MAY 2003 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS FOR NEW MEXICO

May 2003 across New Mexico was warmer and drier than normal at most locations, although there were pockets of above normal rainfall across the eastern plains. 

The first two weeks of the month were mostly dry and warm across the Land of Enchantment with several windy days.  These winds were the result of a series of upper level disturbances passing north of the state.  At the surface a couple of cold fronts were able to bring brief cooling to mainly the north.  One such front slipped into the northeast on the 2nd, delivering a few showers and thunderstorms over the far northeast plains.  Storms passed north of New Mexico on the 4th, 6th and 9th, resulting in plenty of wind but little moisture.  A little snow actually fell in the northern mountains above 7500 feet on the 4th, while isolated showers and thunderstorms affected the north on the 6th.  The windiest periods were the 3rd through 4th and 8th through 9th.  A more significant storm crossed New Mexico on the 15th, bringing high winds to much of the state and  isolated severe weather to the far Northeast.  An upper level ridge of high pressure built over the state from the 16th through 18th providing dry and much warmer weather.  In fact, several record highs were set in the southeast on the 18th.  A strong cold front blasted into the northeast early on the 19th and raced south during the day, and west over the central mountains on the evening of the 19th.  Strong winds roared through the Rio Grande Valley with a peak wind gust of 49 mph at the Albuquerque Sunport.  Cooler and more moist conditions were found across New Mexico on the 20th through 22nd with isolated showers and thunderstorms over the north and east.  A ridge of high pressure remained over or west of the state for the remainder of the month, but moisture was able to remain at low levels especially across the east, thanks to a persistent southeast flow.  Weak upper level disturbances crossed the state from the 23rd through 26th and helped trigger rounds of showers and thunderstorms, and isolated severe weather was reported each of these days.  The most active day was on the 25th, when thunderstorms produced heavy rain and isolated reports of large hail across the eastern plains.  A tornado was seen east of Willard during the midday hours of the 25th.  The area of high pressure aloft strengthened from the 27th to 30th, resulting in a decrease in the coverage and intensity of thunderstorms.  Another cold front raced into the northeast on the 31st, decreasing temperatures and increasing moisture.  Another round of showers and thunderstorms on the 31st were concentrated over mainly the eastern half of the state, with heavy rain recorded over De Baca, Guadalupe and eastern San Miguel counties. 

Storm Delivers Plenty of Wind, Isolated Severe Weather on the 15th

A storm over California on the 14th raced across New Mexico on the 15th, blasting the state with high winds, along with isolated severe weather in the far Northeast.  The water vapor satellite image above shows the storm near the ffour corners area during the late morning hours of the 15th.  The storm was able to draw plenty of low level moisture northward into eastern New Mexico by the 15th, while dry air worked into the west.  This set up quite a contrast in low level moisture, as depicted by the surface dew points above and to the right.  The combination of low level moisture and upper level instability from the storm helped trigger thunderstorms over the east and northeast plains.  A couple of these storms became severe during the middle of the afternoon, as shown on the Amarillo Doppler radar image to the right.  The more widespread event with this system was the wind.  High winds were recorded over much of the state with plenty of dust and sand reported in the air.  The image below depicts the wind speeds during the late morning of the 15th.  Winds continued to strengthen during the afternoon hours.  The table below and to the right lists the peak wind gusts for several locations across the state.
	Peak Wind Gusts From the 15th  Location Peak Wind Gust (mph) Clines Corners 60 Sierra Blanca Airport 60 Clayton 56 Artesia 56 Raton 56 Roswell 55 Double Eagle Airport 55 Tucumcari 54 Las Vegas 53 Holloman AFB 53 Hobbs 52 Albuquerque 50

An active Memorial Weekend for Thunderstorms

A persistent southeast low level flow was established on the 20th of the month spreading moisture across the state (mainly the eastern plains) through the end of the month. As the Memorial Day holiday weekend approached, sufficient low level moisture was in place, along with weak upper level disturbances, to spawn scattered thunderstorms. The 23rd through 26th was an active period, with isolated reports of severe weather each afternoon and evening.  The first reports of severe weather came on the 23rd during the middle of the afternoon.  Large hail was reported across far northeast New Mexico, including 2 inch hail 5 miles north of Moses (about 11 miles northeast of Seneca) in Union county.  Isolated severe weather was reported across the northeast and east central plains on the 24th, then a cold front dropped south across the plains on the 24th, increasing moisture even more in the lower atmosphere.  This resulted in a very active day on the 25th, with heavy rain and more isolated severe weather across the eastern plains.  There was even a tornado east of Willard in Torrance county during the midday hours of the 25th. The table to the left shows some impressive rainfall totals for the 25th.  The radar loops below from Albuquerque's Doppler radar reveals impressive storms over central New Mexico on the 25th (below) and 26th (below and to the right).

Rainfall Totals From the 25th Location Amount (Inches) Cuba 4.38 Mountainair 1.88 - 3.50 Batdraw (Chaves Co.) 2.41 Stanley 2.15 Melrose 1.68 Carlsbad 1.66 Tucumcari 1.57 Corona 0.67 Pedernal 0.62

TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION DATA FOR ALBUQUERQUE - MAY 2003

Albuquerque daily actual maximum (red bars) and normal maximum (purple line) temperatures - May 2003

The average maximum temperature in Albuquerque during May 2003 was 81.1o, which was 1.4 degrees above the 30 year normal (1971 - 2000) of 79.7o.  There were no record high or record low maximum temperatures set in May 2003.

Albuquerque daily actual minimum (blue bars) and normal minimum (purple line) temperatures - May 2003

The average minimum temperature for May 2003 was 54.0o, which was 4.3 degrees above the normal of 49.7o.  This was the 14th month in a row with above normal average minimum temperatures. The low of 65 on the 24th was a new record high minimum temperature for the date. The average temperature for the month was 67.6o which was 2.9 degrees above the 30 year normal of 64.7o.

Albuquerque daily precipitation - May 2003

SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS NEW MEXICO - MAY 2003