New Mexico, 2026Wildfire and High Wind in New Mexico, March 27 to 28, 2026
March 27 to 28, 2026 · NWS ABQ · 4 events in 4 counties and zones
A strong backdoor front moved south and west across eastern New Mexico late March 26th into early March 27th resulting in strong north winds at several locations. The strong northerly winds aided the rapid spread of the Old 66 Wildfire that began just north of I-40 near San Jon, jumping south of the highway.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- $101,000
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 4
Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.
A strong backdoor front moved south and west across eastern New Mexico late March 26th into early March 27th resulting in strong north winds at several locations. The strong northerly winds aided the rapid spread of the Old 66 Wildfire that began just north of I-40 near San Jon, jumping south of the highway. This fire destroyed two structures, but did not cause any injuries or loss of life. The cold front surged through the gaps of the central mountain chain just before sunrise resulting in strong to high east canyon winds across the Tularosa Valley and middle and lower Rio Grande Valley. Mesonet sites across White Sands Missile Range measured wind gusts up to 93 mph. Winds across eastern New Mexico tapered off during the late morning hours while winds across the Tularosa and Rio Grande Valley tapered off during the mid to late evening hours.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Albuquerque, NM wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 27, 12:38 AM MST, 2 hours 37 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
- Updated at 135 AM MDT Fri Mar 27 2026
- Hazardous crosswinds for high profile vehicles push across eastern New Mexico early this morning before moving through the canyon gaps of the central mountain chain today. Patchy blowing dust may reduce visibility at times in far eastern New Mexico.
- Dry lightning from virga and dry thunderstorms over western and central New Mexico Sunday and Monday may cause new fire starts. Gusty virga showers will create erratic wind gusts.
- West winds trend stronger mid to late next week. Moderate chance of an increased threat of rapid fire spread in eastern New Mexico.
Area forecast discussion, Mar 27, 12:38 AM MST, 2 hours 37 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Albuquerque NM
138 AM MDT Fri Mar 27 2026
...New SHORT TERM, LONG TERM, FIRE WEATHER...
.KEY MESSAGES...
Updated at 135 AM MDT Fri Mar 27 2026
- Hazardous crosswinds for high profile vehicles push across
eastern New Mexico early this morning before moving through the
canyon gaps of the central mountain chain today. Patchy blowing
dust may reduce visibility at times in far eastern New Mexico.
- Dry lightning from virga and dry thunderstorms over western and
central New Mexico Sunday and Monday may cause new fire starts.
Gusty virga showers will create erratic wind gusts.
- West winds trend stronger mid to late next week. Moderate
chance of an increased threat of rapid fire spread in eastern
New Mexico.
&&
.SHORT TERM...
(Today through Saturday)
Issued at 135 AM MDT Fri Mar 27 2026
The strong backdoor front has pushed through most of the eastern
plains early this morning. Gusts of 40 to 50 mph have been
commonplace although no high wind gusts (>58 mph) have been observed
yet. Very little dust has been picked up by the front, but this will
likely change as the front moves into southeastern NM. This cold
front is both colder and more moist than the airmass that was
previously in place so the relative lack of a density gradient has
likely helped to keep max wind gusts down slightly so far tonight.
Strong east canyon winds will develop during the morning rush hour
in Albuquerque and Santa Fe (to a lesser degree). Strong to locally
damaging wind gusts will occur throughout the day Friday through the
gaps in the central mountain chain, with winds finally decreasing in
the evening. These winds could pick up a little dust in the RGV as
well, with a slight decrease in air quality being the main impact.
24-hour temperature changes across eastern NM will be quite
impressive, with forecast highs 30 to 45 degrees cooler than
yesterday's record shattering values. Low clouds will likely develop
late tonight in southeastern NM, persisting through the afternoon
into tonight, potentially keeping highs even below forecast values.
