High Wind — Southern Tularosa Basin, New Mexico

2019-03-13 · Southern Tularosa Basin, New Mexico

Event narrative

A mesonet site at San Augustin Pass recorded a peak gust of 104 mph. Other gusts included 76 mph eighteen miles northeast of the White Sands Missile Range Main Post, 75 mph eleven miles northeast of Organ, 69 mph at the White Sands Main Post and 59 mph fourteen miles west-northwest of Orogrande.

Wider weather episode

A deep upper level cutoff low was moving through the New Mexico/Colorado region with a a surface low moving from the eastern plains of Colorado into western Kansas. This system had an upper level jet of over 110 knots over southern New Mexico which allowed winds in excess of 100 mph around Cloudcroft, where significant damage was reported, as well as San Augustin Pass.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 813784. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.