01-04-2025
Northern N.M. likely to see high winds, precipitation this week
No April Fools' joke here: Northern New Mexico is likely to see high winds, rain and the potential for snow this week.
A storm system is slated to move through the Western U.S. this week, said Michael Anand, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service's Albuquerque office.
On Tuesday, that storm system will bring strong winds, heightened fire danger and the possibility of blowing dust. The high winds also could lead to power shutoffs, Public Service Company of New Mexico announced in a news release.
By Friday and Saturday, though, Santa Fe can expect some long-awaited moisture, with rain — and snow in the mountains — likely Friday and Saturday.
"Rain chances look pretty good across Eastern and Northern New Mexico," Anand said. "The mountains might get one last good snowstorm from this event."
Now's the time to secure loose objects and clear out any dead brush, Anand said.
"If we do get a spark tomorrow, it could start a fire, and that fire would spread rapidly with the strong winds we're expecting for tomorrow," he said.
The National Weather Service has issued red flag warnings — which indicate weather conditions that could result in extreme fire danger — for Tuesday afternoon and evening covering much of Eastern and Central New Mexico.
High wind warnings will also be in effect for the Sangre de Cristo Mountains from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday, with the National Weather Service forecasting westward winds of 30 to 40 mph and gusts up to 65 mph.
Tuesday's wind and weather "could increase the chance of weather-related outages," PNM said in a news release. The utility advised customers, particularly those dependent on electricity for medical equipment, to prepare for the possibility of an outage, though the company did not announce any planned power shutoffs.
Because this winter in New Mexico has been such a dry one, the high winds could bring blowing dust or brown-out conditions, Anand said.
However, he added Tuesday's weather isn't expected to be as bad as earlier this month, when dust storms resulted in zero visibility on certain roads, the closure of Interstate 25 and multivehicle crashes.
"The winds are expected to be a little bit lighter than they were on the 18th," Anand said. "But since we haven't really gotten much [precipitation] at all the last few weeks, we're still looking at a pretty good blowing dust event."
Dry conditions are likely to continue through the middle of the week, when the storm system is set to bring moisture from the Gulf of Mexico and wetter, cooler weather late Friday and Saturday.
"That could help alleviate the blowing dust concerns and then also help alleviate the fire weather concerns going deeper into the spring," Anand said.
