A wind storm has arrived, with very strong upper level winds statewide. Wind gusts are already 40+ mph across the west, with high winds quickly pushing east into the afternoon and getting even gustier. Widespread sustained winds 30+ mph with wind gusts 35-60 mph is expected, with the highest winds across the mountains. A Wind Advisory is in place across much of the state.
A Red Flag warning has been issued for the entire state of New Mexico until tonight, as 6-12% relative humidity combined with those gusty winds have allowed high fire danger to return. Areas of blowing dust are likely statewide, but especially east. It will be warm across the east with downslope warming, but a couple degrees cooler to the west. A cold front passage will bring down temperatures statewide into Thursday and Friday.
Thursday will be breezy across the north and east with gusts 40-50 mph, but not expected to be nearly as windy as Wednesday. Still expect to see patchy areas of blowing dust across the east. Friday will be even less breezy than Thursday, with statewide wind gusts expected to stay below 35 mph. Plenty of sunshine will persist throughout both Thursday and Friday across the state, with potentially a few more clouds to the north Friday afternoon.
This weekend will be much calmer across New Mexico, but cloud coverage and a bit of moisture to our north may allow for isolated, light snow flurries across the far north Northern Mountains and southern Colorado. A warming trend will persist through early next week as well, with temperatures warming back to above average by Monday. However, the slight potential for rain also return across the central and eastern parts of the state starting late Sunday and into Monday. There’s also the chance for wet weather late next week – keep your fingers crossed.
