What month is it again?! Even though we are more than halfway through October, it feels like the state has rewound time and gone back to early September. High pressure building over Arizona will continue to move into New Mexico Tuesday. In Albuquerque, generally expect low 80s to upper 70s with plenty of sunshine and mostly calm conditions to be the name of the game all week long. Albuquerque’s average last 80° day is October 10th, which means this kind of heat is very abnormal for this time of year.
Tuesday afternoon will feature even warmer high temperatures by about 5-10 degrees with calm conditions. A few more clouds will move over the state, but things will remain dry at the surface. The only exception will be over the highest elevations of the Gila close to the Arizona border where isolated showers may arrive late Tuesday afternoon and evening. This is all ahead of a backdoor front that will arrive early Wednesday.
A backdoor cold front arriving Wednesday morning will bring gusty winds across northeast New Mexico, calming down by the afternoon but still breezy statewide. The front will also slightly increase low level moisture east of the Central Mountain Chain, but almost all rain that tries to fall will still evaporate before reaching the ground. Slightly cooler temperatures are forecast north Wednesday, with the rest of the state feeling slightly cooler into Thursday.
By Friday, another large area of high pressure will begin to move over the state. This high pressure system will bring well above average temperatures through Saturday. By Sunday, westerly winds will return to the state with sunny and dry conditions continuing. Either way, the next 7 days will be filled with mostly sunny skies, dry weather, and well above average heat across New Mexico. Enjoy the warmth this week while it lasts, because a large Pacific cold front will arrive next week.
