textproduct: El Paso

KEY MESSAGES

Updated at 955 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026

- Breezy to moderately windy afternoon winds Today and Wednesday. Few areas of blowing dust with these winds, but widespread low visibility is not expected.

- Near record warmth on starting Wednesday into the weekend; lowland high temperatures in the lower to mid eighties.

- High pressure over the region will keep the areas fair, mild, and dry through the rest of the week and the upcoming weekend.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 955 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026

An UL ridge, with its high centered off the Baja Coast, is the dominating feature in our weather. The main storm track is across the Central Rockies and Central Plains but close enough to induce weak lee troughing across Colorado. This will tighten gradients some, but without much wind to mix down, we will only see breezy conditions. The breezes combined with really dry air will make for elevated fire concerns today though. Another system will track a little farther south for Wednesday, creating a lee trough/low over Eastern NM. This pattern will keep us breezy for Wednesday although the exit region of a small jet, does bring a bit of enhancement to winds across Luna County. Afternoon RH values will be a little higher, so fire concerns remain elevated. Temperatures will be well above average for both days.

The UL ridge will continue to be the dominating factor for our weather for the rest of the period. Weak westerly flow aloft combined with increasing heights will make for even warmer temperatures with records threatened by this weekend. For El Paso, February's all-time high of 86 may fall on Saturday. It's not until the middle of next week that we see any change in this warm and dry pattern.

AVIATION

(18Z TAFS) Issued at 955 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026

Breezy westerly (250-280) winds will be the main story today (and tomorrow) as speeds top out in the 15-20 knot range with gusts as high as 30 knots. This will place KELP near AWW criteria, but I don't have the confidence to issue one at this time. Winds look to be strongest between 0 and 6z with downsloping winds. BLDU may be a factor as well, but chances are low. Otherwise, expect variable high clouds with VFR conditions.

FIRE WEATHER

Issued at 955 AM MST Tue Feb 24 2026

This afternoon will feature very dry conditions with minimum RH values dropping to around 10% in the lowlands. Winds are still expected to increase later this afternoon and into the evening, reaching 15-20 MPH but short of critical thresholds. Winds will be a little stronger for Wednesday, but min RH values will be higher. Thus, no fire weather headlines are in place for either day. With the winds, venting will range good to very good in most locations.

Winds will be lower Thursday and onward, but we will remain very warm for this time of year. Min RH values will drop well into the teens each afternoon. Venting will be varied, generally ranging poor to good.

PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS

El Paso 51 83 54 83 / 0 0 0 0 Sierra Blanca 47 78 48 80 / 0 0 0 0 Las Cruces 45 80 47 80 / 0 0 0 0 Alamogordo 45 79 49 78 / 0 0 0 0 Cloudcroft 40 57 40 57 / 0 0 0 0 Truth or Consequences 48 81 50 81 / 0 0 0 0 Silver City 43 72 44 75 / 0 0 0 0 Deming 45 82 47 83 / 0 0 0 0 Lordsburg 43 76 45 79 / 0 0 0 0 West El Paso Metro 51 82 53 82 / 0 0 0 0 Dell City 41 83 45 82 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Hancock 48 85 52 85 / 0 0 0 0 Loma Linda 47 75 49 75 / 0 0 0 0 Fabens 49 84 52 84 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Teresa 46 80 49 81 / 0 0 0 0 White Sands HQ 51 82 54 81 / 0 0 0 0 Jornada Range 41 81 45 81 / 0 0 0 0 Hatch 43 85 45 85 / 0 0 0 0 Columbus 51 82 53 83 / 0 0 0 0 Orogrande 43 79 47 78 / 0 0 0 0 Mayhill 47 72 47 71 / 0 0 0 0 Mescalero 41 68 42 68 / 0 0 0 0 Timberon 46 67 47 68 / 0 0 0 0 Winston 40 74 42 74 / 0 0 0 0 Hillsboro 47 80 48 80 / 0 0 0 0 Spaceport 40 80 44 80 / 0 0 0 0 Lake Roberts 38 72 39 75 / 0 0 0 0 Hurley 43 75 44 77 / 0 0 0 0 Cliff 39 78 42 82 / 0 0 0 0 Mule Creek 40 75 42 77 / 0 0 0 0 Faywood 46 75 47 79 / 0 0 0 0 Animas 45 80 47 81 / 0 0 0 0 Hachita 45 78 48 80 / 0 0 0 0 Antelope Wells 46 81 47 82 / 0 0 0 0 Cloverdale 46 75 49 77 / 0 0 0 0

EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

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