textproduct: Albuquerque

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 533 PM MDT Sun Apr 26 2026

- Critical fire weather with the risk of rapid fire spread will continue to plague much of the area into this evening, then focus more across eastern New Mexico Monday and Tuesday.

- Very strong southwest winds will gradually decrease through this evening but still produce hazardous crosswinds and areas of blowing dust. Localized damage may occur along portions of the central mountain chain and eastern plains where gusts will reach around 60 mph.

- Forecast confidence is increasing on a strong Pacific storm system with soaking rains for much of the area Thursday and Friday, with snow higher up in the mountains. This will create wet roads at lower elevations, slick roads due to snow over mountain passes, and periods of cloud-to-ground lightning.

SHORT TERM

(This evening through Monday night) Issued at 1226 PM MDT Sun Apr 26 2026

A high wind event is unfolding early this afternoon and areas of blowing dust are beginning to develop. The highest gust reported so far was 63mph at Sierra Blanca Regional Airport. Scattered showers across northern NM have produced some measurable rain and a few lightning strikes, but very little wetting (>0.10"). The upper low responsible for this weather is currently opening up and pulling northeast into west central CO per the latest water vapor satellite imagery. The trough is forecast to progress east across CO and northern NM tonight, providing continued upslope forcing to the northern mountains where a couple inches of snow are possible. The peaks of the Tusas Mountains could pick up several inches through Monday morning, with impacts limited to accumulation on Hwy64 above 9Kft. The jet stream will hold over the area through Monday night, although weaken relative to today with 300mb speeds decreasing to around 90kts. Continued moderate/strong westerly flow aloft on Monday combined with daytime mixing will result in breezy to windy conditions by afternoon, but with speeds much lower than today's. High temperatures on Monday will generally be below average west and above average across the eastern plains where downslope warming will play a role.

LONG TERM

(Tuesday through Saturday) Issued at 1226 PM MDT Sun Apr 26 2026

A weakened jet stream will persist over the region Tuesday as a shortwave trough progresses east through the southern Rockies and ejects out into the plains, steering stronger westerlies across northern NM and resulting in breezy to locally windy conditions once again. A weak backdoor cold front will slide down the eastern plains Tuesday night and provide several degrees of relative cooling on Wednesday. Moisture advection ahead of an approaching Pacific low will be the story from Wednesday night through Friday morning. PWATs are forecast to surge to new calendar day records on Thu/Fri as the Pacific low impacts the region. A key ingredient with this upcoming and potentially soaking rain event will be a backdoor cold front, forecast to gradually progress southwest across the area beginning late Wednesday night, resulting in a strong east canyon/gap wind into the Rio Grande and Upper Tularosa Valleys by late Thursday night. The upper low is forecast to lift northeast into central NM on Friday and then be slow to eject out to the east on Saturday. Snow levels will drop to between 8-9Kft during this event, with the potential for significant accumulation across the peaks. Model qpf is greatest across eastern NM, where the latest GFS and ECMWF are advertising a widespread soaking rainfall event with the potential to spur rapid greenup thereafter. Forecast confidence on this scenario is moderate to high at this time given good model run-to-run consistency and supportive ensemble clustering. Temperatures will trend down well below average by Friday and continue below average through Saturday.

AVIATION

(00Z TAFS) Issued at 533 PM MDT Sun Apr 26 2026

Strong southwest to west winds are producing widespread impacts to the airspace with gusts of 40 to 50KT, areas of blowing dust, wind shear, and turbulence. Farther north into northern NM there has been enough moisture to support a few gusty showers and isolated storms with reports of small hail and icing. Winds will taper off this evening but remain a tad gusty around the high terrain thru the morning. Monday will be dry and windy again but not nearly as strong as today.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 1226 PM MDT Sun Apr 26 2026

Critical to locally extremely critical fire weather conditions have materialized across much of central and eastern NM this afternoon and will persist into the evening hours before winds trend down below critical threshold. A weakened jet stream will hold over the area through Tuesday, bringing two more rounds of critical fire weather conditions that will favor east central and northeast NM. That said, the watch for Monday has been upgraded to a warning and a watch will likely be necessary for Tuesday over roughly the same area. Moisture advection will begin late Wednesday and continue into Thursday night ahead of an approaching Pacific low and coinciding with the slow southwest progression of a backdoor cold front. The result will be increasing humidity and good chances for wetting precipitation, with the potential for soaking rains across eastern NM that could spur rapid greenup thereafter. The highest chances for wetting precipitation will be Thursday night through Friday night. Accumulating snow is likely above 9Kft. Much cooler and humid conditions will persist through Saturday as the Pacific low moves slowly east out of NM.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

Farmington...................... 39 65 36 67 / 20 5 0 0 Dulce........................... 32 60 29 62 / 40 30 0 0 Cuba............................ 33 62 30 63 / 5 10 0 0 Gallup.......................... 30 64 27 67 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 32 63 31 65 / 0 0 0 0 Grants.......................... 31 67 30 69 / 0 0 0 0 Quemado......................... 32 67 32 69 / 0 0 0 0 Magdalena....................... 38 70 39 73 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 33 65 34 69 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 30 69 32 74 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 35 73 36 77 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 30 53 26 56 / 50 30 0 0 Los Alamos...................... 39 63 40 65 / 5 10 0 0 Pecos........................... 34 63 34 65 / 0 5 0 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 34 59 32 60 / 20 10 0 0 Red River....................... 29 50 28 51 / 20 20 0 0 Angel Fire...................... 27 55 23 57 / 20 10 0 0 Taos............................ 33 62 29 65 / 10 10 0 0 Mora............................ 34 63 33 65 / 5 5 0 0 Espanola........................ 39 70 37 71 / 5 5 0 0 Santa Fe........................ 36 64 36 66 / 5 5 0 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 37 67 35 69 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 44 70 44 73 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 43 72 43 75 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 41 75 41 77 / 0 0 0 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 43 72 42 75 / 0 0 0 0 Belen........................... 39 77 39 79 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 42 73 41 75 / 0 0 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 39 75 38 77 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 42 73 41 75 / 0 0 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 39 76 38 78 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 43 69 42 71 / 0 0 0 0 Rio Rancho...................... 43 72 42 74 / 0 0 0 0 Socorro......................... 44 79 44 82 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 39 65 40 68 / 0 0 0 0 Tijeras......................... 40 67 40 70 / 0 0 0 0 Edgewood........................ 38 68 37 70 / 0 0 0 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 32 69 30 72 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 35 65 36 67 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 38 69 38 71 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 38 69 39 71 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 45 72 48 75 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 43 65 46 69 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 35 66 32 67 / 0 10 5 0 Raton........................... 35 70 32 71 / 0 5 0 0 Springer........................ 38 72 34 73 / 0 0 0 0 Las Vegas....................... 36 66 36 69 / 0 0 0 0 Clayton......................... 43 74 37 73 / 0 5 5 0 Roy............................. 41 73 38 73 / 0 0 0 0 Conchas......................... 48 80 43 81 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 46 75 43 77 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 49 82 45 82 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 49 80 47 83 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 50 81 46 84 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 48 80 45 82 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 52 86 49 89 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 47 78 47 81 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 45 75 46 78 / 0 0 0 0

ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

Red Flag Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for NMZ104>106-109- 123>126.

Red Flag Warning from noon to 8 PM MDT Monday for NMZ104-123-125- 126.

High Wind Warning until 8 PM MDT this evening for NMZ212-218- 221>224-226-229-232>234-239-240.

Wind Advisory until 8 PM MDT this evening for NMZ205>208-213>215- 219-220-225-227-228-230-231-235>238-241.