NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Monsoonal moisture inbound will start to dampen high temperatures ahead, but from many areas today around Albuquerque and to the southeast, it will still not only be hot, but most likely, still rain-free.
A few morning showers are dissipating around the New Mexico-Colorado border, similar to yesterday, but the movement of the rain activity is moving quicker to the east-northeast. Otherwise, mostly clear skies are present across most of the region with yet another mild start. From The Northern Mountains to the northern valleys, temperatures are generally starting off in the high 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s, while may other areas are starting off in the 70’s. Conditions are even more humid in The Four Corners with pockets of dew-point temperatures in the 50’s, and seasonably humid air is present in The Pecos River Valley.
A stubborn high pressure system to the west is drifting to the south-southwest as despite the influx of low-level moisture that’s creeping in from the south around The Sacramento Mountains and into the northern third of the region, stagnant-enough air, combining with southerly surface winds, will allow for temperatures to continue to rise throughout this afternoon. Air quality, particularly around The Metro, will be still be a bit poor with the mostly light winds, as the sunburn risk still being relatively high before more storms to the north form. The widespread storms in Southern Colorado will be faster-moving to the southeast, some strong storms will be slow-moving in northern parts of The Land of Enchantment, more-widespread rain activity in The Gila National Forest will drift off to the west as the day progresses, and there will be the slightly higher possibility of a few storms drifting farther to the south to the northern parts of The Rio Grande Valley, while there’s only the slight possibility of a couple slow-moving showers near Ruidoso. The flash flooding risk will be generally higher today in the burn scars surrounding Santa Fe with an even more widespread chance later this week. Some large hail in the northeastern plains are more likely later on, in addition to frequent lightning and strong winds as a backdoor cold front starts to move through late today.
More unsettled weather throughout the rest of the week will come in the form of the weakening high pressure drifting to the southwest, allowing for more tropical moisture in the atmosphere to generally produce more thunderstorms, lower high temperatures eventually, and stronger winds.
