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WGUS64 KEPZ 210518
FFAEPZ

URGENT - IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED
Flood Watch
National Weather Service El Paso Tx/Santa Teresa NM
1118 PM MDT Sun Sep 20 2026

NMZ403-407>411-414>417-425>429-TXZ418>420-423-211830-
/O.NEW.KEPZ.FA.A.0013.260922T1800Z-260924T0100Z/
/00000.0.ER.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.000000T0000Z.OO/
Southern Gila Foothills/Mimbres Valley-Southwest Desert/Mimbres
Basin-Eastern Black Range Foothills-Sierra County Lakes-Northern
Dona Ana County-Southern Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley-West
Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet-Sacramento Mountains
Above 7500 Feet-East Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet-
Otero Mesa-Central Grant County/Silver City Area-Southern Gila
Region Highlands/Black Range-West Central Tularosa Basin/White
Sands-East Central Tularosa Basin/Alamogordo-Southeast Tularosa
Basin-Western El Paso County-Eastern/Central El Paso County-
Northern Hudspeth Highlands/Hueco Mountains-Rio Grande Valley of
Eastern El Paso/Western Hudspeth Counties-
Including the cities of White Sands National Park, Cloudcroft, Hatch,
Pinon, Hurley, Deming, Las Cruces, Downtown El Paso, Kingston,
Holloman AFB, Tornillo, Mimbres, Lake Roberts, Fabens, Alamogordo,
Spaceport, Loma Linda, Mountain Park, Fort Hancock, Orogrande, Grant
County Airport, Hueco Tanks, Chaparral, West El Paso, Radium Springs,
Sunland Park, Columbus, Apache Summit, Hillsboro, Crow Flats, Fort
Bliss, Mayhill, Sacramento, Fort Bayard, White Sands Range
Headquarters, Garfield, Winston, Upper Valley, Silver City, Truth Or
Consequences, Faywood, Timberon, East and Northeast El Paso, Socorro,
Sunspot, Tularosa, Derry, Mescalero, and Vado
1118 PM MDT Sun Sep 20 2026

...FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM TUESDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH WEDNESDAY
EVENING...

* WHAT...Flooding caused by excessive rainfall is possible.

* WHERE...Much of south-central New Mexico and Far West Texas,
  including El Paso, Las Cruces, and the Mesilla Valley.

* WHEN...From Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday evening.

* IMPACTS...Excessive runoff may result in flooding of arroyos,
  rivers, streams, and other low-lying and flood-prone locations.
  Flooding may occur in poor drainage and urban areas. Low-water
  crossings may be flooded, resulting in road closures.

* ADDITIONAL DETAILS...
  - An early season back door cold front will interact with a late
    season plume of deep monsoonal moisture, bringing several rounds
    of thunderstorms with torrential downpours to the region Tuesday
    afternoon through Wednesday evening. Repeated thunderstorms may
    tend to focus in one or two areas, resulting in higher end
    precipitation totals. The most critical period with the heaviest
    rain potential will likely be Tuesday night into Wednesday
    morning.
  - A broad swath of moderate to locally heavy rainfall is likely to
    affect most of the Watch area between late Tuesday afternoon and
    Wednesday evening, with typical, scattered monsoon season flood
    impacts. However, there is increasing potential for a narrow band
    of repeated thunderstorms which will result in particularly heavy
    rainfall amounts, possibly exceeding 3 inches in a 6 to 12 hour
    period, resulting in higher-end impacts. Forecast models
    currently favor placing the focus for heaviest rainfall over the
    Mesilla Valley and El Paso. But forecasts this far out,
    especially when dealing with thunderstorms, are simply not
    accurate enough to precisely tell yet where exactly this area of
    heaviest rainfall will set up. It could just as easily shift west
    or east and avoid the more populated corridor.
  - http://www.weather.gov/ElPaso

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

The forecast will be fine-tuned and will evolve over time. You should
monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings
Tuesday afternoon and evening. The Wednesday morning commute may also
be impacted. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be
prepared to take action should flooding develop.

&&

$$

MPH