textproduct: Albuquerque

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1041 AM MST Fri Mar 6 2026

- Critical fire weather conditions will increase the risk for rapid fire spread today across eastern New Mexico.

- Strong west to southwest winds with gusts near 50 or 55 mph will increase early this morning along and just east of the south central mountains. These winds will expand across much of northeast and east central New Mexico by late morning. Expect hazardous crosswinds.

- Rain and snow showers will produce wet roads near the Colorado border along and west of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, with a few inches of snow accumulation in the Tusas Mountains today.

- Additional light precipitation will return Monday and Tuesday for areas mainly south of I-40.

SHORT TERM

(Tonight through Saturday) Issued at 114 AM MST Fri Mar 6 2026

A sharp upper level trough/weakly closed low is sliding across UT and AZ. The vort max/base of the trough appears to be slightly further south than was originally thought. That is resulting in light showers further south across AZ which are moving into northwest NM early this morning. PoPs have been expanded slightly further south throughout the day, though accumulations will remain minimal overall. It still appears the Tusas Mountains could see a few inches of accumulation mainly above 9000 feet, though the white stuff will mix in at lower elevations this morning as well. With the trough a bit further south, that trends the axis of strongest winds aloft a bit further south as well. H7 wind speeds still look to be around 50 to 55 kt, though mainly south of KCQC. The Wind Advisory for the South Central Mountains and southwest Chaves County still looks to be in good shape, though can't rule out a stray high wind observation. The Pacific front still looks to race west to east across NM between 09Z and 18Z, and the strongest winds around the South Central Mtns should be with the frontal passage around 12 to 15Z. As the upper low shifts northeastward through the afternoon, the axis of strongest mid level winds will shift over east central NM while a surface low deepens over southwest KS/OK Panhandle. Thus, the strong winds are expected to expand across portions of eastern NM late this morning through the afternoon, before tapering off just prior to sunset. Have added Harding and Union counties as well as the Sandia and Manzano Mountains to the northern segment of the Wind Advisory. Gusts between 50 and 55 mph still look likely. Winds will trail off this evening and in the wake of the Pacific front, low temperatures will be quite cold compared to recent nights. Lows in the teens and 20s will be common, even across eastern NM where a backdoor cold front will slide down the plains through Saturday morning. The front should push through the gaps of the Central Mountain Chain, but gap winds should be light overall. Best chances for breezy gap winds would be around the Carrizozo area. Temperatures on Saturday will be a few degrees below normal for most areas.

LONG TERM

(Saturday night through next Thursday) Issued at 114 AM MST Fri Mar 6 2026

While the initial low continues to pull away from NM, a secondary trough will slide southward on the backside of the first system on Friday, close off on Saturday and retrograde to just west of the northern Baja by Saturday night. As this low meanders around that area on Sunday, a weak disturbance will cross northeast NM on Sunday. This will do little except increase mid level winds to 20 to 35kt across northeast NM. A surface low will also deepen to around 1001mb Sunday afternoon near the CO/NM/OK border. Thus, westerly surface winds will increase once again, though will not be as strong as today. Gusts upward of 25 to 35 mph are likely across northeast and east central NM.

On Monday, the upper low will shift eastward across the Baja and the Gulf of California. Both Pacific and Gulf moisture will advect from south to north across NM by late Monday increasing chances for light precipitation mainly south of I-40. There remains considerable model uncertainty thereafter with regards to how the upper level low will continue to eject. Timing, placement and strength of the system all remain in question, though it appears models are trending toward keeping a closed low south of NM as it shifts eastward through Tuesday night. This keeps the favored area for precipitation south of I-40. Meanwhile, temperatures will be trending upward. However, a backdoor cold appears to be on tap on Wednesday which will cool temperatures several degrees. Otherwise, dry west-northwest flow will take shape Wed into Thurs.

