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Monthly Review of Weather Events Across New Mexico in 2006

The new year began the same way 2005 ended, that is warm and dry with occasional episodes of wind.  In fact, the windiest day of the first ten days of the month was on New Year's Day, while the 3rd, 7th and 8th experienced gusty winds as well.  The first precipitation event of the month did not occur until the 8th, when a rather intense upper level disturbance and associated surface cold front swept through the northeast.  A few inches of snow managed to accumulate from the northern mountains to the far northeast plains.  A somewhat more active weather pattern finally developed for the 2nd half of the month, although the storm systems were relatively weak.  A storm crossed northern New Mexico on the 19th into early on the 20th.  A promising storm for the 25th weakened as it approached New Mexico, but managed to deliver some rain and snow.

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February began relatively dry with gusty winds.  A storm sweeping by to the north on the 2nd delivered some strong and gusty winds to the state.  The first decent shot of some precipitation occurred on the 10th into the 11th as an upper level feature dropped south across the state, with a strong surface front.  This resulted in some snow over the northeast, much colder temperatures in all of the east, and a moderate east wind event into the Rio Grande Valley.   A similar scenario occurred on the 15th to 17th as warm and windy conditions on the 16th turned blustery and cold over the east on the 17th.   Strong winds on the 15th and 16th kicked up plenty of dust across the state.  A back door cold front sent temperatures plummeting downward in the northeast late on the 16th, and all of the east on the 17th.  Mostly dry weather followed from the 18th through the 23rd.  A stronger storm system crossed southern New Mexico on the 24th, bringing some much needed rain to the southern tier of the state.

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The month of March began with more promise than January or February.  A storm system anchored to the west of the state transported a good deal of moisture northeast into New Mexico on the 1st through the 3rd.  Even so, no station across the state reported over a quarter of an inch of precipitation.  Dry weather followed from the 4th through 7th.  The 8th saw some rain and snow showers and even an isolated thunderstorm, as a rather potent upper level disturbance raced across the state.  Strong winds were also felt over the Land of Enchantment, not only on the 8th, but on the 10th through the 12th as well.  A strong upper level storm swept across and north of New Mexico, delivering not only high winds to the state, but ample snowfall over the northwest from late on the 10th into the 12th.  Dry and more tranquil weather returned during the middle of the month.  The 2nd significant storm of the month affected the Land of Enchantment on the 19th and 20th.  Isolated severe thunderstorms were noted over southeast New Mexico during the evening of the 19th.  The next weather maker followed rather quickly, crossing New Mexico on the 22nd.  This storm delivered another round of snow to northern and central portions of the state, as well as the south central mountains.  Dry and more tranquil weather followed from the 22nd through 25th, then a storm raced by to our north on the 26th, supplying much of the state with gusty winds, but little precipitation.

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April began with a storm system sweeping by to the north on the 1st, delivering some showers and a few thunderstorms.  Dry weather followed from the 2nd through 4th, then a slow moving storm moved by to the north on the 5th into the 7th, delivering some precipitation to the west and central areas of the state, and plenty of strong, gusty winds across New Mexico.  Dry and more tranquil conditions proceeded on the 8th and 9th, while strong winds returned on the 10th and 11th as a series of disturbances passed mainly to our north.  Yet another storm lifted north of New Mexico early on the 15th, producing more strong and gusty winds from late on the 14th through the 15th  More wind swept across the state on the 17th as a storm moved well to the north.  A small, but potent upper level disturbance traversed the state on the 20th, sparking a band of showers and thunderstorms over far east central and southeast New Mexico. A generally dry weather pattern followed from the 21st through the 27th.  The most significant storm of the month finally delivered some much needed precipitation to parts of the state on the 27th into the 29th.  Thunderstorms, including isolated severe storms, erupted on the 27th over the east, while more widespread showers and thunderstorms covered the state on the 28th into the morning hours of the 29th.

