textproduct: Albuquerque

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1202 AM MDT Tue Mar 24 2026

- Record high temperatures will return Tuesday through Thursday with a minor risk of heat-related illness for sensitive groups.

- Westerly winds will gust up to 45 mph on Thursday afternoon along and east of the Sangre de Cristo, Sandia, and Manzano Mountains, where there will also be single digit humidities and a risk of rapid fire spread.

- A blustery backdoor cold front will produce a wind shift and strong northeast crosswinds on the eastern plains Thursday night into Friday, and below canyons opening into the central valley from the east late Thursday night and Friday.

- Isolated, gusty, and possibly dry thunderstorms pose a risk of blowing dust and new fire starts on Sunday along and west of the central mountain chain.

SHORT TERM

(This evening through Tuesday night) Issued at 1224 PM MDT Mon Mar 23 2026

A backdoor cold front moved southwest through the area overnight and is bringing a cooler temperatures to much of central and western NM today, although temperatures are still above average across central and northeast NM. An upper high is forecast to strengthen over southern AZ through Tuesday night and move east toward the NM Bootheel. 500mb pressure heights are forecast to rise to between 586-588dam across the area Tuesday and will be associated with warming that will send high temperatures soaring 20-25 degrees above average, with a number of new daily records forecast.

LONG TERM

(Wednesday through Sunday) Issued at 1224 PM MDT Mon Mar 23 2026

A 589dam 500mb high will drift east across southern NM on Wednesday, which should be the warmest day of the week for most locales. More daily records are in line to be broken Wednesday, with a few sites possibly challenging the monthly record highs that were established this past Saturday. The upper high will shift south some on Thursday and allow a shortwave trough to move over the top across northern NM, bringing a bout of gusty westerly winds with daytime mixing. At the same time, a strong backdoor cold front will make inroads across northeast NM, then swing southwest across the remainder of the area Thursday night. The models continue to advertise an impressive surface pressure gradient with this front and stronger wind speeds are showing up in the associated MOS guidance. A strong east canyon/gap wind is forecast to develop in the Rio Grande and Upper Tularosa Valleys Thursday night into Friday morning and the GFS MOS has been advertising advisory-type speeds at KABQ for 3 cycles now. This front will likely create areas of blowing dust Thursday evening and even into Friday morning in the RGV. Significantly cooler temperatures are forecast behind the cold front Friday across eastern NM, where highs are forecast to be below average for a change.

Look for a pattern shift over the weekend and into early next week as the upper high moves off to the southeast, bringing increasing west-southwest flow aloft and moisture advection over the Desert SW and NM. Chances for showers and isolated thunderstorms will will be on the uptrend Sun/Mon as weak shortwave troughs interact with an above normal PWAT atmosphere and instability generated from daytime heating. Temperatures will still be above average after the pattern change, but nowhere near the recent heat levels.

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1202 AM MDT Tue Mar 24 2026

VFR conditions are forecast for the next 24 hours. Northwest winds will be a little gusty this afternoon across central and northwest areas. With high temperatures varying from the 80s to the mid 90s at lower elevations, and from the upper 60s to near 80 in the mountains, numerous high temperature records will be set this afternoon, and density altitude will be an important consideration for aviation operations near complex terrain.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 1224 PM MDT Mon Mar 23 2026

An upper high is forecast to strengthen over AZ through Tuesday, then drift east across southern NM through Thursday, bringing continued very dry conditions with warming and more daily record highs. Fire weather conditions will be elevated on Tuesday and Wednesday, with wind being the only limiter. However, stronger westerly winds are forecast to develop Thursday, bringing good coverage of near-critical conditions with an area of critical conditions along/north of I-40 and along/east of the Sangre de Cristos. A Fire Weather Watch will likely be required for Thursday. A strong backdoor cold front will slide southwest across the area late Thursday through Friday, bringing windy and notably cooler conditions. Increasing west-southwest flow aloft over the weekend and into early next week will bring increasing humidity and chances for wetting precipitation, although shower and thunderstorm activity will likely be of the drier variety initially on Sunday before the atmosphere becomes more saturated on Monday.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Farmington...................... 47 87 46 82 / 0 0 0 0 Dulce........................... 38 84 38 80 / 0 0 0 0 Cuba............................ 44 85 44 79 / 0 5 0 0 Gallup.......................... 35 86 35 80 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 44 82 42 78 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 40 87 39 82 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 44 84 43 80 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 52 86 51 84 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 48 83 47 79 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 38 90 36 87 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 41 93 40 91 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 41 78 41 73 / 0 0 0 0 Los Alamos...................... 55 83 54 79 / 0 5 0 0 Pecos........................... 49 85 48 80 / 0 5 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 44 81 47 76 / 0 10 0 0 Red River....................... 42 71 45 67 / 0 10 5 0 Angel Fire...................... 29 78 32 74 / 0 10 5 0 Taos............................ 38 85 38 82 / 0 10 0 0 Mora............................ 47 82 48 80 / 0 5 0 0 Espanola........................ 47 90 47 88 / 0 5 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 53 85 52 81 / 0 5 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 48 87 48 84 / 0 5 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 57 88 57 87 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 54 92 53 89 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 51 94 50 92 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 53 93 54 90 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 45 94 47 92 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 52 92 54 89 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 45 93 46 92 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 50 93 52 90 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 45 93 46 92 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 56 88 57 84 / 0 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 54 91 55 90 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 56 94 54 95 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 55 84 54 81 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 54 85 54 82 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 52 85 51 83 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 41 88 41 85 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 49 84 49 81 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 53 87 52 84 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 51 86 51 84 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 55 90 56 88 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 55 85 56 82 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 46 84 49 85 / 0 0 0 0 Raton........................... 41 87 43 87 / 0 5 0 0 Springer........................ 42 89 43 89 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 49 85 50 84 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 53 90 57 95 / 0 0 0 0 Roy............................. 50 88 50 90 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 47 95 50 96 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 52 93 52 92 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 48 96 54 97 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 52 96 54 97 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 49 97 52 97 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 50 96 50 97 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 53 97 53 99 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 55 94 55 93 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 53 91 53 92 / 0 0 0 0

ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Fire Weather Watch from Thursday morning through Thursday evening for NMZ122-123-125.