valley. This southerly flow helped draw up enough moisture for some high based thunderstorms to develop over the White Sands Missile Range and drop some strong wind gusts with them.
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 25, 10:59 AM MST, 1 hour 46 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service El Paso TX/Santa Teresa NM 1159 AM MDT Mon May 25 2026 ...New DISCUSSION, AVIATION, FIRE WEATHER... .KEY MESSAGES... - Scattered showers and thunderstorms will affect much of the area today, spreading west to east. - Storms today will be capable of severe wind gusts, brief heavy rainfall, and plentiful lightning. Patchy blowing dust also possible. - Dry southwest flow aloft will keep the area mostly dry Wednesday through Saturday. Otero and Hudspeth counties could see thunderstorms later in the work week due to dryline intrusions. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 1150 AM MDT Mon May 25 2026 A negatively tilted upper trough will produce showers and thunderstorms throughout the day progressing west to east. Some storms will be capable of severe wind gusts (58+ mph) from outflows and sub-severe hail (<1"). Blowing dust from gusty outflow winds will also be a concern near dust prone areas. By early tonight, thunderstorms will still be ongoing but much of the activity will be east of the Rio Grande. Some lingering activity possible early Tuesday morning for the Sacramento Mtns and far eastern areas of the CWA. A much larger upper trough will dig over the PacNW Tuesday morning with diffluent flow over the area coupled with leftover moisture will allow for another round of thunderstorms but mostly over the area mountains like the Gila region, Sacramento Mtns, and the San Andres. This upper low will continue to spin over California on Wednesday keeping the area in diffluent flow but much drier southwest flow will have pushed in keeping the area dry throughout the day. The dryline pushes westward into the area Thursday morning but looks like the best moisture is further to the east. Isolated thunderstorms possible in far eastern areas of Otero and Hudspeth counties that afternoon if enough moisture is still present. Moisture sneaks in again and pushes into the area Friday morning. Thunderstorms possible again in far eastern areas if enough moisture can stay in the area. Wind speeds will be tame throughout the forecast period with some afternoon breeziness each day around 10-15 mph that relaxes overnight. Temperatures stay near seasonal to below normal for this time of year. && .AVIATION... (18Z TAFS) Issued at 1150 AM MDT Mon May 25 2026 Thunderstorms will continue to push west to east through the day today and tonight. Thunderstorms will be capable of very gusty and erratic outflow winds. In addition, patchy blowing dust possible from thunderstorm outflows as well as brief heavy rain which could also cause reductions in visibilities. Storms will start to diminish after dark and will also be mostly to the east of terminals later this evening. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 1150 AM MDT Mon May 25 2026 Generally low fire weather concerns due to wind speeds staying below critical thresholds each afternoon. Thunderstorms this afternoon will continue to push eastward. Another round of thunderstorms possible tomorrow afternoon mostly focusing over the area mountains. Min RHs tomorrow will be in the single digits in far southwestern NM with values of 6-10% but much higher min RHs will be found the further north and east you go into New Mexico. The Sacramento Mtns will see RHs of around 40-45%. Expect light southwest to westerly breezes at 5-10 mph. Wednesday through Saturday will feature dry conditions for much of the area, a moisture boundary (dryline) will push moisture in from the Great Plains late Tuesday into Wednesday morning before this boundary gets shoved eastward throughout the day. The dryline will continue making a westward push overnight and push eastward each afternoon. Thursday through Saturday, Otero and Hudspeth counties will have the best chances to see thunderstorms but elsewhere will stay dry. Min RHs stay critical each afternoon Wednesday through Saturday throughout the lowlands (6-12%) and near critical in the Sacramento Mtns (18-20%). && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... El Paso 61 87 61 90 / 50 10 0 0 Sierra Blanca 55 81 53 85 / 60 10 0 0 Las Cruces 52 85 53 88 / 40 0 0 0 Alamogordo 55 81 55 87 / 80 30 20 0 Cloudcroft 41 59 41 66 / 90 50 20 0 Truth or Consequences 55 82 54 86 / 60 20 20 0 Silver City 50 78 49 82 / 10 10 0 0 Deming 53 89 54 91 / 20 0 0 0 Lordsburg 55 86 54 87 / 10 0 0 0 West El Paso Metro 61 86 61 89 / 40 0 0 0 Dell City 55 82 53 89 / 60 50 0 0 Fort Hancock 60 90 59 93 / 70 0 0 0 Loma Linda 55 79 55 84 / 50 10 0 0 Fabens 58 89 57 92 / 20 0 0 0 Santa Teresa 55 85 56 89 / 30 0 0 0 White Sands HQ 61 84 61 88 / 60 20 0 0 Jornada Range 52 83 52 87 / 60 10 10 0 Hatch 53 87 52 90 / 40 10 10 0 Columbus 58 89 61 91 / 10 0 0 0 Orogrande 55 81 54 86 / 70 20 0 0 Mayhill 46 69 43 78 / 90 60 20 0 Mescalero 45 70 44 76 / 80 40 20 0 Timberon 44 67 42 75 / 90 40 10 0 Winston 43 74 43 81 / 60 50 20 0 Hillsboro 53 81 53 84 / 40 20 10 0 Spaceport 50 82 49 88 / 60 20 20 0 Lake Roberts 44 78 44 81 / 20 10 0 0 Hurley 48 81 48 83 / 20 0 0 0 Cliff 51 85 49 89 / 10 0 0 0 Mule Creek 49 81 48 84 / 10 10 0 0 Faywood 50 81 50 84 / 20 0 0 0 Animas 54 86 55 89 / 0 0 0 0 Hachita 54 86 55 89 / 10 0 0 0 Antelope Wells 55 86 54 89 / 0 0 0 0 Cloverdale 53 80 52 81 / 0 0 0 0 && .EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... TX...None. NM...None. && FORECASTER...37-Slusher
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service El Paso TX
1240 PM MDT Mon May 25 2026
NMZ414-415-417-427>429-251915-
Southeast Tularosa Basin NM-Otero Mesa NM-
West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet NM-
East Central Tularosa Basin/Alamogordo NM-
West Central Tularosa Basin/White Sands NM-
Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet NM-
1240 PM MDT Mon May 25 2026
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT WEST CENTRAL OTERO COUNTY
THROUGH 115 PM MDT...