That being said, some locations such as Roswell most likely already
reached their high temperature early this morning before the frontal
passage. Temperatures will drop down to near seasonal normals
Saturday morning, with winds remaining just strong enough to prevent
strong valley inversions from developing. Locations such as Santa Fe
and Las Vegas will likely drop below freezing for a few hours in the
early morning so be sure to cover any sensitive vegetation if in
these areas. The seasonable weather will be short-lived as the
shallow front washes out and the boundary layer deepens again,
increasing temperatures. The anomalous ridge with 500 mb heights
above the 99th percentile will remain just to the south of New
Mexico through Saturday, helping to support the rapid warm-up.
&&
.LONG TERM...
(Saturday night through Thursday)
Issued at 135 AM MDT Fri Mar 27 2026
Mid-level moisture will surge in from the southwest on Sunday, with
PWATs rising well-above climatological normals (200-300% of normal).
This will actually be above the 99th percentile in western NM, which
is generally quite dry this time of year. That being said, the
dewpoints at the sfc will not be impressive (only 20 to 30F).
Therefore, precipitation that does occur will struggle to reach the
ground and the evaporative cooling it creates as it moves into the
dry air at the sfc will produce gusty outflow winds. Pockets of
instability in western NM could support a few lightning strikes,
with the southwest mountains being the favored area. Model soundings
are showing around 500 J/kg of Dcape in western NM, which is enough
to produce gusty outflow winds, but probably not enough for damaging
outflow winds with sfc heating being the limiting factor for
stronger gusts. Dcape values rise into the 600-800 J/kg range on
Monday, indicating the potential for some stronger gusts. In
addition, the coverage of convection will likely be more widespread
thanks to a subtle lifting mechanism from a passing shortwave trough.
A quasi-zonal subtropical jet will push inland into the desert
southwest on Tuesday, pushing more moisture into western NM and
increasing forcing aloft. This could result in some wetting
precipitation across the northwest high terrain, with lesser amounts
in the rest of western and northern New Mexico. Temperatures drop
Wednesday behind a Pacific cold front, but rebound later in the
week. Westerly winds will trend stronger during this period as well,
although there is still moderate uncertainty with regard to the
500mb synoptic pattern. The ENS is still showing a deeper trough,
with cooler temperatures and increased rain/snow chances, while the
GEFS favors gusty, dry southwest to west winds out ahead of a
longwave trough over The Great Basin.
&&
.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 1121 PM MDT Thu Mar 26 2026
The potent backdoor front has pushed south of I-40 and will
continue trekking south and westward overnight, reaching KROW
around 0730Z and KABQ around 09Z. Strong gap winds are likely to
persist throughout the day tomorrow and into the early evening
hours, with winds dropping below 35kts at KABQ around 03Z. Low
clouds will expand in coverage across eastern NM after 12Z,
peaking in coverage tomorrow evening between 00Z and 06Z. Cigs
will likely remain VFR, although briefly MVFR cigs may occur over
the Caprock.
&&
.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 135 AM MDT Fri Mar 27 2026
Temperatures are rapidly dropping and moisture is increasing behind
a strong backdoor frontal passage. Gusty northeast winds will peak
in the eastern plains overnight, with east canyon winds through the
gaps of the central mountain chain peaking late morning and
remaining gusty through the evening hours. High temperatures today
will be 10 to as much as 45 degrees cooler than yesterday's record
breaking values, but warm again on Saturday in response to sfc
pressure falls. A strong southwest breeze will create near critical
fire weather conditions Saturday afternoon in the northeast corner
of the state, but humidities are currently forecast to remain just
above critical thresholds.
Dry lightning will be the main concern both Sunday and Monday
afternoons in western New Mexico given that fuels are exceptionally
dry for late March. Gusty outflow winds may accompany virga showers
as well both Sunday and Monday afternoons from the Rio Grande Valley
westward. The chances of wetting precipitation increase on Tuesday
across the northwest corner of the state, with a few light showers
in central and northern areas. Westerly winds trend stronger mid to
late week, increasing the threat of rapid fire spread along and east
of the central mountain chain (moderate confidence).
