Cold front to ignite more storms in New Mexico

NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – Damper conditions are starting to spread across the region this morning as while rain is exiting southern and eastern New Mexico, more slow-moving thunderstorms will re-fire off with Flood Watches for some, while below-normal high temperatures will be spread out for many areas.

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Moderate bouts of rain with lightning strikes from near Carlsbad to near Clovis is pushing toward Texas, but the rain-cooled air from this complex of storms is pushing westward, picking up winds in Albuquerque and eventually, all of the way through the southwest corner of the state. Morning temperatures are generally slightly below normal with the northern mountain communities mostly starting off in the high 30’s, 40’s, and 50’s, while valley locations are mostly ranging from the 50’s to the low 70’s. As temperatures across the region rise from the morning school commute into the 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and near 90 for a few areas by the afternoon, an influx of moisture in the air, along with just enough daytime heating, will lead to some areas receiving at least some heavy doses of rainfall across the viewing area. While the far northwestern parts of The Four Corners will still be mostly dry today, most of the region has a chance of rain for today with the flash flooding risk more likely late this morning into the early-to-mid afternoon hours because the storms will still be slow in movement, mostly drifting to the east then to the south eventually. Hit-and-miss stronger thunderstorms will pick up speed a little bit to the northeast from The Gila National Forest, to The Northern Mountains, then eventually to not only parts of The Northeastern Highlands, but also, a larger part of The Rio Grande Valley late today, as well as a large part of The Pecos River Valley. Today’s storms have the higher possibility for localized heavy rain, some pockets of hail, erratic winds, and frequent lightning strikes.

With the cold front moving through a large swath of the region with moisture from the southwest in place, the high pressure system, still to the northeast, will start to drift closer to The Northeast Highlands this Labor Day Weekend, allowing for the stormier pattern to become less widespread to the south eventually with some below-normal temperatures still lingering around. So, while wet weather will still continue for many for the next couple of days, more-pleasant weather will reign supreme closer to Labor Day itself.

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