Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Albuquerque, NM
Issued by NWS Albuquerque, NM
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151 FXUS65 KABQ 291115 AAA AFDABQ Area Forecast Discussion...UPDATED National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 415 AM MST Sat Nov 29 2025 ...New AVIATION... .KEY MESSAGES... Updated at 415 AM MST Sat Nov 29 2025 - A backdoor cold front today will drop low temperatures to the coldest readings so far this season. Low temperatures in the teens and 20s will be common Saturday night. - Slick and icy roads from snow are forecast across the northern and west central high terrain Sunday night into Monday morning. - Colder Sunday and Monday with high temperatures slightly below average across western and central New Mexico and well below average across eastern New Mexico. && .SHORT TERM... (Today through Sunday) Issued at 1207 AM MST Sat Nov 29 2025 An upper level trough is quickly moving southeast through the central Rockies early this morning resulting in some mountain wave activity across the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. These waves should remain trapped aloft and not crash to the surface. A backdoor front will move into northeast NM mid this morning and through all of the eastern plains by the early afternoon. This front will cool temperatures across northeast NM as the day progresses with highs likely occurring during the morning due to strong cold air advection for the rest of the day. Peak north wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph near the TX border (i.e. Clayton, Clovis and Portales) behind the backdoor front midday Saturday and early Saturday afternoon. Colder air settles in, especially across eastern NM, Saturday night into Sunday morning behind the backdoor front. Lows will be across the teens to near 20 across north central, northeast and east central NM and 20s to near 30 across the rest of the lower elevations in the forecast area. The backdoor front will push through the gaps of the central mountain chain late Saturday night into early Sunday morning bringing a gusty southeast to east canyon gap wind to Santa Fe, eastern Albuquerque, and Carrizozo. Potential for max wind gusts of around 30 to 35 mph across eastern Albuquerque and Carrizozo. Sunday will be colder across all of eastern NM with highs in the upper 30s to mid 40s, around 15 degrees below average. Highs across central and western NM will be in the upper 40s to mid 50s, right around average for late November. && .LONG TERM... (Sunday night through Friday) Issued at 1207 AM MST Sat Nov 29 2025 A shortwave trough over the northern Great Basin Sunday dives southeast across the central and southern Rockies Sunday evening through midday Monday before exiting into the central Great Plains Monday evening. Still looking at some light to briefly moderate snow across the northern and west central high terrain after sunset Sunday tapering off mid to late Monday morning. Mean snowfall amounts across the Tusas near the CO border could reach advisory criteria (5") due to a 3 to 6 hour period of ideal upslope southwest flow before drier air moves in around sunrise Monday. NBM probabilities for snowfall amounts to reach advisory criteria in this zone exist at around 40 to 60%. Generally 1 to 3 inches is expected across the Jemez and Sangre de Cristo Mountains with a dusting to 0.5 inches across the Zuni Mountains of west central NM. Clearing skies midday Monday into Monday afternoon with colder temperatures across western and central NM. 5 to 10 degrees warmer than Sunday across east central and southeast NM due to downslope northwest flow south of the trough axis. A cold Monday night into Tuesday morning with widespread teens to low 20s for low temperatures across lower elevations. Angel Fire could dip below 0 deg F. Temperatures rebound closer to normal, especially across eastern NM, on Tuesday due to downslope westerly flow ahead of the next upper level trough over the northern Rockies. Some breezy conditions across the central highlands and east central plains Tuesday afternoon. Long range guidance shows this trough either diving south and becoming a closed low over southern NV and CA (ECMWF, EC-AIFS, and Canadian) or diving southeast over Four Corners regions and central and southern Rockies as a positively tilted open trough (GFS and AI-GFS) late Wednesday into Thursday. The cluster analysis heavily favors the closed low scenario (70 to 75%) with only 25-30% favoring the open wave trough scenario. With this, some precipitation chances will favor western and central NM Wednesday night into Thursday with drier conditions Friday as the upper low spins either just west the coast of southern CA and northern Baja CA or over the northern Gulf of CA. Temperatures will be near to as much as 10 degrees below average mid to late in the work week. Thursday will be on the cooler side of this range due to Pacific and backdoor front segments moving through the state. && .AVIATION... (12Z TAFS) Issued at 415 AM MST Sat Nov 29 2025 VFR conditions will prevail through the TAF period. LLWS will continue across eastern NM due to stronger winds at the base of a disturbance above an inversion. A backdoor front will push into the NE Plains around sunrise pushing south through all of the eastern plains by the early afternoon. Gusty north to northeast winds in the far eastern plains in its wake. Peak gusts of 20 to 30 kts between KCAO and KCVS and KCVN. The front will eventually push through the gaps of the central mountain chain after 03Z this evening, creating a modest east (southeast) wind at KABQ (KSAF) with peak gusts of 25 to 30 kts. Higher coverage of high clouds after sunset today. