Hail — Rio Arriba, New Mexico

2018-07-31 · near Youngsville, Rio Arriba, New Mexico

Event narrative

Hail up to the size of pennies reported a mile west-northwest of Youngsville.

Wider weather episode

A moist and unstable atmosphere in place across New Mexico produced scattered showers and thunderstorms across the state on July 31st. High pressure centered over eastern Arizona allowed steering flow to push storms southward from the higher terrain of northern New Mexico into nearby valleys through the evening. A strong thunderstorm that developed near Chama around 3 pm moved south and became severe as it reached the Youngsville area where two inch hail was reported. This thunderstorm remained severe as it moved across the Jemez Mountains. Hail up to the size of golf balls with torrential rainfall in the Jemez Valley produced widespread hail damage and flash flooding. This storm continued southward into the Rio Rancho area with quarter size hail. Severe thunderstorms also produced large hail and heavy rainfall around Mineral Hill, Rociada, and Carrizozo.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.2000, -106.5600)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 762832. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.