510  
FXUS65 KABQ 211110 AAA  
AFDABQ  
 
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED  
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM  
410 AM MST THU NOV 21 2024  
   
..NEW AVIATION
 
 
   
KEY MESSAGES
 
 
UPDATED AT 351 AM MST THU NOV 21 2024  
 
- MUCH MILDER TEMPERATURES AND LIGHT WINDS THURSDAY THROUGH THE  
FIRST HALF OF THE WEEKEND AS HIGH PRESSURE MOVES OVERHEAD.  
 
- WINDIER CONDITIONS RETURN LATER IN THE WEEKEND, AND RAIN AND  
MOUNTAIN SNOW MAY COVER NORTHWEST NEW MEXICO BEGINNING NEXT  
WEEK.  
 

 
   
SYNOPSIS
 
 
ISSUED AT 232 AM MST THU NOV 21 2024  
 
HIGH PRESSURE WILL CONTINUE TO SIT OVER NM THROUGHOUT SATURDAY,  
ALLOWING CALM CONDITIONS AND ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPERATURES TO DOMINATE.  
TEMPERATURES WILL BE 5 TO 15 DEGREES ABOVE NORMAL FOR LATE NOVEMBER  
THROUGHOUT THE STATE. BREEZY CONDITIONS RETURN TO NM ON SUNDAY AND  
CONTINUE INTO NEXT WEEK, MAINLY FOR THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, CENTRAL  
MOUNTAIN CHAIN, AND WESTERN MOUNTAINS. PRECIPITATION CHANCES  
INCREASE LATE SUNDAY AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT  
WEEK FOR NORTHWESTERN NM, INCLUDING CHANCES FOR SNOW IN HIGHER  
TERRAIN.  
 

 
   
SHORT TERM
 
 
(TODAY THROUGH FRIDAY)  
ISSUED AT 232 AM MST THU NOV 21 2024  
 
UPPER LEVEL RIDGING WILL PERSIST OVER NM TODAY AND THE WARM UP WILL  
BE IN FULL SWING. COMPARED TO YESTERDAY, HIGH TEMPERATURES WILL BE  
3 TO 8 DEGREES WARMER WEST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN AND UP TO  
15 DEGREES WARMER ACROSS THE EAST, EXCEPT WHERE SNOWPACK STILL  
EXISTS. A VERY WEAK BOUNDARY WILL BACK INTO NORTHEAST AND EAST  
CENTRAL NM, BUT WILL DO LITTLE TO SENSIBLE WEATHER. RATHER, LIGHT  
WINDS WILL BE THE RULE WITH SOME CIRRUS SPREADING OVERHEAD LATER  
TODAY. OVERNIGHT, VERY STRONG INVERSIONS WILL SET UP, ALLOWING MID  
SLOPE AREAS TO BE SEVERAL DEGREES WARMER THAN VALLEY LOCALES. THE  
WARM-UP CONTINUES ON FRIDAY, WITH MOST AREAS A FEW DEGREES WARMER  
THAN TODAY. THIS IS ESPECIALLY SO EAST OF THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN CHAIN  
WHERE SURFACE WINDS WILL VEER AROUND TO THE SOUTHWEST AND WEST.  
THOUGH WINDS WILL REMAIN LIGHT, THE DOWNSLOPE COMPONENT WILL AID  
IN THE WARMING.  
 

 
   
LONG TERM
 
 
(FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH WEDNESDAY)  
ISSUED AT 232 AM MST THU NOV 21 2024  
 
THE 500MB RIDGE WILL BEGIN TO FLATTEN ON SATURDAY AS A POTENT UPPER  
TROUGH IN THE PNW BEGINS TO MOVE INLAND. WITH THAT, ZONAL UPPER  
LEVEL FLOW WILL RETURN TO NM, PAVING THE WAY FOR WINDIER CONDITIONS  
TO FORM. DETERMINISTIC MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT WITH INCREASING  
700MB WINDS OCCURRING OVER MUCH OF NM BEGINNING SATURDAY AND MORE SO  
INTO SUNDAY. THIS CAN BE ATTRIBUTED TO INCREASED PRESSURE GRADIENTS  
ALOFT AS THE PNW TROUGH DIGS SLIGHTLY SOUTHWARD AND PUSHES UP  
AGAINST A 500MB HIGH OFF THE WESTERN COAST OF MEXICO. A CORRIDOR OF  
45-50KT 700MB WINDS WILL LIKELY SITUATE OVER THE CENTRAL MOUNTAIN  
CHAIN THROUGHOUT SUNDAY, WHERE A RELATIVELY DRY ATMOSPHERE WILL  
ALLOW FOR WINDS TO MIX DOWN TO THE SURFACE. MOUNTAIN WAVE ACTIVITY  
MAY ALSO AID IN THE STRENGTH OF THESE WESTERLY SURFACE WINDS. A  
SECOND AREAS OF INCREASED 700MB WINDS WILL LIKELY SIT OVER THE  
WESTERN MOUNTAINS AND HIGHLANDS, THOUGH WILL LIKELY BE A FEW TICKS  
SLOWER IN SPEED.  
 
