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Flash Flood — Colfax, NM

Jun 12, 2023

A backdoor front brought moist easterly upslope flow into northeastern NM on June 11th and June 12th. Discrete supercells fired up along the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains during the early afternoon hours of June 11th dropping large to destructive hail as they translated east towards the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles. More storms developed off the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains around sunset dropping more large to destructive hail across the region during the overni

Source: NOAA National Weather Service Storm Events Database (event 1093816). Narrative written by NWS staff at the time of the event.

Flood Risk Context for Colfax, NM

This event is one of many recorded floods in Colfax County. See the full FEMA flood zone map, NFIP claim totals, and disaster history for the area.

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As a backdoor cold front moved into eastern New Mexico, it replinished moisture and provided favorable upslope to allow for more rigorous thunderstorms on July 11, 2022.

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The center of upper level high pressure drifted into New Mexico on August 2nd and led to very slow-moving thunderstorms with torrential rainfall. The area around the Sangre de Cristo Mountains was the hardest hit with flooding.

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