Thunderstorm Wind — Torrance, New Mexico

2023-07-24 · near Moriarty, Torrance, New Mexico

Event narrative

A thunderstorm downburst lifted a large solar panel unit and its concrete pillars out of the ground and tossed it several feet away. Many of the panels and the steel frame were damaged or destroyed.

Wider weather episode

During the evening of July 24th, a decaying thunderstorm produced a microburst wind gust that caused damage to a residential solar array just southwest of Moriarty.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.9800, -106.0900)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1103709. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.