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While the first two days of May were quiet, a round of severe weather followed from the 3rd through the 5th.  A series of cold fronts moving south across the eastern plains delivered increasing low level moisture, while a slow moving storm system approached from the west.   Severe weather on the 3rd and 4th was isolated, although 1.75 inch hail was reported in Arch and Portales on the 3rd.  Severe storms were more widespread on the 5th across eastern areas.  Thunderstorms continued on the 6th and 7th.  A cold front moved across the state on the 9th, with isolated showers and storms.  A dry microburst blasted the Albuquerque metro area on the evening of the 9th, with a peak wind gust of 60 mph at the Albuquerque Sunport and 62 mph at Double Eagle airport.  A cold front dropped south through the eastern plains late on the 13th and early on the 14th and brought east canyon winds into the Rio Grande Valley.   An increase in moisture also helped trigger scattered showers and storms across the state on the 14th and 15th, with isolated severe weather over the far south on the 14th.  The lingering moisture was recycled on the 16th through 21st, producing daily isolated showers and thunderstorms.  A storm lifted northwest of the state late on the 22nd, generating strong winds, critical fire weather conditions and an increase in showers and storms over the north and east.  More tranquil weather followed  from the 23rd through 25th.   A backdoor cold front at the end of the month helped focus some thunderstorms over the east on the 30th and 31st, including a few strong and severe storms.

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June started off with a round of showers and thunderstorms on the 1st and 2nd, and isolated severe storms mainly in the northeast.  A strong ridge of high pressure built over the state from the 3rd through 5th.  A cold front delivered an increase in moisture over the east on the 6th and 7th, leading to an increase in thunderstorms.  Meanwhile, the high pressure center aloft began to drift east, allowing a decent supply of moisture from old Mexico to surge into the state from the 7th through 9th.  This also helped trigger scattered showers and thunderstorms. The Albuquerque Sunport recorded a 61 mph peak wind gust on the afternoon of the 7th.  The high pressure area aloft built back west over New Mexico from the 10th through the 13th, but a back door cold front brought low level moisture to the northeast on the 11th and 12th.  This resulted in strong thunderstorms on the 11th and a few severe storms on the 12th across the far northeast.  The high aloft then shifted south from the 14th through 16th with strong and gusty winds over much of the state on these two days.  The high pressure area built back to the north from the 17th through 19th bringing dry and very warm weather.  This high shifted south once again for the 20th and 21st with breezy conditions returning to northeast New Mexico, and critical fire weather conditions.  A surge of moisture from the north delivered a round of showers and storms to the state on the 22nd, then again on the 24th through 26th.  Several reports of severe weather were recorded from the 22nd through 28th.

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The month began with scattered showers and thunderstorms over roughly the northwest half of the state on the 1st and 2nd.  A couple of surges of moisture pushed westward across the state from the 3rd through 8th, increasing the coverage of precipitation across New Mexico.  In fact, the 4th through 8th was an active period with showers and thunderstorms producing heavy rains.  The 9th through 14th was less active.  The center of the high pressure area drifted north from the 15th through 18th, resulting in an overall increase in convection, especially over the western half of the state.  A strong cold front from the north rushed into the state on the 21st, enhancing the convection over the north and east, then focused on the west on the 22nd.  The remainder of July experienced near to below seasonable temperatures with daily rounds of showers and thunderstorms.  The most active days were the 26th through 31st, when a disturbance dropped southward from Colorado.  This system circulated abundant moisture throughout most of the state.  During this period there were some reports of damaging flash floods and numerous reports of minor flooding along arroyos and small streams.

