Winter just won’t leave! Temperatures were a solid 15-20° once again this afternoon. Highs were more in line with late January than late March. Carlsbad and Roswell were somewhat milder thanks to abundant sunshine. Clouds this evening are thickening up across the northern half of the state. Scattered snow showers are beginning to push in from eastern Arizona. This moisture slides east from the Continental Divide through all the northern mountains overnight tonight into Sunday. Expect some slick roadways near Gallup by early Sunday morning. Keep those snow brushes out still with a couple light inches of accumulation for the higher terrain.
The other story Saturday has been the stronger wind gusts close to 50 mph east of the mountains. The March winds are back! Thankfully, wind advisories have since expired, but some breezy conditions still exist tonight for eastern NM. These stronger winds will overall continue in this forecast including tomorrow. West winds will peak 30-40 mph while temperatures remain well below average through into Monday. We’re finally tracking some warmer temps by Tuesday as our winds turnaround from the south. A brief ridge builds in before the next storm eyes southern California and the desert southwest. This allows high temps to soar closer to average, lower to middle 60s in the ABQ metro and approaching 80° south. The storm begins spilling into western NM early Thursday, cranking up wind gusts dramatically. Our temperatures will be all over the place then, with highs falling west but soaring east. The rest of the state cools off later in the week as showers develop into Friday afternoon.
