NM Border Air Quality Blog

March 6 - It warmed up nicely compared to yesterday with a high at NMSU of 70F. A summary of Airport high temperatures today include a 66F in Las Cruces, 71F in Deming, 69F in Santa Teresa, 72F in Cd. Juarez, and 70F in El Paso. Still looking at high winds for Monday and Tuesday. Today's AQI forecast for Dona Ana County is showing an area of yellow or moderate (AQI=63) air quality in our region.

The 12Z run of the GFS is showing peak winds at 00Z (5 pm) on Monday. The NWS spot forecast for Las Cruces is showing winds in the afternoon from 33 to 36 mph with gusts as high as 49 mph. I'm calling for dust in our area tomorrow.

 

The 12-km NAM shows more details on the winds and their magnitudes. Below is the wind forecast for 5 pm on Monday showing westerly winds in the range of 30 to 35 mph in our region.

A time series of winds at Las Cruces on Monday is shown below. Peak winds are 00Z at 13.3 m/s (30 mph). The 12Z run is showing less winds for Tuesday in Las Cruces.

and for Tuesday the highest winds are to the east but we'll still see some winds in our region. The map below is for 18Z (11 am) on Tuesday.

 

A web weather briefing detailing this storm system can be viewed from the Santa Teresa National Weather Service.