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The month began with an active period of showers and thunderstorms producing plenty of rain with some flash flooding.  A stubborn upper level low hung around for the 1st couple of days of August before lifting to the northeast.  Meanwhile a cold front dropped south across the eastern plains late on the 2nd and squeezed into the Rio Grande Valley early on the 3rd.  This increase in low level moisture, combined with a surge of monsoonal moisture from the south, further enhanced convection on the 3rd and 4th across the state.  The 5th through 8th remained very active especially over the western half of the state.  The 9th and 10th were a bit less active as high pressure tried to build back west toward the state.  Another front moved into New Mexico from the north on the 11th.  Meanwhile a good surge of monsoonal moisture began to invade the western part of the state on the 12th and 13th.  This led to widespread showers and thunderstorms and several reports of flash flooding from the 12th through 15th, including the Albuquerque Metro area on the 13th.  Heavy rains continued nearly every afternoon and evening from the 16th through 22nd, completely saturating many locations across the state.  The final week of the month was also wet, with heavy rains mainly over the east on the 25th and 26th, and severe weather on the 27th and 28th.

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The month began active with scattered to numerous showers and thunderstorms on the 1st, with several reports of flash flooding and severe weather, mainly over the southeast plains. Moisture from the remains of Hurricane John raced northeast from Baja California late on the 2nd into the 4th, producing copious amounts of rain over southern New Mexico. Showers and thunderstorms were less widespread on the 5th, but a series of upper level disturbances delivered an increase in convection once again on the 6th through 8th, with a little reduction in activity on the 9th through 11th.  Further drying spread from north to south on the 12th and 13th, then a storm over northern Mexico lifted northeast into the state on the 14th and 15th, enhancing showers and thunderstorms, especially over the west.  A period of dry weather ensued from the 16th through 19th, then a strong mid September storm crossed just north of New Mexico, creating a good west to east flow aloft on the 20th through 22nd.  This led to some strong and gusty surface winds across the state, as well as some showers over the north, and even some snow showers over the northern mountains on the nights of the 20th and 21st.  Mostly dry conditions returned for the last week of the month.

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The month began quiet.  A storm over California on the 5th began to move east and helped draw a subtropical tap of moisture into New Mexico, while a second storm along the west coast did the same thing on the 8th and 9th.  This resulted in widespread precipitation, starting on the 5th in the west and reaching the east by the 8th.  The 9th was the most active day statewide.  Much quieter weather returned from the 11th through 14th.  Another storm moved across New Mexico on the 15th, producing strong thunderstorms over western and southern New Mexico, as well as isolated severe storms in the southeast plains.  A disturbance from the northwest then crossed the state on the 18th, delivering a nice area of rain mainly across the southern half of the state, and gusty winds statewide on the 17th.  Dry and cool weather followed on the 19th and 20th,  with the first freeze of the year recorded at some northwest and central valley locations.  The next significant weather maker was a storm that crossed northern New Mexico early on the 25th.  Moisture was drawn north ahead of the storm and provided the southern portions of the state with a decent amount of rain.  A stronger storm and associated cold front dove southeast from the Pacific Northwest on the night of the 25th through the day on the 26th.  Strong winds and colder temperatures were felt statewide, while wind whipped snow invaded the northeast, creating blizzard-like conditions and the 1st significant snows in New Mexico this fall.

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The first several days of the month were rather benign.  A warm up followed from the 6th through the 8th, with some record high temperatures on the 8th.  A storm passed to our north late on the 9th, but with only light precipitation to the northeast, with winds and fire weather concerns the main focus.  A general cooling trend followed after the 10th as two more storms passed north of the state, one on the 12th and the other early on the 14th.  Both of these systems delivered a bit more widespread precipitation across the north.  What was impressive with the system on the 14th was the wind. Strong winds affected nearly the entire state.  The second half of the month was dry and mild with little in the way of excitement, that is until the last three days of the month.  A storm from the Pacific Northwest dove southeast into New Mexico late on the 29th.  A strong cold front blasted from north to south over the state on the 29th as well.  Snow developed ahead of the storm over the northwest on the 28th, then spread south and east on the 29th through early on the 30th.  Dramatically colder temperatures were also felt on the 29th along with gusty north winds, producing some blowing and drifting snow.

