A rather quiet period of weather lies ahead for the Land of Enchantment.  While the nights will continue to feature rather chilly temperatures, abundant sunshine will provide for a nice warm-up each afternoon.  In general, afternoon temperatures will be near or even a few degrees above normal into the first part of the new work week.

About the only weather features to speak of in the days ahead will be a few back door old fronts that will drop onto the eastern plains during the week ahead.  In general, these fronts will be dry and relatively weak.  Their only impact will be to drop temperatures a few degrees across the eastern parts of New Mexico.

Looking long range, we are still keeping an eye on a potential storm system for late next week.  But at this time the models are rather inconsistent and it is way to early to tell if the region will be hit with another winter type storm.  But you can bet, that we will certainly keep that system in our sights.

Goose Lake Bridge

The much anticipated winter storm is finally starting to pull out of the region.  However, it will continue to provide the northern mountains and northeast highlands with a few snow showers through the day Thursday.  Meanwhile, a big blast of cold air will continue to overspread the rest of the region.

The first freeze of the season will be occurring across the southern parts of New Mexico Thursday and Friday mornings, while northern sections really fall into the deep freeze.  Sunshine will reappear by Friday, but it will likely be this weekend before afternoon high temperatures can recover.

Another nice day is on tap Sunday as we wrap up a great weather weekend.  Sunshine will dominate most  regions of New Mexico.  As a result, another mild afternoon is expected with afternoon highs in the 70's and 80's.  Breezes will begin to pick up during the afternoon hours, but should remain below advisory levels.

The wind will actually be a result of a developing storm to our west.  This storm will continue to move our direction through the first part of the work week.  A few clouds will begin to gather Monday as the wind intensifies.  Meanwhile, Tuesday will feature a chance for showers, especially across the northern half of the state.  Snow levels will likely be around 9000' so only some high mountian snowfall is expected.

A cool front will bring breezy and cooler conditions to the eastern half of New Mexico as we kick off the new work week.  However, due to limited moisture, only a few stray clouds will accompany this front as it moves past.  This means that the recent spell of dry weather will continue.  Temps will be as much as 15 degrees cooler across eastern parts of the state while the west will see little change in temperatures from Sunday afternoon.

Meanwhile, a new storm system will approach from the west Tuesday & Wednesday.  This system will bring more wind than rain it appears.  Expect to see southwest winds increasing by Tuesday afternoon.  In addition, some mid and high level clouds will begin to stream in as well.  As far as rainfall is concerned, there will be a few spotty showers across northern parts of the state.  But widespread rainfall is not expected with this system.

Sunny & warm conditions will prevail as we wrap up the weekend.  High pressure aloft will actually keep the sun shining into the Monday as well.  However, by Monday slightly cooler air will be flowing in from the east thanks to a dry cool front.

The big weather feature next week will actually begin to have an effect on the region Tuesday and Wednesday.  This is when a storm system aloft will be approaching.  Expect breezy conditions to develop under a partly cloudy sky Tuesday.  Come Wednesday, a few showers are possible  across northern New Mexico as the storm aloft drifts by.

A few spot showers are still possible as the afternoons heat up the next few days, however the overall coverage of storms will be reduced from what we saw this past weekend.  We can thank recycling of the moist air for this activity. Meanwhile, temperatures will return to near normal levels for locations that remain on the dry side.

The Land of enchantment will actually be between weather systems for the first part of the week.  Looking ahead, a back door front will arrive midweek.  This will help to reinforce the moist air at the surface.  Meanwhile, a disturbance aloft will be approaching from the west.  These two things will combine to enhance rain chances later in the week ahead.

Another round of afternoon and evening showers and thunderstorms will erupt Sunday across the Land of Enchantment.  The overall coverage of storms will be slightly less than it was Saturday, but just about any location in the state could experience a showers before the day comes to a close.

Moist air will certainly be plentiful as we prepare to wrap up the weekend.  We can thank Saturday's cool front for supplying the abundant low level moist air.  It is this moisture that will be recycled as the afternoon heats up, leading to Sunday's chance for rain.  As usual, the mountainous terrain will be favored for the bulk of the storm development.  But due to erratic winds aloft, these storms could drift in almost any direction.