Heat — Albuquerque Metro Area, New Mexico

2017-06-20 to 2017-06-24 · Albuquerque Metro Area, New Mexico

Event narrative

High temperatures across the Albuquerque Metro area ranged from 100 to 106 degrees on four consecutive days. The hottest temperature at the Albuquerque Sunport reached 103 degrees on June 22nd. A record high minimum temperature of 76 degrees was set on June 22nd, breaking the previous record of 74 degrees from 2015. Record high temperatures were also set at the Albuquerque Foothills, Albuquerque Valley, Jemez Dam, and Los Lunas.

Wider weather episode

A strong dome of high pressure centered over the southwestern United States along with exceptionally dry air set the stage for a brutal heatwave over New Mexico for several days. The excessive heat starting building over central and western New Mexico on the 20th then spread eastward on the 21st before peaking on the 22nd. A back door cold front pushed into eastern New Mexico on the 23rd bringing relief to the hot temperatures for parts of the area. However, central and western New Mexico continued to bake in the heat through the 23rd. High temperatures ranged from 100 to 110 degrees over nearly the entire state while relative humidity values fell to as low as one percent in some areas. Dozens of record high maximum and record high minimum temperatures were set across the region. Only locations with records that extend back several decades were included in the heatwave summary. A wildfire that broke out in Quay County burned over two volunteer firefighters while they were refilling a water tanker. Unfortunately, one of the firefighters was killed and another was injured.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 696349. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.