It should be another quiet start to the day Wednesday with light winds for Balloon Fiesta. Winds will pick up by Wednesday afternoon with strong wind gusts through Thursday night.
Spotty showers have developed across New Mexico Tuesday with isolated thunderstorms in the southeast part of the state. Most of the rain from these showers is evaporating before reaching the ground, bringing locally gusty conditions. The spotty showers will taper off after sunset as skies will clear through Wednesday morning.
Winds will be light Wednesday morning for the Balloon Fiesta Ascension, but it will pick up quickly in the afternoon with wind gusts up to 35 mph. Strong winds will develop across northwest and northern New Mexico. While winds will taper off Wednesday night, it may still be breezy to windy at times Thursday morning as a cold front sweeps across the state. This cold front will move through Albuquerque between 6 and 8 a.m. Those winds could impact the Special Shapes Rodeo, Mass Ascension, and Balloon Fiesta Thursday morning. Stronger winds develop Thursday afternoon with 35 to 55 mph wind gusts possible across the state. The strongest winds will be in eastern New Mexico and across mountain peaks. High temperatures across the northern two-thirds of New Mexico will be dramatically cooler Thursday afternoon thanks to the morning’s cold front. Winds will die down Thursday night.
Friday morning will likely be the coldest air most of us have seen this season, with Albuquerque dipping into the 30s for the first time since April. More areas in western and northern New Mexico will see their first freeze of the season. Winds will be light at the ground out at Balloon Fiesta Park though for the Special Shapes Rodeo and Mass Ascension! Although temperatures will only be a couple degrees above freezing!
The upcoming weekend also looks nice and quiet for Balloon Fiesta with a warming trend. However, a few clouds may pass across the state on Saturday morning during the Annular Solar Eclipse. These will mainly be high, cirrus clouds that won’t impact visibility too much.
