Skip Navigation Linksweather.gov 
NOAA logo - Click to go to the NOAA homepage National Weather Service Forecast Office   NWS Logo - Click to go to the NWS homepage
WFO Albuquerque, NM
Navbar background graphic
  Navbar endcap graphic

Large Hail Pounds Albuquerque and Other Areas Late on the 4th and 5th

At least six thunderstorms over a 16 hour period sent Albuquerque Metro area residents scurrying for cover or woke them from their sleep, as they rumbled their way across the Duke city.  What was unusual about these storms, aside from so many in a relatively short period of time, was they all contained large hail, between 0.75 and 1.75 inches in diameter.  What created such an occurrence?  It was the combination of a strong surface cold front that spread moisture south across the state on the 4th, and a slow moving upper level trough of low pressure.  The infrared satellite image to the right, overlaid with 500mb heights, shows the storm system centered over southwest Colorado during the late afternoon of the 5th.  

The first two hail producing storms actually formed at night, a rare event for Albuquerque.  The Doppler radar loop below from Albuquerque shows the progression of the storms over a 3 hour period.  The first storm produced penny to nickel size hail across roughly the northern half of the city between 1000pm and 1100pm.  The second storm followed quickly behind the first, producing up to 1.75 inch hail in Paradise Hills around 1230am.  Up to three inches of hail accumulation was reported from these storms.  Leaves and some branches were stripped from trees.  This combination of hail accumulation and leaves clogged many drainage systems and resulted in street flooding.  

The second batch of severe thunderstorms moved into the city during the late morning of the 5th, with 4 storms crossing the metro area between 1000am and 130pm.  The radar loop below and to the right shows the progression of the storms.  Up to one and a half inch hail was reported from these storms, with Rio Rancho and Alameda receiving the brunt of the large hail.  The last image also shows Belen being rocked by a severe storm that produced 1.75 inch hail. 

Albuquerque was not the only area to be hit with hail.  Several other locations received large, damaging hail, including Belen, Socorro, near Encino, Picacho, Vaughn, Lovington and between Dexter and Hagerman.  Particularly hard hit was Socorro and the Hagerman area.  The Albuquerque radar image below and to the left reveals the storm that produced up to three inch hail in Socorro, and caused millions of dollars in damage (click here for an image).  At the same time the 7th and final hail producing thunderstorm moved across Albuquerque.  The Cannon Air Force Base radar image below and to the right shows the three storms that moved across southern Chaves county, delivering heavy rain and large hail.  Nearly three and a half inches of rain was reported from Weather Bug data in Hagerman, while hail up to 2.50 inches was reported between Greenfield and Hagerman.  The two photos shown farther below were taken by Steven Johnson of Roswell, with the pictures taken in the Hagerman area on the afternoon of the 5th.    

Hail was not the only significant weather between the 4th and 7th.  There were numerous reports of funnel clouds on the 5th, including a couple of reports west of Albuquerque around 1230pm on the 5th.  Around 130pm there was a report of a funnel and brief tornado touchdown just west of Belen, then at 330pm on the 5th a tornado reportedly touched down briefly between Estancia and MacIntosh in Torrance county.  Finally, several calls came in of funnel clouds between 330pm and 515pm from near Roswell to Hagerman.  A tornado was reported just northeast of Bitter Lake around 335pm.  The photo below shows an impressive wall cloud near Hagerman during the afternoon of the 5th.  Heavy rain produced some flash flooding as well across the state, primarily the eastern plains.  The table below lists some of the 3 day rainfall totals from the 4th through 7th.  Click here for an image displaying estimated rainfall totals for the 1st 7 days of October. 
Rainfall Totals From the 4th - 7th 
Location Rain Amount (inches)
Around Portales 3.47 - 3.82
Clovis 3.52
Melrose 3.25
Santa Rosa 2.89
Fort Sumner 2.51
Las Vegas 1.88
Tucumcari 1.63 - 1.66
Picacho 1.39
Roswell 1.24
around Albuquerque ~ 0.33 to 1.33 inches