Temperatures warmed quite a bit from this morning’s frigid start, but we still ended up 15° or so below average. Highs only climbed near 50° for the ABQ metro and upper 50s for the southeast corner. Meanwhile, clouds are beginning to increase this evening all ahead of our next storm system. We’re already overcast near Grants westward through the Continental Divide. This is where our showers begin after midnight tonight. Expect some slick roadways for the Monday morning commute near the Four Corners southward into Gallup. So allow some extra drive time. We have winter storm warnings posted for all the northern mountains with major snow accumulation expected above 8,00 ft. The Sangre de Cristo could pick up 10-20″ through Wednesday, while the San Juan Mountains in southwest Colorado could more than 3 feet!
This persistent wet pattern will send us scattered valley rain and mountain snow showers pretty much each afternoon this week. Our winds will also strengthen, especially east of the mountains with peak gusts 35-55 mph. These winds will help warm temperatures rather significantly in the eastern plains by midweek. We’ll get back to the 70s and lower 80s for southeast NM. Wednesday will be the warmest and most near normal day of the week before another cold front dips our temperatures once again later in the week. We’ll keep the northern mountain snow showers around late week into next weekend as well.
