textproduct: Albuquerque

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 126 AM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

- Strong northwest winds today will create hazardous crosswinds for high profile vehicles, especially over eastern New Mexico.

- Dry and windy conditions will increase the risk of rapid fire spread east of the central mountain chain today.

- A widespread hard freeze will impact much of northern and western New Mexico tonight, including the Farmington and Santa Fe areas. Freezing temperatures are also possible in valley locations of the Albuquerque metro area and northeast New Mexico. Folks should be prepared to protect plants, pets, and pipes from a damaging freeze event.

SHORT TERM

(Today through Saturday) Issued at 126 AM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

Strong west-southwest winds aloft in the base of a 547dm H5 low over WY is spreading gusty winds over the southern Rockies early this morning. 700-500mb layer winds currently near 50kt are draped along the central mt chain while the surface pressure gradient strengthens over the region. A Wind Advisory may be needed for the east slopes of the Sangre de Cristo Mts and nearby highlands this morning if obs continue to support wind gusts near 50 mph. Meanwhile, a Pacific cold front is surging southeast toward the Four Corners and will blast thru all of northern and central NM by this afternoon. Surface winds will increase quickly after sunrise with gusts of 35-45 mph likely by noon along and north of I-40. The REFS and NBM 75th percentile winds are supportive a localized gusts around 50 mph so a couple more impromptu Wind Advisories may be needed. The airmass arriving behind the Pacific cold front will also be very dry with surface humidity falling below 10% in many areas. The risk for rapid fire spread will be highest along the I-40 corridor of eastern NM but folks farther west toward the ABQ and Santa Fe metro areas may also see a couple hours with critical fire weather today. The rain from Wednesday was heavy enough in several areas to help mitigate the overall threat. The bosque area is the main concern at this time. Max temps will trend cooler behind the front today and it will feel even colder with the stronger northwest winds over northern NM. The backdoor portion of the cold front is still poised to move south thru eastern NM this evening with a sharp northeast wind shift. The cold front may serve as the focus for a shower or storm over southern Roosevelt and/or southeast Chaves counties after midnight as moisture will be pooling there ahead of the cold front. Storm chances are low and the latest HREF 6-hr probability matched mean (PMM) QPF >0.10" is only shown over Lea County.

Min temps tonight will be cold with strong radiational cooling. A Freeze Warning will be issued in the valley areas from Farmington to Espanola, Santa Fe, ABQ, and the Estancia Basin. The historic heat from March has prompted the issuance of Freeze Warnings 2 to 6 weeks earlier than the average last freeze date in these areas. One issue for the RGV may be that northerly drainage winds delay the more efficient cooling from ABQ southward. A few high clouds will also move overhead after midnight. After a chilly morning Saturday, temps will warm to within +-5F of normal areawide with lighter winds and passing high clouds.

LONG TERM

(Saturday night through Thursday) Issued at 126 AM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

Saturday night will be chilly again but several degrees warmer than the tonight. Freezing temps are likely again in most northern and western valleys. Folks from Farmington to Espanola, Santa Fe, and the Estancia Basin will hover closer to freezing compared to the hard freeze tonight so a Freeze Watch may not be needed.

Southerly winds are still expected to strengthen on Easter Sunday while a shortwave trough approaches from the west beneath a ridge building over the Great Basin. Increasing mid and upper level moisture over southwest NM along with improving lift with a 95kt speed max near the Baja will help to support a few showers in the Gila region. The potential for dry thunder is low at this time given MLCAPE <200 J/kg and lifted indices only slightly <0C. NAM12 DCAPE values are near 1000 J/kg with lapse rates >8C/km so any showers that do form will have the potential to produce downburst winds.

