NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – A changing Monsoon weather pattern will shift the rainy activity closer to the Four Corners this weekend as the southeastern two-thirds of New Mexico will be drier and hotter as a result.
Along with very clear skies across the region, it’s not quite as cool to start with slightly above-normal low temperatures in the high 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, and 70’s generally from north to south. It’s not quite as moist for many areas at the surface as well, but a lot of that low-level moisture has shifted to areas to the northwest that have mostly been dry as of late.
Recent changes in this pattern will last for this weekend as for today, southerly winds at the surface, albeit light, will allow for temperatures to rise to above-normal criteria for most, except near the Mexico border where it will be seasonably hot. Meanwhile, the clockwise flow from the eastward-moving high pressure system will move from around The Four Corners to the New Mexico-Colorado border, leading to the thunderstorm motion to be towards the southwest at a relatively slower rate than days past. Before any storms form, which may eventually near The Metro, temperatures will reach well into the 90’s, with triple digits possible in the eastern plains, as well as in southern areas, and even around Farmington. In the mountains, temperatures will reach the high 70’s and 80’s before any rain falls in the early afternoon. Burn-scar flash flooding will still be possible around Ruidoso and a bit more likely around Santa Fe, but conditions will generally be drier enough that heavy rain will not be as widespread.
However, as the high pressure continues to move east and eventually towards the north-northeast of Albuquerque by next week, the change in the upper-level winds, combining with an influx of tropical moisture, will allow for more rain to eventually return, eventually leading to lower high temperatures.