textproduct: Albuquerque

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 914 PM MDT Sat Apr 25 2026

- Critical fire weather conditions and a risk of rapid fire spread will continue to plague eastern areas through Tuesday, and portions of central and western New Mexico as well on Sunday.

- Strong southwest and west winds will produce hazardous crosswinds for high profile vehicles, especially on Sunday when gusts will commonly reach 45 to 55 mph, except around 60 mph along and just east of the central mountain chain. Areas of blowing dust will likely develop Sunday afternoon and limit visibility to less than a mile in dust prone areas. - Showers and thunderstorms on Sunday from the northern mountains westward, and over west central areas, will be capable of producing erratic wind gusts with hazardous crosswinds, blowing dust, and cloud-to-ground lightning.

UPDATE

Issued at 914 PM MDT Sat Apr 25 2026

The Wind Advisory was expanded to include areas from ABQ south and west. The latest trends are for higher wind speeds from the 18Z REFS, 00Z MET/18Z MAV, and NBM 75th percentile. Guidance is still consistent in the High Wind Warning for gusts near 60 mph from naround Las Vegas to Clines Corners, Corona, and Ruidoso.

SHORT TERM

(This evening through Sunday night) Issued at 1220 PM MDT Sat Apr 25 2026

An upper level low offshore of SoCal will open up and accelerate east toward the Four Corners on Sunday, then skip across the southern Rockies on Sunday night. Increasing west-southwest flow aloft will be the story through Sunday as the jet stream orients over NM and wind speeds increase to around 120kts at 300mb. Gusty westerly winds are already materializing this afternoon, except for behind a weak backdoor cold front across far northeast NM. Much stronger west-southwest winds are forecast Sunday and most of the High Wind Watch has been upgraded to a warning. Other areas along/east of the central mountain chain have been included in a Wind Advisory for Sunday. The Santa Fe and Albuquerque Metros are potential add candidates for the advisory, with forecast speeds currently just shy of criteria. Blowing dust is likely in the RGV and the stronger speeds across south central and southeast NM will undoubtedly at least produce patches of blowing dust, with potential for significant visibility limitations in dust prone areas. Downslope warming from strong west-southwest winds across the eastern plains will help temperatures rise up to 10 degrees above average and Roswell is forecast to hit a high of 90 degrees Sunday. The approaching trough will bring sufficient moisture and forcing for a round of showers across north central and northwest NM, but qpf continues to indicate very little in the way of wetting (>0.10") precipitation. The exception is in the Tusas Mountains, where a few inches of snow are possible above 9Kft. Strong westerly winds will persist into the evening hours of Sunday, especially across eastern NM, but gradually diminish overnight.

LONG TERM

(Monday through Friday) Issued at 1220 PM MDT Sat Apr 25 2026

The jet stream will weaken, but remain oriented from west to east across northern NM on Monday, resulting in more breezy to locally windy conditions given daytime mixing. Moderate westerly flow aloft will remain over the area Tuesday, with more breezy to locally windy conditions by afternoon. Moisture advection will begin Wednesday and ramp-up through Thursday in advance of an approaching Pacific low. The latest medium range model solutions all show the Pacific low impacting our area on Thu/Fri, but differ in the track and strength of a preceding backdoor cold front. The GFS has been consistently wet from run- to-run, signaling the potential for a widespread and much needed rainfall. The latest ECMWF and GFS show the PWAT increasing to between 0.70-0.80" Thursday night, which is well above normal for late April.

AVIATION

(00Z TAFS) Issued at 543 PM MDT Sat Apr 25 2026

High-based showers and areas of virga across central and western NM are creating localized wind gusts up to 45KT and areas of low level turbulence. Mid level cigs will dissipate after sunset over much of central and eastern NM but lower and persist in the area from near Farmington into the northern mts. There is a 10-20% chance that cigs will fall below 3,000ft over northwest NM. The focus will shift to widespread strong southwest winds and perhaps areas of BLDU Sunday afternoon. There is high confidence that wind gusts will exceed 40KT areawide with gusts >50KT in the area from near Las Vegas to Clines Corners and Ruidoso.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 1220 PM MDT Sat Apr 25 2026

