Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Albuquerque, NM
Issued by NWS Albuquerque, NM
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091 FXUS65 KABQ 210529 AFDABQ Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Albuquerque NM 1129 PM MDT Sat Apr 20 2024 ...New AVIATION... .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 125 PM MDT Sat Apr 20 2024 Isolated to scattered showers and a few thunderstorms will continue this evening, focused near and just east of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Additionally, the east canyon wind will return in the Albuquerque Metro below canyons tonight, but will not be as strong as the last two nights. Temperatures on Sunday will continue to be well below normal across the east, but should be near or above normal across the west. Temperatures will rebound on Monday across the east, but another backdoor cold front will arrive on Tuesday, though temperatures will not drop as much. Spring winds return late in the week. Thursday looks to be the windiest day with critical fire weather concerns likely. && .SHORT TERM... (This evening through Sunday night) Issued at 125 PM MDT Sat Apr 20 2024 The dampening Pacific trough is moving overhead and interacting with upslope forcing and moisture provided by the backdoor cold front to produce a round of convection that is moving east off of the Continental Divide this afternoon. A few cloud to ground lightning strikes have been noted so far today in the northern mountains north and east of Los Alamos. This round of convection will produce very little measurable precipitation, but the round in southern CO moving southeast currently may bring some notable rain with graupel early this evening from the northern Sangre De Cristos east along the CO border to near the OK border. Otherwise, convection will gradually diminish with the loss of daytime heating. The front is forecast to surge back to the west this evening and overnight, resulting in another gusty east canyon wind below the mouth of Tijeras Canyon to the Albuquerque Sunport, but not as strong as the last two nights and well below advisory threshold. Low stratus will redevelop across eastern NM tonight with some potential for patchy fog, mainly from the central highlands south to near Ruidoso. Rising pressure heights are forecast Sunday into Sunday night as broad and weak riding gets going over the region. Sunday will be warmer as a result, but the frontal layer will be stubborn to move out across eastern NM where highs are forecast to be 10-20 degrees below normal while western NM will be several degrees above normal. && .LONG TERM... (Monday through Friday) Issued at 125 PM MDT Sat Apr 20 2024 Though upper level ridging will be over NM on Monday, some mid level moisture will be moving through the ridge. However, low levels will remain dry. As such, by late afternoon, build-ups across western NM will likely yield virga and perhaps some gusty winds, especially as DCAPE values rise to near 900 J/kg. Lifted indices around -1 to -2 may also allow for a lightning strike or two. Added a small area of dry thunder to the forecast, but this may need to be expanded. These virga showers, etc. will move toward the Rio Grande Valley by early evening before dissipating. Upper level ridging will persist on Tuesday, though the main event on Tuesday will be a backdoor cold front sliding south and westward across the plains. The NAM is faster with the progression of the front than other operational models, and tended to favor this solution. Upslope flow onto the Sangre de Cristo Mtns may yield a few showers in the afternoon. An upper level low across the Pacific will be the next feature of interest for the mid to late week period. There is considerable disagreement with regards to how fast this system will eject eastward with the GEFS/GFS around 12 or so hours faster than the ECMWF/EPS/GEPS. At this time, it appears the upper level ridge over NM may begin to slide eastward Wednesday as the system moves over SoCal. This will allow for breezy southwest flow to develop over NM. Then Thursday looks to be dry and windy, with some continued breezy to windy conditions on Friday. Precipitation looks to be paltry with this system, with only a few light showers and thunderstorms over the northern high terrain, but another system over the weekend may bring better chances for precip, at least over northern and western NM. && .AVIATION... (06Z TAFS) Issued at 1117 PM MDT Sat Apr 20 2024 Backdoor front in the eastern half of NM will continue to push westward to near the Continental Divide overnight. Areas of low stratus clouds will continue to expand over the eastern half of the state again late tonight, gradually dissipating from late morning through early afternoon Sunday. Low ceilings with widespread MVFR and areas of IFR conditions are forecast for central to eastern New Mexico through at least Sunday morning with areas of low ceilings hanging on through early to mid afternoon. Only patchy low ceilings are forecast to return to the east slopes