A powerful spring storm will bring very high winds, rain, and snow to parts of New Mexico Thursday through Friday. Blowing dust and snow along with wind damage and an extreme fire danger are all possible.
Windier weather moved into New Mexico Wednesday afternoon with northwest winds gusting over 30 mph again. A few places have measured gusts up to around 40 mph. Temperatures were slightly cooler too after a weak storm system crossed the state last night. A strong storm will start moving into New Mexico Thursday. Even stronger winds will develop Thursday afternoon with many areas seeing gusts over 35 mph. Some blowing dust may be possible in southern New Mexico. Temperatures will also be warmer across the state. A high fire danger will also develop, especially across southern and eastern parts of New Mexico.
Winds will actually continue to pick up in speed overnight Thursday into Friday with wind gusts as high as 60 mph in southern New Mexico. A cold front will sweep across the state late Thursday night into Friday bringing a line of rain and snow along it. A snow squall may be possible in western New Mexico Thursday night as it moves through, reducing visibility and creating icy roads. Rain will likely fall in the Rio Grande Valley around midnight as the front pushes through. Moderate to heavy snowfall with lower elevation rain will also fall in northern New Mexico. A lot of this moisture fizzles out through Friday morning.
Westerly winds could gust as high as 80 mph in eastern New Mexico late Friday morning. This will easily cause areas of blowing dust and potential wind damage along with a very high fire danger. High winds could also cause areas of blowing snow and near blizzard conditions in western and northern New Mexico where a few inches of snow fall. Winds will slowly die down through Friday night.
Scattered rain and snow showers are possible again through the day Saturday, with accumulations generally staying light. Winds will get strong again Saturday afternoon, but not as strong as Friday. Quieter and drier weather will return Sunday. Winds start picking up again early next week as another storm will move into the state on Tuesday.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