A critical fire weather pattern will persist into Tuesday of next week, followed by increasing humidity and chances for wetting precipitation on Thu/Fri as a backdoor cold front and Pacific low impact NM. Critical fire weather conditions are currently impacting much of east central and northeast NM, but a more widespread critical event is shaping up for Sunday as the jet stream moves over the state and strong west-southwest winds materialize. Areas of extremely critical fire weather conditions will likely develop across eastern NM Sunday afternoon due to the stronger winds and increasing ERCs. Gusty westerly winds will redevelop Monday afternoon with continued very dry conditions, but speeds will trend down relative to Sunday and critical fire weather conditions will be limited to eastern NM. Moderate westerly flow aloft and daytime mixing will bring breezy westerly winds on Tuesday and one more round of critical fire weather conditions favoring eastern areas. Moisture advection will begin Wednesday and continue through Thursday in advance of the Pacific low.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Farmington...................... 46 65 40 66 / 60 70 30 0 Dulce........................... 33 59 28 62 / 70 90 50 20 Cuba............................ 38 64 32 64 / 40 50 20 10 Gallup.......................... 34 62 28 63 / 20 20 5 0 El Morro........................ 36 60 29 62 / 20 10 0 0 Grants.......................... 34 66 28 67 / 20 10 0 0 Quemado......................... 39 64 29 67 / 5 5 0 0 Magdalena....................... 45 69 36 70 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 39 62 32 65 / 5 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 38 67 28 70 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 41 73 32 75 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 32 52 27 54 / 70 90 50 30 Los Alamos...................... 43 65 38 63 / 40 60 20 10 Pecos........................... 38 67 33 64 / 30 40 10 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 38 59 33 60 / 30 70 40 10 Red River....................... 33 49 27 50 / 30 70 30 20 Angel Fire...................... 27 57 24 56 / 30 60 30 10 Taos............................ 33 64 30 64 / 40 70 40 10 Mora............................ 38 65 33 64 / 30 40 10 5 Espanola........................ 41 72 37 71 / 40 50 20 5 Santa Fe........................ 43 67 37 65 / 40 40 10 5 Santa Fe Airport................ 41 70 36 68 / 40 40 10 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 49 74 42 72 / 20 20 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 46 76 40 74 / 10 20 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 44 79 39 77 / 10 10 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 47 76 42 75 / 20 20 0 0 Belen........................... 41 78 37 78 / 10 10 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 46 77 40 74 / 20 20 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 41 78 37 77 / 10 10 0 0 Corrales........................ 46 78 42 75 / 20 20 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 42 78 38 77 / 10 10 0 0 Placitas........................ 47 72 42 70 / 20 20 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 47 76 42 74 / 20 20 0 0 Socorro......................... 46 81 41 81 / 0 5 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 44 69 37 67 / 20 20 0 0 Tijeras......................... 44 70 37 68 / 20 20 0 0 Edgewood........................ 38 72 34 69 / 20 20 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 34 74 32 70 / 20 10 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 41 70 34 65 / 20 10 0 0 Mountainair..................... 41 72 34 69 / 10 10 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 43 72 36 69 / 5 5 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 52 75 43 73 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 49 69 42 66 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 36 67 34 66 / 30 20 0 10 Raton........................... 36 70 34 69 / 20 30 5 10 Springer........................ 38 72 37 72 / 20 20 5 0 Las Vegas....................... 41 69 35 66 / 10 20 0 0 Clayton......................... 44 78 43 75 / 20 10 0 5 Roy............................. 44 73 40 73 / 20 20 0 0 Conchas......................... 48 83 47 79 / 5 10 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 44 79 44 74 / 5 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 49 86 47 81 / 5 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 51 87 48 81 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 50 88 49 82 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 46 85 45 80 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 54 90 50 86 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 51 81 45 78 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 50 79 45 77 / 0 0 0 0

ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Red Flag Warning from 11 AM to 8 PM MDT Sunday for NMZ104>106- 109-123>126.

Wind Advisory from 11 AM to 8 PM MDT Sunday for NMZ205>208- 212>215-219>222-225-227-228-230>232-234>238-241.

High Wind Warning from 11 AM to 8 PM MDT Sunday for NMZ223-224- 226-229-233-239-240.