of the central mountain chain eastward Sunday evening/night. && .FIRE WEATHER... Issued at 125 PM MDT Sat Apr 20 2024 Warm, dry and unstable conditions prevail across western NM today, while the remainder of the areas remains under the influence of a fairly moist backdoor cold front. A round of mostly non-wetting convection is underway and moving east from the Continental Divide and has already produced a few lightning strikes in the northern mountains. Chances for wetting precipitation will be limited to this evening near the Colorado border going east from the northern Sangre De Cristos. Rising pressure heights associated with weak ridging will be the story through early week, with a warming trend and temperatures rising well above normal by Tuesday. Residual moisture combined with warmer temperatures and increased instability will be sufficient to produce a round of dry convection along and immediately east of the Continental Divide on Monday afternoon, where a few dry lightning strikes are possible. Spotty critical fire weather conditions are likely on Monday as well, mainly across the northeast highlands where winds are forecast to pick up with a little lee side troughing. A weak backdoor cold front will bring a wind shift to eastern NM on Tuesday, but elsewhere hot, dry and unstable conditions are forecast. An upper level trough is forecast to move through the region late next week, bringing the potential for widespread critical fire weather conditions Thursday then limited to eastern NM on Friday as the trough exits to the northeast. && .PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS... Farmington...................... 77 40 77 42 / 0 0 0 0 Dulce........................... 70 34 71 33 / 20 5 0 0 Cuba............................ 69 37 69 37 / 20 5 10 0 Gallup.......................... 76 34 76 34 / 0 0 0 0 El Morro........................ 68 37 72 38 / 0 0 10 0 Grants.......................... 72 34 74 36 / 5 0 5 0 Quemado......................... 70 39 74 41 / 0 0 10 0 Magdalena....................... 69 44 70 47 / 10 5 10 0 Datil........................... 70 41 70 42 / 5 0 10 0 Reserve......................... 76 35 78 37 / 0 0 5 0 Glenwood........................ 81 49 81 48 / 0 0 5 0 Chama........................... 63 33 65 33 / 40 10 10 0 Los Alamos...................... 61 40 66 44 / 30 20 10 0 Pecos........................... 59 34 63 37 / 20 20 10 0 Cerro/Questa.................... 60 36 62 38 / 50 30 10 0 Red River....................... 62 30 56 31 / 60 40 10 0 Angel Fire...................... 58 27 58 28 / 50 30 10 0 Taos............................ 66 33 66 33 / 40 20 10 0 Mora............................ 54 32 61 34 / 30 20 10 0 Espanola........................ 67 43 72 42 / 30 20 10 0 Santa Fe........................ 62 41 66 44 / 20 20 10 0 Santa Fe Airport................ 67 40 69 40 / 20 20 10 0 Albuquerque Foothills........... 71 49 72 51 / 20 20 5 0 Albuquerque Heights............. 73 46 74 48 / 20 20 5 0 Albuquerque Valley.............. 75 46 76 48 / 20 20 5 0 Albuquerque West Mesa........... 73 46 74 48 / 20 20 0 0 Belen........................... 76 46 77 47 / 10 10 5 0 Bernalillo...................... 74 46 75 46 / 20 20 0 0 Bosque Farms.................... 74 44 76 46 / 20 20 5 0 Corrales........................ 73 45 75 46 / 20 20 0 0 Los Lunas....................... 73 44 76 46 / 20 20 5 0 Placitas........................ 68 44 71 47 / 20 20 5 0 Rio Rancho...................... 71 45 74 47 / 20 20 0 0 Socorro......................... 79 48 78 48 / 10 10 5 0 Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 60 38 66 45 / 20 20 5 0 Tijeras......................... 64 40 69 45 / 20 20 5 0 Edgewood........................ 58 37 68 40 / 20 20 5 0 Moriarty/Estancia............... 61 35 68 34 / 20 20 5 0 Clines Corners.................. 55 33 60 36 / 10 20 5 0 Mountainair..................... 62 37 68 42 / 20 20 5 0 Gran Quivira.................... 62 36 68 39 / 10 20 5 0 Carrizozo....................... 67 44 69 43 / 20 10 5 0 Ruidoso......................... 52 36 59 39 / 40 10 10 0 Capulin......................... 53 33 59 35 / 20 30 5 0 Raton........................... 58 33 62 31 / 30 50 10 0 Springer........................ 58 34 61 32 / 20 30 10 0 Las Vegas....................... 56 33 57 36 / 10 20 10 0 Clayton......................... 53 34 59 40 / 20 30 0 0 Roy............................. 55 35 56 37 / 20 10 10 0 Conchas......................... 62 39 59 40 / 30 10 5 0 Santa Rosa...................... 59 39 58 38 / 10 5 0 0 Tucumcari....................... 60 37 59 39 / 40 5 0 0 Clovis.......................... 53 39 57 39 / 70 10 5 0 Portales........................ 52 39 58 39 / 70 10 5 0 Fort Sumner..................... 58 40 59 39 / 40 10 0 0 Roswell......................... 62 45 59 45 / 40 10 0 0 Picacho......................... 54 40 56 38 / 20 5 0 0 Elk............................. 47 38 57 37 / 30 5 0 0 && .ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... None. && $$ SHORT TERM...11 LONG TERM....34 AVIATION...33