A small New Mexico village known for its ski resort took the spot as one of the country’s coldest places on Thursday last week.
Angel Fire reported a chilling minus 31 degrees Fahrenheit on the morning of Jan. 26, making it the coldest place within the contiguous U.S. that day, according to the National Weather Service.
Warmer weather is on the way for New Mexico, specifically in Albuquerque. Clear skies and rising temperatures will settle over the Albuquerque metro area this week after a chilly kickoff to the year, according to Michael Anand, meteorologist with the Albuquerque office of the National Weather Service.
Metro area highs will be in the low 50s during most of the week with Friday reaching 54 degrees, according to NWS forecasts. Nights will be in the low-to-mid 20s with Thursday night going as low as 22 degrees.
“At the moment we’re still in La Niña but the waters out in the Eastern Pacific have been warming pretty rapidly over the past few weeks so we’re slowly transitioning,” Anand said.
Will it snow in Albuquerque this year?
While January brought a couple of winter storms to the state, the Albuquerque area hasn’t received any measurable snow since the beginning of the year, according to Anand. The Sandia Mountains, however, accumulated a foot and a half of snow during the first month of 2023, which is more than last year at this time, when about a foot of snow accumulation was reported.
Anand said snow may yet fall in Albuquerque this winter. Some long-term forecasts show it may come around mid February.
