Thursday morning is milder for much of the state, with strong winds in the mountains and lighter winds in the low elevations. Winds will start to pick up more as the sun rises. Wind advisories and high wind warnings will be in effect from 9 AM until 7 PM tonight across central and eastern New Mexico. Wind advisories will be in effect for the Metro, and gusts of 40 mph are expected by midday. Even more wind advisories will be in effect across eastern NM, for wind gusts of 40 to 55 mph. High wind warnings will be in effect for the central mountain chain and adjacent highlands to the east, where winds will gust up to around 65 mph. Even higher winds of 70 mph will be possible in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Forecast Continues Below

These high winds will lead to high fire danger in central, northern and eastern New Mexico this afternoon. As a cold front moves across New Mexico, temperatures will cool down, staying around 8 to 15 degrees cooler than yesterday in northern NM. The cold front will continue moving across southern NM overnight, which will lead to a very cold Friday morning and a cooler Friday afternoon as well. A freeze warning is in effect for several spots in central and northern NM, where temperatures will fall into the 20s.