textproduct: El Paso

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 1100 PM MDT Tue Aug 18 2026

- Above normal temperatures across southern New Mexico and far west Texas through the week ahead. Lowland highs in the upper 90s to lower 100s, which will be near daily records.

- Isolated showers and thunderstorms Wednesday through Friday, limited mostly to the high terrain and western New Mexico. Dry conditions spread area wide over the weekend and into next week.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 1100 PM MDT Tue Aug 18 2026

Building ridge of high pressure aloft will be the primary driver of our weather pattern over the next several days. Currently centered over Arizona, thunderstorm development through Friday will be mostly driven by recycled moisture under this upper high. The main headline will be above normal temperatures, which may stay in place through the rest of August. Lowland highs consistently in the 98-102 degree range will run 8-10 degrees above normal for late August and near daily records. Currently no daily record for El Paso in the forecast, but we're only 1-2 degrees off most days going forward.

For Wednesday and Thursday, short-term models resolve an axis of more favorable moisture (PWs 1.0-1.2") across central New Mexico. This weak boundary should be sufficient for isolated (20-30% coverage) showers and thunderstorms over the high terrain of the Sacramento Mountains and Black Range during the afternoon hours. Cloud-layer flow out of the NE will promote slow storm progression toward the SW. Best chances will be across Grant, Sierra, and Hidalgo Counties, with subsequent outflows leading to gusty winds and possibly blowing dust. Currently looks like the El Paso/Las Cruces areas will remain dry due to less moisture and instability to work with. Isolated chances will continue over the high terrain on Friday, with no chances for lowland zones.

Upper high drifts east directly over the Southern Rockies Friday through the weekend, leading to a near-total shut off of moisture flow and thus the end of storm chances area wide. Precipitable water values 0.8-1.0" will fall below the climate normal and strong subsident flow within the 400-600mb layer aloft will hinder updraft development. The primary monsoonal plume will be pushed west across Arizona and the Colorado River valley. This pattern looks to remain in place throughout next week, leading to an extended period of late-August dryness and heat.

AVIATION

(06Z TAFS) Issued at 1100 PM MDT Tue Aug 18 2026

VMC expected through forecast period. Skies SKC-FEW250 overnight. Surface winds 250-300 AOB 5 knots. Light SSE flow tomorrow afternoon, generally 150-190 at 4 to 8 knots. Isolated TSRA across SW NM. Considered including PROB30 TS for KTCS/KDMN this cycle, but not confident enough. KELP/KLRU will remain dry tomorrow with a low risk for outflow gusts up to 25 knots between 00-06Z.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 1200 PM MDT Tue Aug 18 2026

Upper high will dominate the weather for quite some time. There will be a weak boundary that will drop into the region Wed and bring back some modest moisture and thunderstorm chances. For Wed and Thu, there will be scattered storms over the mountains and some isolated storms moving onto the lowlands from gusty outflows. Storm coverage becomes minimal to none by the weekend as the upper high shifts into the TX panhandle and pushes the moisture west into AZ. Temperatures through the period will be 5-10 degrees above normal with some near record highs possible. RH's will fall into the teens for the lowlands and 20s/30s in the mountains. Vent rates fair to good the next couple of days.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

El Paso 72 100 74 102 / 0 0 0 0 Sierra Blanca 66 97 67 98 / 0 0 0 0 Las Cruces 67 100 69 100 / 0 0 10 10 Alamogordo 70 99 72 99 / 0 10 10 20 Cloudcroft 53 76 54 76 / 0 20 10 50 Truth or Consequences 70 99 72 99 / 0 10 10 10 Silver City 64 92 63 92 / 0 40 20 40 Deming 68 100 70 101 / 0 10 10 10 Lordsburg 70 98 69 99 / 0 30 30 10 West El Paso Metro 73 100 75 102 / 0 0 0 0 Dell City 68 101 70 101 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Hancock 72 103 74 105 / 0 0 0 0 Loma Linda 67 93 69 95 / 0 0 0 0 Fabens 70 100 72 102 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Teresa 69 99 72 100 / 0 0 0 0 White Sands HQ 73 101 75 101 / 0 0 0 10 Jornada Range 70 100 71 100 / 0 0 10 10 Hatch 70 103 72 103 / 0 10 10 10 Columbus 71 100 74 102 / 0 0 10 0 Orogrande 68 98 70 99 / 0 0 0 0 Mayhill 58 89 60 88 / 0 30 10 30 Mescalero 57 87 58 87 / 0 20 10 60 Timberon 55 85 57 86 / 0 10 0 30 Winston 61 91 62 90 / 0 20 20 50 Hillsboro 67 98 69 98 / 0 20 20 20 Spaceport 68 99 69 99 / 0 10 10 10 Lake Roberts 58 90 58 91 / 0 40 10 60 Hurley 64 94 64 95 / 0 30 20 30 Cliff 67 98 66 98 / 0 40 10 50 Mule Creek 66 94 64 94 / 10 60 20 40 Faywood 66 95 67 95 / 0 20 20 30 Animas 70 98 70 99 / 0 20 20 10 Hachita 68 97 69 98 / 0 20 20 10 Antelope Wells 67 96 68 98 / 0 10 10 10 Cloverdale 64 92 65 93 / 10 20 20 20

EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

TX...None. NM...None.