Lightning — Santa Fe, New Mexico

2021-07-06 · near Otto, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Event narrative

A lightning strike resulted in a structure fire in Edgewood during the early morning hours of July 6th. The fire destroyed a shed, a porch, and a fifth wheel RV. Damages are estimated for the loss of the property.

Wider weather episode

The area of high pressure that had been centered over the Four Corners shifted slightly westward on July 6, 2021. Meanwhile, low level return flow continued which aided in keeping moisture values high across New Mexico. With sufficient instability and shear, another crop of thunderstorms developed first across the high terrain before becoming more widespread across lower elevations. With numerous days of widespread thunderstorms and heavy rainfall, soils across northern and central New Mexico were saturated and primed for more flash flooding. Numerous flash floods were reported across the area with the most significant flash flooding occurring in the Belen area and farther south into Socorro County. Several inches of rainfall breached a canal in Belen which flooded low-water crossings as well as numerous homes and businesses. A State of Emergency was declared in Valencia County due to the flooding.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.1000, -106.1000)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 960295. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.