KRQE News 13 Blog Albuquerque, NM » Weather

More Storms?…Well Maybe

Mark Ronchetti — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:10:50 +0000

There are some interesting changes on the way for New Mexico weather over the next couple of days. Moisture will begin to leak into eastern New Mexico on Thursday and touch off isolated showers there. Meanwhile dry conditions in central and western sections will hold through Thursday. Then that moisture will move its way to the west up against the central mountain chain by Friday. Isolated to scattered storms will continue across the eastern side of the state. Here in the metro area will get a chance of an isolated storm on Friday maybe even into Saturday as well.

If we get some storms here in central sections of the state they will be isolated. The real risk for severe weather will be limited to the eastern part of the state Thursday and into Friday as well. During the back half of the holiday weekend the chance for showers will go away and mostly sunny skies take over.

Warm Weather Ahead…

Mark Ronchetti — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:10:51 +0000

Our weather will remain relatively quiet over the next 24 hours. We should see increasing chances of some gusty winds on the east slopes of the northern mountains. However won’t see much in the way of showers until we get to late Thursday. The chance to pick up showers will begin an extreme eastern New Mexico Thursday afternoon. That chance will expand to the west during the day on Friday. The best chance for getting wetting rain will be in areas like Union County stretching down into Chaves County.

We are in dire need of significant precipitation in these areas. So anything we can get in the way of rain will be helpful. The Albuquerque metro area should continue to see a shot of showers into Saturday but we are not expecting significant amount of rain. During this time temperatures will continue to rise as well with highs in the high 80s.

Quiet For Now Then Intrigue

Mark Ronchetti — Tue, 21 May 2013 03:50:37 +0000

Look for mostly sunny skies on Tuesday with temps in the mid 70′s. The only chance for a spot shower will be over the northern mountains. Wednesday temps will continue to rise with highs touching 80° with no real threat of precipitation. By Thursday things become far more interesting. Models show some moisture trying to creep into eastern NM and touch off storms. This could lead to some severe weather as well. However, other models say all the action will stay east of the state. Stay tuned it could at least get a bit more exciting.

As far as the fire danger goes, it will stay elevated but at this point we have avoided any catastrophic fires that plagued us in recent years. There are a variety of reasons for this but one is timely increases in relatively humidity.

Wind Slowly Coming Down….

chrisgilson — Mon, 20 May 2013 03:32:42 +0000

After a very windy weekend the winds will stay strong for at least one more day. On Monday, dry conditions and high winds will create another day of high fire danger. A back door cold front moves through the Eastern portion of New Mexico on Tuesday. That’ll keep the wind on the breezy side, but it won’t be as strong.

Shower chances will be limited to the Northern Mountains and the Northeast over the next few days. There looks to be a chance for some showers and storms next weekend for at least the Eastern Plains. But, there are still a lot of disagreements between the models on exactly how much moisture will make it into the state for showers to develop.

Strong Wind Will Continue…

chrisgilson — Sun, 19 May 2013 02:05:43 +0000

The strong, gusty winds will continue into the second half of your weekend. That’s because the upper-level low pressure system passing through the region will slowly move off to the east and north over the next few days. Behind this system another wave of energy will move through Northern New Mexico on Monday. This system will keep the wind going through at Monday night.

Again, most of the precip will stay off to the north and we’ll be left with dry thunderstorms that do nothing but pick up the wind. With the strong winds lasting through Monday, the high fire danger will also continue. So it’s important to be alert when your outside and to not do any burning yourself. The winds will relax by mid-week when a ridge builds over New Mexico allowing for the summer-like temps to return.

High fire danger this weekend

Bill Diven — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:44:53 +0000

With a ban on all outdoor burning already in place Bernalillo County is warning dry conditions, stiff winds and warm temperatures will create conditions ripe for wildfires this weekend.

The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning today from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. with similar conditions expected on Sunday.

The warning targets the middle Rio Grande valley and the Sandia and Manzano mountains.

County commissioners voted early in the week to ban all fires including the use of charcoal grills.

Some Rain Chances, But More Wind…

chrisgilson — Fri, 17 May 2013 20:03:40 +0000

A low pressure system is going to pass through the region. Unfortunately, like most systems it looks like most of the rain will stay to our north. But, there is a chance for some scattered showers over the Northwest and Northern Mountains on Saturday. After Saturday, there’s just a small chance for some spot storms over the north through Monday evening. Outside of Northern New Mexico there isn’t any rain in the forecast. Much of the state will experience an increase in wind and a higher fire danger through the weekend and into early next week.

Temperatures do cool down a bit over the weekend. It’ll still be warm, but temps will go back to more seasonable conditions here in the Metro with the hottest weather staying in Southeastern New Mexico.

Return of Windy Weather….

chrisgilson — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:51:02 +0000

We’re watching a storm system that will move just to our north over the next few days. There’s still a possibility this low pressure system could move further south. This would give us a little more moisture with a better chance for some showers over the north and less wind. But, if it stays further north the wind will really pick up over the weekend creating a very high fire danger for New Mexico with a chance for spot storms over the Northwest and Northern Mountains. The Eastern portion of New Mexico is already under a Fire Weather Watch for Saturday because of the increasing wind speeds.

Temperatures will stay on the warm side in the Metro, but upper 90s and triple digit heat will continue in the Southeast for places like Carlsbad. Temperatures do come down a bit over the weekend.

Quiet Weather Ahead…

Mark Ronchetti — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:58:32 +0000

Mostly sunny skies will rule over New Mexico on both Thursday and Friday. After another day of mountain storms drier air began to push through the state this afternoon. That dry air will overtake the rest of the state overnight.

Highs will top out in the mid 80′s in the metro area tomorrow while eastern NM will top out near 100°. Friday will be warm as well with temps statewide 10°-15° above average. Winds will crank up a bit by Friday as well. SW winds will top 35 mph at a gust over eastern NM.

The weekend looks interesting at the very least. A trough will drop down into the mountain west. If this trough heads as far south as NM it could lead to some showers. Stay tuned.

Temps Warm This Week…

Mark Ronchetti — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:14:05 +0000

Unlike last week temps will warm to above seasonal levels with little or no precipitation over the state. Our highs Tuesday will be in the mid 80′s with partly sunny skies. Tuesday will actually be our best chance for a shower but even that shower crop will favor the northern mountains and leave only a 10% chance of showers for the metro.

By Wednesday the meager chance for rain drops even more as temps rise into the high 80′s. The threat of dry lightning will be a concern over the northern mountains.

Through the rest of the week temps will remain above average with occasionally gusty winds. Fire danger should continue to rise as well. As far as when we might see a bigger storm head in our direction, that is likely to hold off until next week at the earliest.