Moisture advection improves Monday with PWATs forecast to rise to between 0.50 and 0.75" south of the I-40 corridor. The upper level shortwave and associated speed max approaching from the Baja will force a subtle trough axis over NM Monday afternoon with increasing chances for more showers and storms. There is still considerable uncertainty with regard to how much moisture will be in place over the region so confidence on QPF is low. The latest NBM has trended drier Monday with low probabilities of >0.05". Higher precip chances are still in the cards Tuesday and Wednesday as two more subtle shortwave troughs attempt to move thru the southern Rockies. Temps Monday thru Wednesday do trend above normal again but with higher humidity and relatively lighter winds compared to prior days.

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1142 PM MDT Thu Apr 2 2026

An upper level storm system moving thru the northern Rockies will force a dry Pacific cold front southeast thru NM between now and Friday afternoon. Areas of turbulence and LLWS will impact the airspace as the frontal boundary surges southeast. Many areas will see a northwest wind shift Friday morning but the stronger wind gusts of 30-40KT will occur btwn 1pm and 5pm from near KFMN to KSAF and KCQC. The backdoor portion of the cold front will slip thru eastern NM Friday evening with a gusty northeast wind shift.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 126 AM MDT Fri Apr 3 2026

Another day of critical fire weather is in store as strong northwest winds surge across the region behind a very dry Pacific cold front. The main focus area will be along the I-40 corridor of eastern NM where fuels are also driest. There are still a few hours of critical fire weather farther west in the area from near Farmington to Cuba, ABQ, Santa Fe, and Edgewood. However, the overall duration is not long enough with the recent rainfall to support a Red Flag Warning at this time.

Beyond today, the risk for critical fire weather will decrease with increasing humidity, relatively lighter winds, and greater chances for showers across parts of the area, especially central and western NM. A couple dry storms are possible Sunday thru Wednesday of next week but forecast confidence is still low on how much moisture will return to the region.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Farmington...................... 57 25 65 32 / 0 0 0 0 Dulce........................... 54 16 63 22 / 0 0 0 0 Cuba............................ 52 22 60 32 / 0 0 0 0 Gallup.......................... 57 15 65 27 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 57 21 63 33 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 59 18 65 29 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 61 23 67 37 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 69 32 64 41 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 63 28 63 38 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 71 26 71 34 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 76 32 75 39 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 49 17 57 25 / 5 0 0 0 Los Alamos...................... 57 32 60 39 / 0 0 0 0 Pecos........................... 60 26 60 32 / 0 0 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 54 23 58 32 / 0 0 0 0 Red River....................... 47 14 52 22 / 5 0 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 51 12 55 17 / 5 0 0 0 Taos............................ 58 17 61 23 / 0 0 0 0 Mora............................ 58 23 59 29 / 0 0 0 0 Espanola........................ 63 26 66 32 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 60 28 61 38 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 63 25 63 33 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 64 35 67 45 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 66 35 68 42 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 68 31 70 38 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 65 34 68 42 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 72 29 71 38 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 65 31 69 40 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 70 28 70 35 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 66 32 69 40 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 70 29 70 38 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 62 32 65 42 / 0 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 65 30 68 40 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 77 37 72 44 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 57 31 61 39 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 61 27 63 35 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 62 24 63 31 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 64 22 65 28 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 61 28 59 32 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 64 28 63 34 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 66 31 63 37 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 72 38 67 42 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 67 35 58 38 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 62 23 59 30 / 10 10 0 0 Raton........................... 65 22 64 26 / 10 10 0 0 Springer........................ 68 23 65 27 / 10 5 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 64 25 59 30 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 67 31 63 36 / 10 10 0 0 Roy............................. 70 29 61 34 / 10 5 0 0 Conchas......................... 79 33 69 35 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 74 33 66 36 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 81 35 68 36 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 81 40 67 38 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 83 39 69 37 / 0 5 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 80 37 69 37 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 85 44 71 43 / 0 5 0 0 Picacho......................... 80 38 65 40 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 77 35 62 36 / 0 0 0 0

ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Freeze Warning from 2 AM to 8 AM MDT Saturday for NMZ201-217>219- 222.

Red Flag Warning from noon today to 8 PM MDT this evening for NMZ125-126.