Calmer, Cool Weather to Start the Weekend in New Mexico

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After an active weather week in New Mexico and southern Colorado, the weekend is expected to bring calmer winds and cooler temperatures, with lows in the single digits in western parts of the state and near freezing in the south. Seasonable high temperatures are forecast for Saturday, before a warming trend starts early next week, with many locations seeing temperatures 5-20 degrees above normal by Tuesday.

Why it matters

The recent active weather pattern brought significant snowfall to northern mountain areas, but the upcoming drier pattern will provide a break from the recent unsettled conditions, allowing residents to enjoy more typical winter weather as the weekend approaches.

The details

Stronger winds in the upper levels of the atmosphere are expected to shift east, leading to calmer conditions on the ground. Saturday will see cool to near-seasonable high temperatures, before a ridge of high pressure builds in the upper atmosphere, contributing to a warming trend next week. Breezy down-sloping winds along the central mountain chain and east are also expected to drive the warming.

• On Saturday afternoon, cool to near seasonable high temperatures will prevail.
• On Sunday, seasonable weather will arrive in the afternoon with breezy winds returning to southern and eastern New Mexico.
• On Tuesday, Albuquerque could see the first 70 degree day of the year.