WHILE BREEZY TO LOCALLY WINDY CONDITIONS WILL BE PRESENT,  
TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN ABOVE AVERAGE THROUGH THE WEEKEND. SATURDAY  
WILL SEE WIDESPREAD 10-15F ABOVE AVERAGE TEMPS (LOW TO MID 60S IN  
WESTERN AND CENTRAL AREAS, LOW TO MID 70S IN EASTERN AREAS).  
SUNDAY'S TEMPS WILL FALL A FEW DEGREES WITH THE INCREASED WINDS AND  
A SLIGHT DECREASE IN PRESSURE HEIGHTS, HOWEVER DOWNSLOPING WINDS IN  
THE SOUTHEAST PLAINS WILL LIKELY INCREASE HIGH TEMPS BY A DEGREE OR  
TWO. AS ZONAL FLOW CONTINUES TO ENTRENCH THE STATE THROUGH THE  
BEGINNING OF NEXT WEEK, TEMPERATURES WILL FALL BACK TO NEAR AVERAGE.  
A BACKDOOR COLD FRONT WILL MOVE THROUGH EASTERN NM ON MONDAY, WHICH  
WILL FURTHER DRIVE TEMPERATURES DOWN IN THOSE AREAS.  
 
WITH INCREASED ZONAL FLOW ALOFT, ADDITIONAL MOISTURE WILL BE  
ADVECTED INTO THE STATE WHICH WILL INCREASE CLOUD COVERAGE ACROSS  
ALL AREAS AND DEVELOP PRECIPITATION ACROSS NORTHERN AND NORTHWEST NM  
EARLY NEXT WEEK. THE UPCOMING SETUP HAS BEEN SUBJECT TO FORECAST  
UNCERTAINTY, WITH HIGH FOCUS ON HOW THE PNW TROUGH EJECTS OVER  
WESTERN CONUS. ANY SLIGHT SHIFT IN TILT, LOCATION, AND/OR STRENGTH  
OF THE TROUGH CAN CHANGE WHERE/IF PRECIPITATION FALLS. OVER THE LAST  
FEW MODEL RUNS, A FAIRLY CONSISTENT SIGNAL OF BROAD TROUGHING OVER  
NM HAS LED TO HIGHER CONFIDENCE IN SOME RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW  
OCCURRING OVER THOSE NORTHWEST AREAS BEGINNING LATE SUNDAY  
AFTERNOON. SNOW LEVELS ARE HOVERING AROUND 8,500-9,000FT FOR  
THESE AREAS, SO ANY ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL BE RELEGATED TO THE  
HIGHER MOUNTAIN AREAS. ENSEMBLE CLUSTER ANALYSIS FAVORS THIS  
TROUGHING PATTERN THROUGHOUT THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK, THOUGH  
IT SHOULD BE SAID THAT A SCENARIO OF A WEAKER TROUGH OR SLIGHT  
RIDGING COULD LIMIT PRECIPITATION TO BE SOLELY OROGRAPHIC AND  
THEREFORE MINIMAL IN COVERAGE. THIS PATTERN WILL LIKELY PERSIST  
THROUGH AT LEAST WEDNESDAY, WHERE MODEL GUIDANCE DEVIATE FROM EACH  
OTHER. OVERALL, INCREASED MOISTURE IS LIKELY TO BRING RAIN AND  
MOUNTAIN SNOW TO NORTHERN AND NORTHWEST NM SUNDAY THROUGH  
WEDNESDAY.  
 

 
   
AVIATION
 
 
(12Z TAFS)  
ISSUED AT 410 AM MST THU NOV 21 2024  
 
VFR CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL FOR THE NEXT 24 HOURS. CIRRUS WILL  
SPREAD OVERHEAD THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. WINDS WILL REMAIN  
RATHER LIGHT, EVEN WITH AN EASTERLY WIND SHIFT ACROSS EASTERN NM.  
 

 
   
FIRE WEATHER
 
 
ISSUED AT 232 AM MST THU NOV 21 2024  
 
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE NOT EXPECTED FOR THE NEXT 7  
DAYS. A WARMING TREND BEGINS TODAY AND CONTINUES THROUGH SATURDAY.  
BY SATURDAY AFTERNOON, TEMPERATURES WILL BE AS MUCH AS 15 DEGREES  
ABOVE NORMAL. WINDS WILL REMAIN LIGHT TODAY AND FRIDAY, BUT WILL  
START TO TREND UPWARD ON SATURDAY THANKS TO INCREASING ZONAL FLOW  
ALOFT. RH VALUES BELOW 15 PERCENT WILL BE POSSIBLE FOR MANY CENTRAL  
AND WESTERN LOCALES EACH DAY. THIS WILL ALLOW FOR ELEVATED FIRE  
WEATHER CONDITIONS ON SATURDAY. BREEZY TO WINDY WESTERLY WINDS WILL  
BE THE RULE ON SUNDAY ACROSS WEST CENTRAL NM AS WELL AS AREAS ALONG  
AND JUST EAST OF THE CENTRAL MT CHAIN, BUT RH VALUES WILL START TO  
TREND UPWARD AS THE WESTERLY JET BRINGS PACIFIC MOISTURE TO THE  
AREA. IN FACT, RH VALUES WILL CONTINUE TO TREND UPWARD THROUGH THE  
MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK. PRECIPITATION CHANCES RETURN STARTING MONDAY  
ACROSS NORTHWEST NM AND WILL SPREAD EASTWARD THROUGH MID WEEK.  
 

