Balloon Fiesta Forecast: Warm, calm weather expected for the first weekend
By Grant Tosterud,
1 days ago
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – It will be a warm first weekend of Balloon Fiesta . Temperatures will be very mild out on the field at Balloon Fiesta Park, with temperatures only getting down into the mid-50s before the sun starts rising over the Sandias.
Winds, of course, are the biggest questions out at the park. As it looks right now on Saturday, there will be a breezy south/southeasterly wind between midnight and 5 a.m., but that wind should calm down right in time for Fiesta. Winds will be south/southeasterly around 3 to 6 mph between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. Winds off the ground will be a little stronger though and will change to a more westerly direction, blowing the balloons eastward. We are expecting a Green Flag on Saturday morning.
On Sunday morning, winds will once again be light but will be out of the northeast. The wind direction will not change much with height, so expect balloons to travel south/southeast into the city. Once again, we expecting a Green Flag Sunday morning.
Afternoons out at Balloon Fiesta are going to be warm. In fact, it could be one of the warmest first weekends of Balloon Fiestas on record. Highs will climb into the mid-80s both Saturday and Sunday afternoon, with a record-breaking high temperature of 88° on Sunday. There will be some breezier winds Sunday evening with a weak backdoor cold front moving through, but wind gusts should stay below 20 mph. Warm and quiet weather is expected for the evening events on both days this weekend.
Into early next week, dry and calm weather looks to continue with highs staying in the mid-80s and low temperatures at Balloon Fiesta Park in the mid and lower 50s.
This year’s event will include 16 new shapes , adding up to 106 special shapes in total. Of the new balloons, the special-shaped weather balloon called Météo has meteorological features. And, there will be a nod to a New Mexico tradition with a new Zozobra balloon.
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