NWS: New Mexico rain chances spike Friday after brief cool snap
A departing storm system left morning lows in the 30s, but a weak disturbance is set to bring light precipitation to the state by Friday night.
By Amina Howard ·
The National Weather Service reported that a fast-moving storm system exited the Texas Panhandle and moved into Oklahoma on Thursday morning. This system pushed cooler air across the region, dropping morning temperatures into the 30s for most of New Mexico. A small number of communities held onto 40s or 50s, while wind chills ran five to 10 degrees below the actual air temperature.
High pressure has already built over the central Colorado Rockies and is moving into New Mexico by Thursday evening. Residents can expect abundant sunshine and light winds for the majority of the state. However, eastern and southeastern New Mexico will experience breezier conditions as the departing storm and incoming high pressure create a tighter pressure gradient. Winds in those areas may reach 10 to 20 mph.
Cloud cover will increase on Thursday night ahead of a weak disturbance moving southeast across the Great Basin. Forecast models show better agreement on this system's track and impacts. Rain chances will rise across western New Mexico on Friday afternoon and expand into central New Mexico by Friday evening. The highest precipitation probabilities are located in southern New Mexico, where rain will begin earlier Friday and continue into Saturday.
The Albuquerque metro area faces a 10% chance of receiving a few showers on Friday evening. Snow showers are also possible at higher elevations in parts of western and north-central New Mexico. Any rainfall or snowfall is expected to remain light, though locally higher totals could occur beneath heavier or more organized showers.
High pressure will rebuild in the region following the disturbance, bringing pleasant conditions for the second half of the weekend. The quiet weather pattern is expected to continue through at least the first half of next week.
