Albuquerque Weather: Record breaking heat gives way to cooler temperatures with rain chances

Elizabeth Tucker, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·2 min read

Nov. 9—Record-breaking heat is finally giving way to cooler temperatures in Albuquerque and across northern New Mexico.

On Tuesday, the high recorded at the Albuquerque International Airport was 76° Fahrenheit, beating the previous record from 1980 of 74° Fahrenheit, according to a social media post from the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

A cold front Wednesday night brought a drop in temperatures and moisture, increasing rain chances in the area.

"We've had a pattern change because the backdoor cold front slammed into the area last night," said meteorologist David Craft. "(It) gave us a gusty east wind, and those east winds are going to continue today, although not quite as bad as they were last night."

The forecast for the next few days predicts winds will blow 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 30 mph in Albuquerque, calming down to around 5 mph by Veterans Day.

Eastern New Mexico has seen some drizzles; Clines Corners has low-hanging clouds and drizzles, and parts of northern New Mexico have already seen snow at Bobcat Pass, which is north of the Taos Ski Valley.

As for Albuquerque, there is a 30% chance of rain this evening into Friday.

Craft said it has been 50 days since it last rained, so even a little rain would be welcome.

"We could get a few hundredths of an inch in town," Craft said. "But it might be kind of spotty here ... the amounts aren't going to be heavy."

He added rain mixed with snow chances will favor areas along the east side of the central mountain chain, mainly south of Interstate 40, into Friday afternoon.

Craft said temperatures will begin climbing as much as 10 or 11 degrees above normal by Tuesday, but he does not expect any more record-breaking temperatures.

"It's going to seem unseasonably warm," Craft said. "But I don't know about record-breaking heat, and that unseasonable warmth looks like it'll really kick in around Wednesday and Thursday, when temperatures get several degrees above normal area-wide."