High winds, then 80s
Apr. 20—A cold front is forcecast to drop temperatures in eastern and northern New Mexico this week and bring strong winds to the rest of the state, leading up to a weekend that could record the highest temperatures yet this year.
The air mass is expected to bring overnight freezes to the state's northeast corner, said Alyssa Clements, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Albuquerque. Some areas of the eastern plains will be 20 to 25 degrees below average on Tuesday, she said.
"Across the Rio Grande valley in the Albuquerque and Santa Fe metro areas, that front is going to be reinforced Tuesday night, so we are looking at a strong gap wind, with gusts around 40 to 45 miles an hour Tuesday night," Clements said.
Western New Mexico will be dry on Wednesday, with wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph.
Statewide temperatures will also begin to rebound.
"With that comes the return of critical fire weather conditions," Clements said. "We are looking at high fire danger pretty much for the western half of the state."
Albuquerque is forecast to reach a high of 71 degrees on Wednesday.
Isolated showers may bring some rain to areas near the Colorado state line, but precipitation chances are minimal across New Mexico.
The weekend is expected to be clear and sunny in Albuquerque.
The city is expected to reach a high of 82 degrees on Sunday.
