Flash Flood — Sandoval, New Mexico

2021-07-25 · near Jemez Spgs, Sandoval, New Mexico

Event narrative

Heavy rain in Jemez Springs resulted in the Jemez River to overflow its banks. People who were near the river were forced to move their cars away from their houses to prevent them from washing away. One observer noted that this was the highest they had seen the Jemez River in 25 years. No damages were known.

Wider weather episode

An area of high pressure reorganized over the Texas Panhandle which set up moist southerly flow across New Mexico on July 25, 2021. Above normal atmospheric moisture values helped to set the stage for scattered to numerous thunderstorms across central and western New Mexico as this more traditional monsoon pattern developed. Thunderstorms developed early in the day over the high terrain areas, and combined with weak steering flow and training cells, Lincoln County received some of the highest rainfall totals this day with reports of 1.5 to 3 inches of rain. This lead to flash flooding in the Angus area where water threatened to enter some homes. Flash flooding was also reported in Jemez Springs where the Jemez River overfilled its banks.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (35.7550, -106.7011)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 962407. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.