&&
.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
Farmington...................... 78 44 77 43 / 0 5 0 0
Dulce........................... 73 29 74 32 / 10 0 0 0
Cuba............................ 64 31 69 38 / 0 0 0 0
Gallup.......................... 75 35 77 36 / 0 0 0 0
El Morro........................ 66 33 74 40 / 0 0 5 0
Grants.......................... 67 31 75 38 / 0 0 5 0
Quemado......................... 71 35 76 41 / 0 0 5 0
Magdalena....................... 62 34 69 45 / 0 0 5 0
Datil........................... 63 32 71 42 / 0 0 5 0
Reserve......................... 80 34 77 39 / 0 0 5 0
Glenwood........................ 85 37 80 44 / 0 0 0 0
Chama........................... 67 29 67 34 / 10 5 0 0
Los Alamos...................... 64 32 68 44 / 0 0 0 0
Pecos........................... 58 29 69 40 / 0 0 0 0
Cerro/Questa.................... 61 29 69 39 / 5 0 0 0
Red River....................... 52 23 65 31 / 10 5 0 0
Angel Fire...................... 52 19 66 31 / 5 5 0 0
Taos............................ 66 26 72 33 / 5 0 0 0
Mora............................ 53 26 72 41 / 0 0 0 0
Espanola........................ 72 34 75 41 / 0 0 0 0
Santa Fe........................ 65 33 67 43 / 0 0 0 0
Santa Fe Airport................ 66 32 70 41 / 0 0 0 0
Albuquerque Foothills........... 64 38 72 48 / 0 0 0 0
Albuquerque Heights............. 67 39 73 47 / 0 0 0 0
Albuquerque Valley.............. 69 38 75 45 / 0 0 0 0
Albuquerque West Mesa........... 68 39 73 47 / 0 0 0 0
Belen........................... 69 35 74 42 / 0 0 0 0
Bernalillo...................... 69 38 74 46 / 0 0 0 0
Bosque Farms.................... 69 35 75 43 / 0 0 0 0
Corrales........................ 70 38 74 46 / 0 0 0 0
Los Lunas....................... 69 36 74 44 / 0 0 0 0
Placitas........................ 64 37 70 47 / 0 0 0 0
Rio Rancho...................... 69 38 73 46 / 0 0 0 0
Socorro......................... 69 38 74 47 / 0 0 0 0
Sandia Park/Cedar Crest......... 59 32 67 44 / 0 0 0 0
Tijeras......................... 62 31 70 45 / 0 0 0 0
Edgewood........................ 60 29 72 40 / 0 0 0 0
Moriarty/Estancia............... 60 27 73 36 / 0 0 0 0
Clines Corners.................. 52 28 67 41 / 0 0 0 0
Mountainair..................... 58 29 69 42 / 0 0 0 0
Gran Quivira.................... 56 30 68 42 / 0 0 0 0
Carrizozo....................... 61 34 69 47 / 0 0 0 0
Ruidoso......................... 50 30 67 46 / 5 0 0 0
Capulin......................... 47 29 68 42 / 5 0 0 0
Raton........................... 53 26 74 38 / 5 0 0 0
Springer........................ 55 29 76 38 / 0 0 0 0
Las Vegas....................... 54 28 71 42 / 0 0 0 0
Clayton......................... 52 34 70 49 / 0 0 0 0
Roy............................. 53 30 70 43 / 0 0 0 0
Conchas......................... 59 36 76 45 / 0 0 0 0
Santa Rosa...................... 55 35 73 44 / 0 0 0 0
Tucumcari....................... 57 34 74 46 / 0 0 0 0
Clovis.......................... 56 35 68 43 / 0 0 0 0
Portales........................ 56 34 69 42 / 0 0 0 0
Fort Sumner..................... 57 35 70 40 / 0 0 0 0
Roswell......................... 59 38 69 43 / 5 0 0 0
Picacho......................... 54 35 71 45 / 5 0 0 0
Elk............................. 53 31 73 44 / 5 0 0 0
&&
.ABQ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
High Wind Warning until 3 PM MDT this afternoon for NMZ230-
234>236.
