Thunderstorm Wind — Otero, New Mexico

2025-09-23 · near Tularosa, Otero, New Mexico

Event narrative

The White Sands Missile Range site at Tula recorded a peak gust of 78 mph. Another site at the Tula Airstrip recorded a peak gust of 73 mph but could have been higher as comms were cut-off prior to storms arrival. The tower was bent by winds about 30 degrees.

Wider weather episode

An elongated positively tilted upper trough extended through the Great Lakes into Northern New Mexico. An 80 knot jet was also moving through New Mexico which resulted in strong wind shear and severe thunderstorms moving across Sierra and Otero counties with wind gusts up to 78 mph.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (33.0667, -106.1685)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1295082. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.