 
   
PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS
 
 
FARMINGTON...................... 54 16 56 21 / 0 0 0 0  
DULCE........................... 57 17 61 17 / 0 0 0 0  
CUBA............................ 57 21 60 25 / 0 0 0 0  
GALLUP.......................... 61 10 63 17 / 0 0 0 0  
EL MORRO........................ 60 23 62 22 / 0 0 0 0  
GRANTS.......................... 61 14 64 17 / 0 0 0 0  
QUEMADO......................... 64 25 66 22 / 0 0 0 0  
MAGDALENA....................... 59 32 63 33 / 0 0 0 0  
DATIL........................... 61 29 65 26 / 0 0 0 0  
RESERVE......................... 70 23 71 22 / 0 0 0 0  
GLENWOOD........................ 71 31 73 32 / 0 0 0 0  
CHAMA........................... 52 18 55 18 / 0 0 0 0  
LOS ALAMOS...................... 53 32 56 30 / 0 0 0 0  
PECOS........................... 60 33 63 30 / 0 0 0 0  
CERRO/QUESTA.................... 52 25 54 23 / 0 0 0 0  
RED RIVER....................... 47 11 51 22 / 0 0 0 0  
ANGEL FIRE...................... 51 0 54 9 / 0 0 0 0  
TAOS............................ 53 11 56 17 / 0 0 0 0  
MORA............................ 60 26 64 26 / 0 0 0 0  
ESPANOLA........................ 60 22 62 25 / 0 0 0 0  
SANTA FE........................ 55 26 58 30 / 0 0 0 0  
SANTA FE AIRPORT................ 56 23 60 27 / 0 0 0 0  
ALBUQUERQUE FOOTHILLS........... 57 33 60 34 / 0 0 0 0  
ALBUQUERQUE HEIGHTS............. 58 31 61 32 / 0 0 0 0  
ALBUQUERQUE VALLEY.............. 60 25 62 29 / 0 0 0 0  
ALBUQUERQUE WEST MESA........... 59 29 61 31 / 0 0 0 0  
BELEN........................... 59 23 61 24 / 0 0 0 0  
BERNALILLO...................... 60 28 62 29 / 0 0 0 0  
BOSQUE FARMS.................... 59 22 61 24 / 0 0 0 0  
CORRALES........................ 60 28 62 29 / 0 0 0 0  
LOS LUNAS....................... 59 23 61 23 / 0 0 0 0  
PLACITAS........................ 56 30 59 31 / 0 0 0 0  
RIO RANCHO...................... 59 31 60 31 / 0 0 0 0  
SOCORRO......................... 61 30 64 35 / 0 0 0 0  
SANDIA PARK/CEDAR CREST......... 55 31 58 29 / 0 0 0 0  
TIJERAS......................... 56 33 59 31 / 0 0 0 0  
EDGEWOOD........................ 57 27 60 28 / 0 0 0 0  
MORIARTY/ESTANCIA............... 60 15 63 22 / 0 0 0 0  
CLINES CORNERS.................. 56 29 59 30 / 0 0 0 0  
MOUNTAINAIR..................... 59 28 61 30 / 0 0 0 0  
GRAN QUIVIRA.................... 60 29 61 30 / 0 0 0 0  
CARRIZOZO....................... 63 37 65 39 / 0 0 0 0  
RUIDOSO......................... 63 37 65 37 / 0 0 0 0  
CAPULIN......................... 51 25 58 27 / 0 0 0 0  
RATON........................... 56 22 62 22 / 0 0 0 0  
SPRINGER........................ 51 17 56 18 / 0 0 0 0  
LAS VEGAS....................... 59 28 65 30 / 0 0 0 0  
CLAYTON......................... 57 32 63 32 / 0 0 0 0  
ROY............................. 54 27 60 28 / 0 0 0 0  
CONCHAS......................... 60 29 65 31 / 0 0 0 0  
SANTA ROSA...................... 61 31 67 37 / 0 0 0 0  
TUCUMCARI....................... 59 28 65 32 / 0 0 0 0  
CLOVIS.......................... 63 33 67 35 / 0 0 0 0  
PORTALES........................ 63 31 68 34 / 0 0 0 0  
FORT SUMNER..................... 63 29 67 34 / 0 0 0 0  
ROSWELL......................... 67 33 69 37 / 0 0 0 0  
PICACHO......................... 68 35 72 39 / 0 0 0 0  
ELK............................. 69 36 73 37 / 0 0 0 0  
 

 
   
ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES
 
 
NONE.  

 
 

 
 
SHORT TERM...34  
LONG TERM....77  
AVIATION...34  
 
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