Wind Advisory until 3 PM MDT this afternoon for NMZ227-231.
High Wind Warning from 6 AM this morning to 10 PM MDT this
evening for NMZ219.
Wind Advisory from 6 AM this morning to 3 PM MDT this afternoon
for NMZ220-224-225-238.
&&
SHORT TERM...16
LONG TERM....16
AVIATION...16
High Wind, South Central Highlands
- When
- March 27, 3:15 AM MST to 8:30 PM MST
- Where
- South Central Highlands forecast zone
- Measured
- 81 kt (93 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
- Coordinates
- 34.277, -106.262 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Several extremely remote mesonet stations immediately down wind of mountain gaps across White Sands Missile Range measured high wind gusts up to 93 mph along with high sustained winds up to 55 mph. Peak winds were observed during the mid to late morning hours.
High Wind, Upper Tularosa Valley
- When
- March 27, 6:25 AM MST to 8:15 AM MST
- Where
- Upper Tularosa Valley forecast zone
- Measured
- 56 kt (64 mph) measured gust
- Reported by
- Mesonet
- Coordinates
- 33.876, -106.194 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The mesonet station at Phillips Hill on White Sands Missile Range measured high wind gusts up to 64 mph. Elsewhere in the zone, a UPR station at Robsrt and mesonet station at Pole 616 measured brief high wind gusts of 60 and 59 mph, respectively.
High Wind, Middle Rio Grande Valley/Albuquerque Metro Area
- When
- March 27, 7:34 AM MST to 8:33 AM MST
- Where
- Middle Rio Grande Valley/Albuquerque Metro Area forecast zone
- Measured
- 51 kt (59 mph) measured gust
- Property damage
- $500
- Reported by
- Public
- Coordinates
- 35.002, -106.839 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Repeated gusts to 59 mph were observed at a remote Kirtland AFB weather station southeast of Albuquerque. Additionally, strong winds in Isleta toppled a weak cinder block wall into the yard of a residential property.
Wildfire, Quay County
- When
- March 27, 11:30 AM MST to March 28, 4:00 PM MST
- Where
- Quay County forecast zone
- Property damage
- $100,000
- Reported by
- Emergency Manager
- Coordinates
- 35.104, -103.550 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
The Old 66 Wildfire was discovered mid-day March 27th, and quickly grew out of control north of I-40 near San Jon, NM. It burned quickly southward through grasslands crossing I-40 aided by strong northerly to northeasterly winds behind a strong cold front, growing to a final size of 4,111 acres. The fire came under control as winds subsided heading into March 28th. The fire caused a closure of NM 469 and Main Ave. in San Jon, NM. Emergency management reported the fire destroyed two structures, and that a wind farm that was threatened did not suffer any damage. No injuries or loss of life was reported. Damage is an estimate.
- High Wind
- Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.
- Wildfire
- A fire burning in wildland vegetation, with its acreage and damage where known.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
- High Wind in Texas, March 27, 202659 kt wind · 8 events
- Flooding in Ohio, March 27, 20263 events
- Flooding in Ohio, March 27 to 28, 20263 events
- High Wind in Texas, March 27, 2026$10,000 · 56 kt wind · 3 events
- High Wind in New Mexico, March 27, 202656 kt wind · 3 events
- High Wind in New Mexico, March 27, 202663 kt wind · 2 events
- High Wind in Oklahoma, March 27, 202650 kt wind · 1 event
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1314067, 1314068, 1314234, 1314707.