Breezier and warmer weather returns Thursday, bringing a critical fire danger back to parts of New Mexico. Much warmer and calmer weather will move in by early next week.
It’s been a calmer day for most of New Mexico Thursday despite some high winds sticking around early this morning. This afternoon, winds are still breezy in northeast New Mexico and in a corridor from Farmington to Albuquerque into southern New Mexico. Temperatures are cooler across the state today as well. Snow showers developed this afternoon across the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and are drifting to the southeast, turning into rain in the lower elevations.
Winds will settle down statewide tonight as the rain and snow ends. It will be one of the coldest nights in the last few weeks with temperatures dropping down to near and below freezing across the entire state. A warming trend starts Thursday afternoon as a southwesterly wind picks up. This will bring a critical fire danger to parts of northern and eastern New Mexico.
Calm winds return Friday as the warming trend continues. Everyday will get a little warmer and warmer through the weekend. Winds pick up Saturday with westerly wind gusts as high as 45 mph. Winds settle down again for Sunday as we enter a quieter period of weather next week with a large ridge of high pressure moving towards the state. This will bring well-above average temperatures through the end of next week.