Monday, April 25, 2011

April 25 - Dust event warning for Tomorrow

Another breezy day but I don't expect windspread dust today. Below are the RUC winds at 3 pm MDT.
Today's AQI forecast is similar to yesterday and shows a patch of moderate air quality over the Paso del Norte
The Abrams fire remains active today with 5000 acres burned as of this morning. Further east the Last Chance fire is also active with 15000 acres burned. This fire is located north of the Guadalupe mountains in Eddy county with a smoke plume that is sensed by the NOAA HMS smoke product. Winds are blowing the smoke plume east today.  By 9pm this evening the plumes are blowing east based on the HMS smoke product.
The Abrams fire could crest the Organ Mountains based on news reports.

Tomorrow still looks good for a high wind dust event. This morning's GFS run shows high west-northwest winds along the border. As of this morning the NWS is calling for winds in the afternoon between 34 and 37 mph with gusts up to 55 mph.
This evening's 03Z RUC forecast for tomorrow at 3pm is showing the extent of the high winds. Peak winds at 3 pm are along I-10 around Deming. This isn't a good combination for travelers on the interstate or on highway 180. I expect this storm to cause widespread wind blown dust over most of the region on Tuesday afternoon.
The brunt of this storm is however in the eastern plains and northern NM. Places like Clines Corners could be hit with winds gusts in the 70 to 80 mph range. The AQI forecast for tomorrow is reflecting the high winds in north-central NM with a patch of red or "unhealthly" air quality. The AQI forecast is only showing a small area of moderate in far west Texas.

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