At 1240 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 14
miles southwest of Sunspot, moving north at 20 mph.
HAZARD...Wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph and half inch hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
Alamogordo, Holloman Air Force Base, Boles Acres, and Oliver Lee
State Park.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
Frequent cloud to ground lightning is occurring with this storm.
Lightning can strike 10 miles away from a thunderstorm. Seek a safe
shelter inside a building or vehicle.
&&
LAT...LON 3253 10584 3254 10608 3285 10614 3284 10584
TIME...MOT...LOC 1840Z 183DEG 16KT 3261 10596
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...55 MPH
KSSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service El Paso TX
126 PM MDT Mon May 25 2026
NMZ414-427>429-252015-
Southeast Tularosa Basin NM-
West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet NM-
East Central Tularosa Basin/Alamogordo NM-
West Central Tularosa Basin/White Sands NM-
126 PM MDT Mon May 25 2026
...STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WILL IMPACT NORTHWESTERN OTERO COUNTY THROUGH
215 PM MDT...
At 125 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a cluster of strong
thunderstorms near Holloman Air Force Base, moving north at 20 mph.
These storms will increase in coverage across the Tularosa Basin
over the next hour. Localized downburst wind gusts could kick up
blowing dust and sand. Small hail is also possible.
HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects.
Locations impacted include...
Tularosa, Alamogordo, White Sands National Park, Bent, Burro Flats,
La Luz, Holloman Air Force Base, Boles Acres, and Oliver Lee State
Park.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
&&
LAT...LON 3265 10593 3265 10619 3322 10630 3321 10585
TIME...MOT...LOC 1925Z 182DEG 18KT 3284 10608
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.00 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH
MPHSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service El Paso TX
132 PM MDT Mon May 25 2026
NMZ411-427-429-TXZ418>420-252000-
Southeast Tularosa Basin NM-
West Central Tularosa Basin/White Sands NM-
Southern Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley NM-
Eastern/Central El Paso County TX-
Northern Hudspeth Highlands/Hueco Mountains TX-
Western El Paso County TX-
132 PM MDT Mon May 25 2026
...A STRONG THUNDERSTORM WILL IMPACT THE EL PASO METRO AREA THROUGH
200 PM MDT...
At 130 PM MDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm
intensifying over the Juarez Mountains, just south of Downtown El
Paso, moving north at 25 mph. Additional storms were developing
around Socorro.
HAZARD...Wind gusts up to 50 mph and half inch hail.
SOURCE...Radar indicated.
IMPACT...Gusty winds could knock down tree limbs and blow around
unsecured objects. Minor hail damage to vegetation is
possible.
Locations impacted include...
El Paso, Mission Valley, Chaparral, Horizon City, Anthony, Sunland
Park, San Elizario, Anthony Gap, Canutillo, Westway, Fort Bliss,
Vinton, Socorro, Sparks, Homestead Meadows, and Biggs Field.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
If outdoors, consider seeking shelter inside a building.
This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio
stations and available television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
&&
LAT...LON 3157 10628 3162 10630 3169 10635 3171 10637
3174 10639 3176 10645 3175 10649 3178 10653
3179 10662 3206 10664 3203 10607 3156 10627
TIME...MOT...LOC 1930Z 182DEG 20KT 3172 10650
MAX HAIL SIZE...0.50 IN
MAX WIND GUST...50 MPH
MPHThe Holloman AFB radar (KHDX), 56 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:45 UTC.
2 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A peak gust of 60 mph was recorded at the Apache Mesonet site on the White Sands Missile Range.
A peak gust of 59 mph was recorded at the White Sands Missile Range Main Post. In addition, a tree was blown down nearby.
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: 1341225, 1341226.