NEWS
Albuquerque sees its heaviest rain of the season
Northeast Heights saw 1.74 inches and the Sunport recorded a 78 mph wind gust
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A monsoon storm dropped nearly 2 inches of rain on the Northeast Heights on Friday evening while whipping up Albuquerque鈥檚 second-highest wind gust on record.
Clay Anderson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque, said the Sunport recorded a 78 mph wind gust around 6 p.m. The highest gust on record for the city 鈥� which also came during a severe storm 鈥� was 89 mph in July 2013.
The storm spurred the Albuquerque Isotopes to postpone their baseball game and musician Darius Rucker to wait out the rain. At its pinnacle, Anderson said, the showers hung over the Northeast Heights like a jellyfish, dropping 1.74 inches at Indian School and Moon in 30 minutes.
鈥淚n terms of rainfall amounts 鈥� it鈥檚 really impressive for eastern Albuquerque, in general,鈥� he said.
The weather service issued its second flash flood warning of the year for the metro area as arroyos turned into raging rivers. The first warning for the area was July 18, when the foothills recorded 1.3 inches of rain.
Other areas were spared from the deluge, Anderson said, with neighborhoods north of Paseo del Norte picking up from no precipitation to a trace. Parts of the West Side saw a quarter-inch to a half-inch of rain and Rio Rancho recorded a half-inch.
While it is still possible to see a shower or two, Anderson said chances for rain trend down over the next few days before ramping up again Tuesday and Wednesday. He said heat advisories may be in effect Monday and Tuesday, when the city could hit triple-digit highs.
Matthew Reisen is a senior reporter for the Journal. You can reach him at mreisen@abqjournal.com.
