35th Anniversary Of The Wagon Wheel Road Tornado - Carlsbad, NM (May 31, 1991) - Scattered/Numerous T-Storms This Week.
Remembering The Wagoon Wheel Rd. Tornado 35 Years Ago Today. Thirty-five years ago this evening, perhaps one of the strongest, if not the strongest, tornadoes in Eddy County touched down at the southwest end of Wagoon Wheel Rd, three miles southeast of the Carlsbad Airport at 8:49 PM MDT. I was the weather observer on duty at the Carlsbad Airport that evening. Upon seeing the power flashes and the tornado that was illuminated by them, I immediately ran back into the FAA Flight Service Station weather office and issued a single-element special weather observation (Tornado). I then called 911 in Carlsbad and notified them, then I called the Albuquerque National Weather Service Office, which had forecast and warning responsibility for Eddy County at the time, and notified them. My last phone call was to Steve Devine in Roswell, who was the on-camera TV weathercaster at the time. Warnings to the public were immediately issued. All of the photos in my blog post below were t...
