Get ready for a heat wave
Sep. 8—Santa Fe-area residents may want to keep their warmer fall clothes in the closet for a little longer and pull the extra blankets off their beds.
It's going to get hot this week.
A high-pressure system sitting over New Mexico will bring temperatures "approaching or exceeding record highs," said Daniel Porter, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.
"You thought it was hot now for this time of year — it's going to get a tad warmer," he said Tuesday, when temperatures in the Santa Fe area hovered around the 90-degree mark, setting a standard for what is to come.
Friday, Porter said, will be the hottest day of the week for most of the state, with temperatures possibly reaching 93 in Santa Fe. The record for Sept. 10 is 89.
The days leading up to Friday and those that come after likely will see temperatures of around 89 or 90.
Communities like Tucumcari and Roswell are expected to experience 100-degree weather, also a record.
There isn't a drop of rain in the forecast, though anything is possible, Porter said.
"We are not anticipating any precipitation most likely over the next several days," he said. "The chances aren't really that great."
That high-pressure system, which is in no hurry to move away, may weaken enough to bring thunderstorms to Northern New Mexico this weekend, said meteorologist Alyssa Clements. But, she said, the chance of such a storm system remains low.
Next week is expected to bring similar weather, with "above normal temperatures and below precipitation amounts being favored into mid-September," she said.
Santa Fe received about 5 inches of rain during this summer's monsoon, Clements said, which is "slightly above normal" for the city's 4-inch average in a season. The National Weather Service defines New Mexico's monsoon as running from June 15 through Sept. 30.
"It's still monsoon season, but no moisture [now]," Porter said. "We need to get this high-pressure system away from us" for thunderstorms and rain showers to develop.
Though it will be "abnormally hot," he added, there will be less risk of fire danger because winds will remain light.
Porter and Clements urged residents to drink plenty of water and avoid going outdoors if necessary to reduce any chance of heat-related illnesses in the coming week.
