Albuquerque logs 9 consecutive days above previous heat record, but cooler weather may lie ahead

Like a meteorological high jumper, New Mexico has continued raising the bar for highest temperatures ever recorded in the month of March, but forecasts show cooler days may lie ahead.

Thursday marked the ninth consecutive day that Albuquerque exceeded its all-time record high of 85 degrees for the month of March, setting a new record of 91 degrees Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Albuquerque.

“What’s been going on here in Albuquerque does apply to the majority of New Mexico,” said Clay Anderson, a forecaster for the National Weather Service. “That started cranking up on Tuesday, when we had a number of records.”

And the hits kept coming.

On Thursday, Roswell recorded its earliest 100-degree day ever. On the north end of the state, Chama, which reached 77 degrees, broke a daily temperature record last set in 1895.

Low humidity and strong winds, with gusts up to 45 mph, combined with the heatwave to prompt a red flag warning, prohibiting burning for much of central and eastern New Mexico.

The warning came the same week wildland firefighters responded to two early season wildfires — a small, 18-acre blaze in the Santa Fe National Forest south of Cuba that was fully contained as of Tuesday and the Unified Fire, a 300-acre wildfire in Valencia County that was roughly 25% contained as of Thursday afternoon.

Anderson said the record heat has persisted as a high-pressure system — or heat dome — settled over New Mexico this month, bringing temperatures that hit triple digits in the southern part of the state. But milder air is expected to take over this weekend.

That new system could mean clouds containing limited pockets of rainfall for some areas, but Anderson said experts are tempering their expectations on precipitation.

“I don’t think we’re overly enthused about our chances for rain here in Albuquerque,” he said, “and certainly, if we do get some, it’s not going to amount to much at all.”

Forecasters are anticipating an increase in humidity, however, one of the main factors that influences wildfire risk and behavior, mitigating fire spread.

In the meantime, warnings issued last week by the New Mexico Department of Health and Forestry Division remain in effect, cautioning state residents to protect their health and homes as the extraordinary heat wave impacting the region slowly dissipates.

Henry Young, a resident service supervisor at Joy Junction shelter in Albuquerque’s South Valley, said the agency has yet to see the near-capacity occupancy levels it experiences in the summer months, but staff was keeping an eye out for people needing a cool place to escape the lingering heat.

“We have not really had an uptick in people coming in,” he said. “It may start, but it hasn't so far. And of course, all of our buildings are climate-controlled… the ones that are wanting to come in will notice a big difference.”

John Miller is the Albuquerque Journal’s northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.