The weather on Thursday will continue with hot weather before a backdoor front bring stronger winds, more moisture and higher flood risk near the Ruidoso burn scars.
Hot, dry, and breezy conditions will continue across the state Wednesday evening. The strongest winds will stay across northern part of the state, including Farmington, Taos, Raton, Las Vegas, and the high terrain of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.
Wind gusts of 25 to 35 mph will continue through sunset before slowly weakening overnight. Skies will remain mostly clear with few weather concerns through the night.
Lows will fall into the 60s across the Rio Grande Valley, 70s in parts of southeast New Mexico and 40s to 50s in the higher terrain.
What To Expect With Thursday Heat
Thursday will bring another hot day across much of the state. A backdoor cold front will start dropping south through northeast state during the day, and Raton, Clayton, Springer, and Des Moines will see temperatures fall a few degrees compared to Wednesday.
Meanwhile, most of central, western, and southern part of the state will remain hot. 95 to 98 degrees will be expected at the afternoon in Albuquerque, 98 to 102 in Roswell, 95 to 100 degrees in Artesia, upper 90s to near 100 in Carlsbad and mid 90s in Socorro.
Concerns over heat impacts emerge even if temperatures stay just below official heat advisory criteria. Anyone who plans to extend their time outdoors should plan for their breaks, drink plenty of water, and limit strenuous activity during the hottest part of the day,
What About on Thursday Night?
The weather will begin to change Thursday night as backdoor front surges southwest across eastern part of the state. This will move through Clayton, Tucumari, Clovis, Portales, Roswell, and Las Vegas during the evening, then reach Santa Fe, the East Mountains and the Albuquerque metro overnight.
A gusty east canyon wind will develop along west and central mountain chain. The strongest winds will likely be on Tijeras Canyon, east Albuqueque, the foothills, Los Lunas, and parts of the Middle Rio Grande Valley, with wind gusts of 35 to 45 mph.
Low clouds will begin spreading into eastern part of state late Thursday night. Clovis, Portales, Roswell, Artesia, and Hobbs could have low clouds Friday morning with patchy fog or a little drizzle.