Power Outage in Tucumcari, NM

A cooperative observer reported several power poles downed and a small travel trailer overturned during a strong storm near Tucumcari.

An unseasonably strong storm system that developed over the Great Basin moved quickly east through New Mexico on October 12, 2021 with strong winds, rain, snow, much colder temperatures, and areas of blowing dust. South to southwest winds increased during the early morning of the 12th then became widespread across the region by the afternoon. Severe wind gusts up to 70 mph around Ruidoso blew down trees and power lines. Peak wind gusts of 55 to 65 mph were common across the remainder of central and eastern NM. Blowing dust reduced visibility to around five miles at Ruidoso. A couple rain and snow bands moved through the area as well with a few inches of snow reported in the high terrain. Portions of the northern mountains picked up two to six inches of snow with even some light amounts around Chama and Taos. The coldest temperatures of the season moved into the area behind this system.

A powerful spring storm system that moved slowly east through the southwest United States on May 20-21, 2019 produced a variety of spring weather conditions over northern and central New Mexico. The active weather pattern began on the evening of the 19th when a virga bomb impacted the Albuquerque Sunport with a brief wind gust to 64 mph. Power outages were reported across parts of Nob Hill and Ridgecrest. Low level moisture then surged northwest into eastern New Mexico while a potent jet streak moved in from the southwest. Severe thunderstorms develop over the far eastern plains shortly after midnight. Golf ball size hail, strong winds, and heavy rainfall impacted Quay County. Southwest winds then increased quickly after sunrise on the 20th when widespread wind gusts of 45 to 55 mph were reported around south central and eastern New Mexico. The strongest winds impacted Lincoln County where gusts near 60 mph were reported. Meanwhile, several inches of snow fell over northern and western New Mexico through the morning of the 21st, including Farmington, Gallup, and Raton. Strong northwest winds then impacted much of eastern New Mexico on the afternoon of the 21st as the powerful storm system moved into the Great Plains states. Peak wind gusts of 60 to 70 mph were common along the Interstate 40 corridor east of Tijeras Canyon. Temperatures ended up 15 to 25 degrees below normal in many areas in the wake of this storm system.

A dryline extended from near Roswell to Tucumcari and served to focus a few late afternoon thunderstorms across eastern New Mexico. The strongest storms impacted the area along Interstate 40 near San Jon where penny to nickel size hail and heavy rain were reported. Localized wind damage was also reported to some electrical poles near Rosebud. Powerful thunderstorms were also noted in the area from Roswell to Fort Sumner, House, and Tucumcari during the evening.

A powerful upper level disturbance over the Central Rockies barreled south into New Mexico late Monday night dropping moderate to heavy snow across a large portion of the state, along with gusty winds over much of the east central and southeast plains. Wind gusts between 40 and 60 mph were reported ahead of this system across portions of the eastern plains. The heaviest snow fell Monday night into Tuesday where upwards of 6-10 inches of snow was reported over the higher terrain.

A powerful storm along the west coast of the United States brought strong winds aloft over New Mexico on January 5th. These winds were able to mix down to the surface, producing strong winds over San Miguel and Quay counties.