High Wind — South Central Mountains, New Mexico

2024-04-06 · South Central Mountains, New Mexico

Event narrative

A wunderground station in Nogal observed a peak wind gust of 72 mph. A peak wind gust of 67 mph and 60 mph was also observed at the Nogal mesonet and the Sierra Blanca AWOS, respectively. High winds resulted in 3 downed trees in the road in Ruidoso and 2 power line wires down. The local electricity provider reported an overall 111 customers without power.

Wider weather episode

A strong Pacific cold front moved through the state during the early morning hours of April 6th resulting in high wind gusts across the central mountain chain and highlands. Daytime mixing of stronger winds aloft behind the Pacific cold front and at the base of an upper level low allowed these high wind gusts to spread into the eastern plains of the state come the late morning hours persisting into the evening hours around sunset. High winds resulted in some downed trees and powerlines in Ruidoso and some downed powerlines in Clovis. Winds across the eastern plains tapered off come sunset, but persisted across the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and adjacent highlands due to mountain wave activity through the morning hours of April 7th. Winds in these locations tapered off midday April 7th.

Keyword: High Winds.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1162409. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.