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Generally dry and chilly conditions characterized the first few days of the month, followed by much milder temperatures on the 3rd through 5th. In addition, a weak disturbance did bring some snow to the northern mountains late on the 2nd.  A couple of cold fronts on the 6th and 7th sent temperatures generally lower over the eastern plains.  A storm centered over Colorado early on the 11th delivered some snow across the north, with generally two inch or less snowfalls, except for higher amounts in the northern ski areas.  A quiet weather pattern followed from the 12th through 17th.  Then a major storm began to influence New Mexico on the 18th with winds, colder temperatures and some precipitation.  Heavy snow then fell on the 19th into the 20th over the north and west, while freezing rain plagued much of the east on the 19th before changing to some snow on the 20th.  The weather quieted down from the 21st through 26th, aside from a windy day on the 24th, especially in the east.  Along with the wind was a little snow and blowing snow in the northeast on the 24th.  The second and last significant storm of the month (and year) affected New Mexico from the 28th through 30th.  This was a slow moving storm that produced impressive snowfall totals over the northern mountains and northeast. The system organized over California on the 26th and 27th, then reached New Mexico on the 28th, where it slowed to a crawl before gradually moving northeast on the 30th. 

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Albuquerque Winds

The complex terrain within the Rio Grande Valley can have a significant effect on the direction and speed of the wind near the surface, providing a challenge for forecasters predicting the wind at the Albuquerque Sunport. The north-south orientation of the Rio Grande valley along with Tijeras Canyon a few miles to the east allow two of our more frequent wind patterns to develop. During the night time hours, when a weak pressure gradient is in place, drainage winds can develop. These drainage winds are common in the Rio Grande Valley, and result in a north wind at Albuquerque. When the pressure gradient is stronger and supports an east to west flow, Tijeras Canyon acts as a funnel and channels enhanced easterly winds into the Albuquerque metro area. This special feature of the annual review describes the surface wind patterns for January, February, and March (JFM) of 2006, as well as August 2006. Effects of the terrain, as well as anomalous weather patterns during the summer of 2006 are evident in wind distribution at the Albuquerque Sunport.

Cool Season

The wind distribution for the period January through March 2006 is shown below. The wind rose illustrates that north and east winds were recorded with greatest frequency. The wind rose for 2006 is similar to a climatological wind rose for this same period. During the winter months, a semi-permanent surface high pressure system is common over the intermountain west and is generally established to the north of the Four Corners region. Weak surface pressure gradients and clear skies are common with this pattern, resulting in the development of drainage winds in areas of complex terrain, or a north wind at the Albuquerque Sunport. When strong cold fronts move southward across the eastern plains of New Mexico, northeast to east winds develop in behind the front. The east winds increase in speed as they move through Tijeras Canyon. Note in the wind rose that while north winds are more common, the east winds are stronger in speed. A comparison of wind roses for late night and afternoon hours, illustrates that the north drainage winds and east canyon winds are most common during the night hours. In the afternoon, mixing helps to transport upper level west and south winds to the surface. These winds are often strongest ahead of approaching winter storm systems.

August

The summer of 2006 was much wetter than normal. In August, an exceptionally persistent monsoon pattern developed. The mid level pressure pattern during August featured a nearly stationary high pressure cell over the southern states with a weak trough of low pressure off the west coast. Clockwise flow around the high pressure results in south winds with a transport of subtropical moisture from Mexico. In the figure below, the wind rose for August of 2006 is compared to that for the period from 1985 to 2006. Note the increase in southeast winds and dramatic reduction of southwest and north winds at the Albuquerque Sunport. Additionally, thunderstorms across the eastern plains produce outflow boundaries or local areas of high pressure which can result in east winds channeled through Tijeras Canyon. These east winds occur with a higher frequency than the winter months, and in August of 2006 the east wind events were even more frequent than normal.

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