AVIATION

(18Z TAFS) Issued at 1041 AM MST Fri Mar 6 2026

Scattered snow showers and occasional mountain obscurations will continue through this evening near the CO border. Otherwise, strong west and northwest winds will gradually weaken toward sunset this afternoon as a temperature inversion begins to set up and the tail end of a jetmax aloft exits to the east. An exception will be on the eastern plains, where a backdoor cold front will produce a north and northeast wind shift with wind gusts up to 35 KT late this evening through tonight, then up to 30 KT Saturday morning over southeast areas. East canyon wind gusts up to 30 KT are also likely in Carrizozo Saturday morning.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 114 AM MST Fri Mar 6 2026

Critical fire weather conditions are expected today across eastern NM where strong southwest to west winds with gusts up to 50 or 55 mph and RH values near 10 percent will develop. Temperatures will be cooler than yesterday, however, due to a Pacific cold front racing from west to east this morning. Thus, the area of greatest concern continues to be across the northeast and east central plains where temperatures will remain slightly above normal. Below normal temperatures are on tap for the northeast and central highlands. Less wind and near to below temps are on tap areawide on Saturday. Winds will increase again on Sunday across northeast NM where single digit RH will again be a concern. This will result in critical to near-critical fire weather conditions. Continued breezes are expected across northeast NM on Monday, but on Monday night, moisture increases from south to north. Light precipitation will be favored south of I-40 through Tuesday night. A backdoor cold front is on tap Wednesday, but dry, breezy southwest to west winds will return Thursday and Friday.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Farmington...................... 49 24 53 25 / 40 0 0 0 Dulce........................... 44 13 52 15 / 80 10 0 0 Cuba............................ 45 19 51 23 / 50 0 0 0 Gallup.......................... 47 15 53 17 / 10 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 45 22 51 25 / 10 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 49 17 54 19 / 20 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 47 20 55 24 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 53 27 54 32 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 49 22 51 28 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 55 19 60 24 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 59 22 65 29 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 37 13 45 17 / 80 20 0 0 Los Alamos...................... 47 26 50 30 / 30 0 0 0 Pecos........................... 47 20 52 27 / 20 0 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 42 19 48 25 / 40 10 0 0 Red River....................... 36 13 39 21 / 40 20 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 40 7 46 14 / 30 10 0 0 Taos............................ 47 15 51 16 / 30 5 0 0 Mora............................ 47 17 53 24 / 20 0 0 0 Espanola........................ 54 20 58 22 / 20 0 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 50 25 52 30 / 20 0 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 54 22 54 26 / 20 0 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 55 32 58 36 / 20 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 57 29 59 33 / 20 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 59 27 62 30 / 20 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 57 30 59 32 / 20 0 0 0 Belen........................... 60 25 61 25 / 10 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 56 28 60 30 / 20 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 59 24 61 25 / 10 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 57 28 60 30 / 20 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 59 26 61 27 / 10 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 53 30 55 33 / 20 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 55 29 60 31 / 20 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 63 30 64 33 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 49 25 53 30 / 20 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 50 27 54 32 / 10 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 51 22 55 26 / 10 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 53 17 56 20 / 10 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 49 20 51 26 / 5 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 53 22 56 27 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 53 24 56 28 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 58 30 60 34 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 51 28 53 32 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 51 17 51 21 / 10 30 0 0 Raton........................... 54 17 54 18 / 20 30 0 0 Springer........................ 56 19 57 18 / 10 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 51 18 53 25 / 10 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 62 26 56 31 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 57 22 55 25 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 64 25 61 28 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 60 25 57 27 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 66 27 61 30 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 68 32 62 33 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 70 31 63 29 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 66 27 61 26 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 73 35 63 33 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 65 30 58 31 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 62 28 59 29 / 0 0 0 0

ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Wind Advisory until 4 PM MST this afternoon for NMZ221-223-226- 229>234-240.

Red Flag Warning until 6 PM MST this evening for NMZ104-123-125- 126.