Things have mercifully cooled off in the American Southwest since our forecast in Albuquerque at the beginning of the month (though fires still rage). Back then, there was hope for some isolated showers and storms by a few of our outlets, but they would not come to pass on the 7th or 8th of the month. This meant temperatures lingered unchecked in the upper 90s, with enough humidity to make New Mexicans especially uncomfortable. The splash of showers in the forecast, and the lack thereof in reality brought a couple of outlets level on this particular verification, with Clime and Accuweather having different precip forecasts and sharing a win. Actuals: June 7th, High 97, Low 73 June 8th, High 97, Low 69
I like the road trips that are more or less diagonal across the country, but this one has some pretty well worn interstate routes to follow. The drive will cover 1326 miles, which we will spend 2 long days accomplishing. All those interstates mean we can travel at oer 68mph, and our first day will conclude after 545 miles, leaving plenty of meat on the bone for Wednesday.
DAY ONE (Tuesday)
Albuquerque, New Mexico
The day will begin beautifully in the Land of Enchantment, and we will head east through New Mexico, encountering little by way of significant weather along the way. Storms rumbling now will have a tough time petering out through the morning over west Texas, but as we shift into the Panhandle, things will finally begin winding down. This is because the dry line will start becoming active in eastern New Mexico. It looks like we will thread the needle! It should be hot and stuffy, but dry in Oklahoma City as we arrive for the night.
DAY TWO (Wednesday) Wednesday looks even better, which is great, given the long drive we have ahead of us. We’re going to cover 4 states, and may not see a cloud (though maybe to start the day would be our best chance.) Temperatures will be getting cooler as we go, but make no mistake – pack your sunscreen and plan on finding a pool.
It’s Friday, so it’s time to head to Albuquerque. Isn’t that all the logic you need? We’re taking a driver through Texas in a lot of two lane highways. Our drive will cover 657 fairly slow miles, at a pace of 62.9mph, but we’ll wrap this drive up in one day! We’ll even get an hour back, and our 10 hour drive will end a mere 9 hours after we start. Road
Killeen, Texas
This is a classic summer day in the south central US. The pavement will be melting because of the heat, but it will be sunny, and we’ll be able to drive without an interruption (aside from bathroom breaks — drink a lot of water with this heat) through the morning and early afternoon. The dry line is expected to set up somewhere in eastern New Mexico. I don’t think the likelihood we get clipped by a storm is very high, but if we see any rain, it will come between Fort Sumner and the eastern extent of the Albuquerque metro. I said no rain in the Albuquerque forecast earlier, and I’m standing by that!
I spent some time in Albuquerque for a couple of nights, and I wish I had seen more of it. What I will say is that I hope this is a pretty easy forecast, because it takes some serious concentration to spell Albuquerque correctly every time. 3/3 so far!
At 652AM, MT, Albuquerque was reporting a temperature of 71 degrees with clear skies. Dew points were in the mid-20s, which will allow the temperature to rise fairly swiftly after sunrise. Fortunately, without the humidity, it will merely be hot instead of “oppressive” this afternoon. A weak upper level trough is going to develop over the next couple of days off of the Baja Peninsula. While the dry line will continue to fire in west Texas, it will initially be dry in New Mexico. The dry line will weaken and the air will become less dry over New Mexico as this low in the Pacific strengthens and starts to send a little bit of moisture to the upper levels. It will still remain hot, even with a few clouds and modestly stickier air on Saturday. Tomorrow – Hot, High 99, Low 70 Saturday – Hot and partly cloudy, High 98, Low 66
TWC: Tomorrow – Intervals of clouds and sunshine. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 99, Low 70 Saturday – Partly cloudy skies. A stray shower or thunderstorm is possible. High 99, Low 68
AW: Tomorrow – Hot with periods of sun, becoming breezy in the afternoon with a thunderstorm in spots; dry thunderstorms can spark new wildfires High 97, Low 69 Saturday – Turning cloudy and hot High 97, Low 68
NWS: Tomorrow – A slight chance of sprinkles after 3pm. Mostly sunny and hot High 101, Low 67 Saturday – Mostly sunny and hot, High 99, Low 66
WB: Tomorrow – Hot. Partly cloudy. Chance of sprinkles and thunderstorms, High 100, Low 76 Saturday – Mostly sunny in the morning, then partly cloudy with scattered sprinkles in the afternoon, High 101, Low 75
WN: Tomorrow – Partly cloudy with isolated storms, High 101, Low 67 Saturday – Partly cloudy with light rain showers, High 99, Low 67
CLI: Tomorrow – Mostly cloudy, High 100, Low 70 Saturday – Sunny, High 97, Low 68
Even if there was something going, I’m surprised by the rain in the forecast. Isn’t it going to evaporate before it reaches the ground?
