Wind speeds will be picking up every day across New Mexico through Friday. A strong spring storm will move into the state late this week bringing damaging wind gusts and rain and snow chances.
Warmer weather has moved into most of New Mexico Tuesday afternoon. Winds have also picked up today, especially across southwest New Mexico where winds are gusting over 35 mph. These winds will die down tonight as a weak storm system crosses the state. Rain and snow showers will move in overnight into western New Mexico bringing lower elevation rain showers and higher elevation snow to areas west of I-25 and mostly south of I-40, with the exception of a an isolated shower in the lower Rio Grande Valley and snow in the Sacramento Mountains tomorrow morning. The moisture will fizzle out by the afternoon though as winds will pick up again across the southern half of the state, bringing another day of high fire danger.
Winds will pick up even more Thursday afternoon as a very strong spring storm starts moving into New Mexico. Southwest winds will gust over 40 mph across New Mexico, bringing a high fire danger and areas of blowing dust. Winds will not die down for southern New Mexico Thursday night as the storm moves across the state. It will also sweep a strong cold front across New Mexico Thursday night into early Friday morning bringing with it rain and snow. Temperatures will fall quickly behind the front, briefly lowering snow levels down to 5,500′. Snow and rain will only fall along and west of the central mountain chain, with eastern New Mexico staying dry.
A lot of this moisture will end through Friday morning, but the biggest impacts from this storm will be felt Friday. Extremely strong winds will develop late Friday morning in eastern New Mexico where wind gusts could exceed 70 mph. Elsewhere across New Mexico, wind gusts up to at least 45 or 50 mph are likely as well. These high winds will not only bring the potential for damage, they’ll also cause areas of blowing dust and a high fire danger in eastern parts of the state. The winds could also cause blowing snow and near blizzard conditions in wester parts of the state and the northern mountains.
Lighter winds return by Saturday morning, but lingering rain and snow showers will stick around the state. Drier, quieter, and warmer weather returns Sunday and that will continue into Monday. However, high winds return again next Tuesday as another storm moves into the state.