Ingredients for Storm 2006 came together July 27, 2006

It is hard to articulate the magnitude of the storm that slammed the Borderland in the Summer of 2006.

The storm set records for the amount of rainfall and afflicted our region with devastating flooding.

You may think of August 1st as the day when the storm began, but the ingredients actually started coming together on July 27, 2006, exactly ten years ago today.

This was the setup: a very moist tropical air-mass, light southerly winds driving in all that Gulf of Mexico and Pacific moisture along with a stubborn low pressure system that just didn’t want to move, producing one storm after another.

The moisture crept in early, hitting the Lower Valley with mudslides in Clint and Fabens.

“We had a flash flood watch anticipating there might be some issues, and then the last hour of my shift around seven in the morning, everything started opening up,” National Weather Service Meteorologist Greg Lundeen said.

“I knew this would be something we would remember for a long, long time,” recalled Tim Brice, also a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

The rainfall El Paso received in one day rivaled that received during an entire year.

The technology used to track storms has improved since Storm 2006. We now have better doppler radar systems, satellite images and more “weathernet” sites installed around the Borderland.

Social media has changed the way meteorologists cover storms and share information. Videos and photos submitted by viewers help us track severe storms.

“Radar looked great but it’s better when you see it with eyeballs. Social science says people are more likely to take action when they can see what’s happening,” Brice said.