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 1207 AM MST Sat Nov 29 2025 No critical fire weather conditions are expected through mid next week. Temperatures dropping across northeast New Mexico today behind a potent backdoor front with good ventilation across the central and southern high terrain and eastern plains. Peak north wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph near the Texas border. Colder across all of eastern New Mexico Sunday with temperatures around 15 degrees below normal. Very good to excellent ventilation across the west central high terrain. A storm system quickly sweeps the northern part of the state Sunday night into Monday morning bringing some light snow to the northern and west central high terrain. Good to very good ventilation with excellent ventilation across the central highlands Monday afternoon in the wake of this disturbance. Temperatures warm up closer to normal Tuesday cooling down to slightly below normal come Thursday with generally poor ventilation for most areas. Some low precipitation chances return to western and central areas late Wednesday into Thursday from another storm system diving south into southern California Nevada and Arizona. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 50 28 53 30 / 0 0 0 40 Dulce........................... 50 22 48 22 / 0 5 5 60 Cuba............................ 48 22 45 25 / 0 0 0 40 Gallup.......................... 51 21 53 22 / 0 0 0 30 El Morro........................ 51 26 53 27 / 0 0 0 20 Grants.......................... 55 20 56 25 / 0 0 0 20 Quemado......................... 54 29 57 29 / 0 0 0 5 Magdalena....................... 56 29 53 32 / 0 0 0 0 Datil........................... 54 28 54 30 / 0 0 0 0 Reserve......................... 63 28 59 26 / 0 0 0 0 Glenwood........................ 67 30 63 29 / 0 0 0 0 Chama........................... 44 21 42 20 / 0 0 5 60 Los Alamos...................... 49 25 43 29 / 0 0 0 40 Pecos........................... 51 18 45 25 / 0 0 0 20 Cerro/Questa.................... 46 23 43 25 / 0 0 0 50 Red River....................... 39 18 35 20 / 0 0 0 40 Angel Fire...................... 45 11 41 15 / 0 0 0 30 Taos............................ 49 19 45 24 / 0 0 0 40 Mora............................ 51 16 46 23 / 0 0 0 20 Espanola........................ 55 24 50 27 / 0 0 0 30 Santa Fe........................ 50 25 45 30 / 0 0 0 20 Santa Fe Airport................ 51 24 46 27 / 0 0 0 20 Albuquerque Foothills........... 55 30 51 36 / 0 0 0 5 Albuquerque Heights............. 57 29 53 34 / 0 0 0 5 Albuquerque Valley.............. 60 26 55 33 / 0 0 0 5 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 58 27 52 34 / 0 0 0 10 Belen........................... 59 23 55 30 / 0 0 0 0 Bernalillo...................... 58 28 53 33 / 0 0 0 10 Bosque Farms.................... 59 23 55 30 / 0 0 0 0 Corrales........................ 59 26 53 33 / 0 0 0 10 Los Lunas....................... 59 24 54 30 / 0 0 0 0 Placitas........................ 53 29 49 34 / 0 0 0 10 Rio Rancho...................... 58 27 52 33 / 0 0 0 10 Socorro......................... 62 30 58 33 / 0 0 0 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 50 22 47 30 / 0 0 0 10 Tijeras......................... 51 23 48 31 / 0 0 0 5 Edgewood........................ 53 19 50 28 / 0 0 0 5 Moriarty/Estancia............... 55 15 52 25 / 0 0 0 0 Clines Corners.................. 51 17 45 26 / 0 0 0 0 Mountainair..................... 54 19 49 30 / 0 0 0 0 Gran Quivira.................... 55 21 50 29 / 0 0 0 0 Carrizozo....................... 59 29 53 33 / 0 0 0 0 Ruidoso......................... 57 24 49 33 / 0 0 0 0 Capulin......................... 36 12 33 15 / 0 0 0 10 Raton........................... 42 13 38 15 / 0 0 0 20 Springer........................ 49 16 41 17 / 0 0 0 10 Las Vegas....................... 51 17 41 22 / 0 0 0 10 Clayton......................... 42 17 37 21 / 0 0 0 5 Roy............................. 47 15 37 20 / 0 0 0 5 Conchas......................... 57 20 45 22 / 0 0 0 0 Santa Rosa...................... 57 20 41 22 / 0 0 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 54 19 44 22 / 0 0 0 0 Clovis.......................... 59 21 41 22 / 0 0 0 0 Portales........................ 62 21 43 21 / 0 0 0 0 Fort Sumner..................... 62 21 44 20 / 0 0 0 0 Roswell......................... 69 29 46 26 / 0 0 0 0 Picacho......................... 67 24 47 25 / 0 0 0 0 Elk............................. 67 21 52 27 / 0 0 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...71 LONG TERM....71 AVIATION...71