A cold front will bring thunderstorms to parts of New Mexico Thursday. The front will also bring gusty east winds into the Rio Grande Valley by Thursday evening.
It was an even drier and warmer day across New Mexico as cloud cover cleared out across the southeastern part of the state. Parts of western and northern New Mexico have climbed into the 90s today. While a few spotty showers have also popped up in the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Overnight, a backdoor front will begin moving into northeast New Mexico as it begins a push south and west across the state through the day Thursday. The front will increase the amount of moisture in the air, and bring scattered storms to the northern mountains Thursday afternoon. These storms could produce heavy rainfall, especially over the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the Hermits Peak Calf Canyon burn scar area. These storms will also give the backdoor front a kick as it spills into the Rio Grande Valley and the Albuquerque Metro. By 6 PM, east winds could gust as high as 45 mph, dropping temperatures too. The front should also spark a few showers or thunderstorms in the Metro by 9 PM, along with chances for rain all the way down to Silver City by the late evening. Winds from the cold front will die down overnight into Friday morning.
Temperatures will be cooler all across New Mexico Friday afternoon thanks to the backdoor front. A few isolated storms will again be possible in southeast New Mexico and the Gila. High pressure will begin building over the Four Corners this weekend, bringing warmer temperatures again, and isolated afternoon storm chances mainly in the mountains of western, northern, and central New Mexico. There’s a little bit of uncertainty as to how long storm chances may stick around early next week and where, but there is high confidence temperatures will continue to warm through at least next Wednesday.
