A lovely day is in store to end off the work week. Temperatures will be a few degrees warmer than yesterday statewide, with plenty of sunshine and calm winds. An isolated shower is possible far north, along the eastern slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains which could be beneficial if any rain falls over the Las Tusas fire. By tomorrow, widespread moisture will arrive to New Mexico.
Moisture will first arrive in eastern New Mexico overnight, before a cold front ushers that moisture west throughout the day Saturday. This will allow more cloud coverage to arrive Saturday afternoon as rain moves from east to west early Saturday afternoon. Storms will begin to form across the western parts of the state, potentially moving over the Rio Grande Valley overnight. However, there is a lot of uncertainty still with timing and intensity of showers and storms this weekend.
More rain will arrive Sunday, with far eastern parts of the state expected to see the heaviest rainfall, lesser amounts farther west. There is actually a low to moderate risk for excessive rainfall across far eastern New Mexico Saturday, slightly lower risk Sunday. Either way this is great news for drought conditions and fire season. In fact, moisture is actually going to stick around into next week, with rain chances continuing for the next 5-7 days. Remain weather aware.