Thunderstorm Wind in De Baca County, New Mexico

A mesonet station in Fort Sumner measured a 62 mph thunderstorm wind gust.

A very wet pattern established itself over northern and central New Mexico on September 1, 2021, as the remnants of what was once Hurricane Nora in the eastern Pacific moved into the southwest United States. An area of high pressure that was over New Mexico migrated eastward as a low pressure system moved inland into the Pacific Northwest. This set up southerly to southwesterly flow across New Mexico which pulled in an abundant amount of tropical moisture into the area. Widespread showers and thunderstorms developed across northern and central New Mexico as a result. Despite record amounts of atmospheric moisture, limited instability lessened the flash flooding risk. However, thunderstorms across the eastern plains were stronger and produced strong downburst winds in excess of 60 mph across portions of the plains.