OCTOBER 2004 WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS FOR NEW MEXICO

October 2004 was near normal in terms of the average temperature across New Mexico, while the precipitation was more varied.  In general, the north and east experienced above normal precipitation, while the southwest was below normal.  

The first two days of October were rather quiet with only isolated showers and thunderstorms.  An increase in low level moisture combined with an upper level disturbance on the 3rd to increase convection across much of the state.  A few of the storms were strong with hail, gusty winds and torrential rain.  A cold front plunged south through the state on the 4th as a stronger upper level disturbance moved toward the state from the west.  The 4th through 7th was an active period with widespread precipitation and numerous reports of hail across the state.  A quieter weather pattern followed from the 8th through 10th with only isolated showers and thunderstorms over the east, as a storm system meandered over the Texas Panhandle.  A storm deepened over the Great Basin on the 11th and pulled moisture into the state from the south.  Scattered showers and thunderstorms were noted over most of the state on the 11th and 12th.  A cold front moved into the state on the 13th with added moisture, leading to even more widespread showers and storms, along with cooler temperatures. Drier conditions returned on the 14th through 16th.  However, the winds began increasing during the middle of the month as the jet stream aloft strengthened out of the northwest and west.  A series of upper level disturbances sped across New Mexico in this fast flow aloft, but with only isolated showers and high elevation, nighttime snow showers over the far northwest from the 17th through 20th.  A stronger disturbance affected the Land of Enchantment on the 21st and 22nd.  This storm moved over California on the 20th, turned east over the Great basin on the 21st, then crossed New Mexico on the 22nd.  Moisture was drawn north ahead of the storm with scattered to numerous showers on the night of the 21st into the early morning of the 22nd.  Cold air infiltrated the northwest as well, with rain changing to snow in the northern and western mountains. The first hard freeze of the season occurred early on the 23rd over portions of the north.  Moisture returned on the 25th with showers and a few thunderstorms, mainly over the southeast half of the state.  The last storm of the month crossed New Mexico on the 29th, delivering showers and high mountain snow showers on the 28th into the 29th.  Winds were the primary weather maker with this system, with another shot of chilly air behind this storm. An even colder air mass approached New Mexico at the end of the month, along with the first significant snow event, strong winds and low wind chills on November 1st. 

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

SPECIAL FEATURE

SNOW CLIMATOLOGY FOR SOME LOWER ELEVATION CITIES

TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION DATA FOR ALBUQUERQUE - OCTOBER 2004

Albuquerque daily actual maximum (red bars) and normal maximum (purple line) temperatures - October 2004

The average maximum temperature for October 2004 was 67.7o, which was 3.0 degrees below the 30 year normal of 70.7o.  This was the 5th month in a row with below average maximum temperatures.

Albuquerque daily actual minimum (blue bars) and normal minimum (purple line) temperatures - October 2004

The average minimum temperature for the month was 45.7o, which was 1.9 degrees above the normal of 43.8o.   The average temperature for September was 56.7o which was 0.6 degrees below the normal of 57.3o.  The low of 34 on the 14th tied a record low for the date.

Albuquerque daily precipitation - October 2004

SEVERE WEATHER ACROSS NEW MEXICO - OCTOBER 2004