High Wind — Lower Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico

2023-08-28 · Lower Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico

Event narrative

The Stallion Runway White Sands Missile Range station measured a peak wind gust of 65 mph. This likely originated from thunderstorm outflow, but no thunderstorms were in the immediate vicinity at the time of the report.

Wider weather episode

A backdoor cold front and shortwave trough across eastern New Mexico helped storms initiate over the central mountain chain during the early afternoon hours. These storms produced rapid flash flooding over the McBride burn scar in Ruidoso. As storms moved east and south off the high terrain, they eventually congealed into a line with strong wind gusts reported at Encino, Roswell, and in parts of Socorro County.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1116468. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.