High Wind in South Central Highlands, New Mexico

Several extremely remote mesonet stations immediately down wind of mountain gaps across White Sands Missile Range measured high wind gusts up to 93 mph along with high sustained winds up to 55 mph. Peak winds were observed during the mid to late morning hours.

A strong backdoor front moved south and west across eastern New Mexico late March 26th into early March 27th resulting in strong north winds at several locations. The strong northerly winds aided the rapid spread of the Old 66 Wildfire that began just north of I-40 near San Jon, jumping south of the highway. This fire destroyed two structures, but did not cause any injuries or loss of life. The cold front surged through the gaps of the central mountain chain just before sunrise resulting in strong to high east canyon winds across the Tularosa Valley and middle and lower Rio Grande Valley. Mesonet sites across White Sands Missile Range measured wind gusts up to 93 mph. Winds across eastern New Mexico tapered off during the late morning hours while winds across the Tularosa and Rio Grande Valley tapered off during the mid to late evening hours.