Dust Devil — Taos, New Mexico

2019-09-01 · near El Prado, Taos, New Mexico

$50K

Property damage

Event narrative

A large dust devil moved across state road 150 and over the Medley restaurant north of Taos. A large section of roofing was torn off the restaurant. The restaurant was closed for several days. Fortunately there were no injuries. Damage amounts have been estimated based on news footage of the dust devil.

Wider weather episode

A very hot and unstable airmass with meager moisture over northern New Mexico set the stage for a couple showers and thunderstorms on September 1, 2019. A large dust devil kicked up on the edge of one of these showers near Taos during the late afternoon hours. The dust devil damaged the roof of the Medley restaurant as it moved rapidly through the property. Fortunately, there were no injuries with this dust devil event.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (36.4714, -105.5936)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 842026. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.