High Wind — West Slopes of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

2018-04-17 · West Slopes of the Sangre De Cristo Mountains, New Mexico

Event narrative

A weather station a few miles northwest of Glorieta reported peak wind gusts up to 69 mph.

Wider weather episode

A potent upper level storm system sliding east through the southern Rockies spread widespread strong to damaging winds across New Mexico on April 17th. Southwest winds increased quickly during the mid morning hours over western New Mexico before spreading eastward into the Rio Grande Valley and eastern plains. Peak wind gusts averaged 60 to 70 mph across the area. A large tree was blown over at an apartment complex near the Cottonwood Mall in Albuquerque. High winds blew down a power line near the Gallup airport. Wind gusts near 80 mph around Las Vegas caused part of the roof of a nearby church to blow off. Widespread blowing dust was also reported across the area.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 740653. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.