Hail — Guadalupe, New Mexico

2021-05-17 · near Vaughn, Guadalupe, New Mexico

Event narrative

A trained spotter estimated nickel size hail from a strong thunderstorm near Vaughn. A travel camera indicated that hail had accumulated along U.S. Highway 285, but no impacts were reported.

Wider weather episode

An active stretch of severe weather across eastern New Mexico continued on May 17, 2021 with a significant severe weather outbreak that included multiple tornadoes. As a potent low pressure system approached the state, instability and shear increased across the area, providing a favorable environment for severe thunderstorms. Convective initiation started by late Monday morning over the high terrain of New Mexico. Steering flow generally moved the storms in a northeasterly direction where they intensified over the plains. Several reports of hail and severe winds were received as well as multiple tornado reports. Two supercell tornadoes occurred across eastern New Mexico, but no damage occurred. The environment was even favorable for tornadoes in central New Mexico where three landspout tornadoes were confirmed.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (34.6000, -105.2100)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 949595. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.