Drier air will continue to nudge into western and central New Mexico Thursday, bringing even drier weather to this part of the state. Eastern New Mexico will see an uptick in storm chances Thursday though.

Another downtick in storms Wednesday across New Mexico as dry air continues to move in from the west. However, another crop of storms developed today across the northern mountains and southern New Mexico. Drier air will continue to move into western and central New Mexico Thursday, limiting the chance for storms even more so for these parts of the state. Meanwhile, another round of afternoon showers and storms will develop for northeastern and southern New Mexico.

A weak backdoor cold front will increase the moisture across the eastern half of New Mexico Thursday night through Friday. Once again, the best chance for storms on Friday will be across the eastern half of the state. High pressure will also build over New Mexico through the end of this week. This will trap moisture from the days thunderstorms underneath and help to keep the chance for afternoon showers and storms going. Through the weekend, storms will develop by the afternoon across the mountainous terrain and move slowly and erratically of the higher elevations. Outflow boundaries through the weekend will be key to chances for rain in the valley and lower elevations later in the day.

High pressure will also bring much warmer weather this weekend all across New Mexico with temperatures climbing back above average. High pressure will keep parts of northwestern New Mexico and southwestern Colorado dry. Another change is on the way next week as the high pressure slides northward, bringing in better chances for storms across the southern half of New Mexico early next week.