An extremely high fire danger will develop for parts of New Mexico Saturday due to strong winds and dry air. Calmer conditions return by Memorial Day.
Winds were a little lighter Friday afternoon across New Mexico. The big concern is Saturday as west, southwesterly winds will gust to as high as 55 mph by late afternoon. Windy weather will combine with very warm temperatures and extremely dry air to create an extreme fire danger for the Sacramento Mountains and Lincoln National Forest areas. This means that if any wildfire were to develop Saturday, it would quickly spread. The rest of New Mexico has an elevated and critical fire danger. Winds will slowly die down starting around sunset Saturday evening, with calmer conditions returning by Sunday morning.
Breezy afternoon winds will return Sunday afternoon, but won’t be nearly as strong as Saturday. A few gusts up to 40 mph may be possible with the northwest winds on Sunday. Winds will be even lighter for Memorial Day as high pressure moves overhead. This will also bring even warmer temperatures Monday afternoon.
Winds will stay light into Tuesday, but temperatures continue their warming trend. Wednesday next week will likely be the warmest day for many, with triple-digits down south and 90s in the Albuquerque Metro. Breezy afternoon winds will likely return starting the middle of next week as well.
