Fire Weather Watch

Locations Affected

Las Cruces, NM ∙ Luna, NM ∙ Separ, NM ∙ Reeds Peak, NM ∙ Elephant Butte, NM ∙ Berino, NM ∙ Timberon, NM ∙ Animas, NM ∙ Rosedale, NM ∙ Kingston, NM

Headline

...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS SATURDAY, AND ESPECIALLY SUNDAY FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO, AND ADDITIONALLY WEST TEXAS ON SUNDAY...
.Strong southwest flow aloft will develop as a Pacific storm system moves to southern California Saturday and across the Four Corners region Sunday. Wind gusts Saturday will increase to around 40 mph, and Sunday to 50 mph or greater. Minimum relative humidity will range from 10-15 percent lowlands to 15-20 percent mountains. Widespread tree mortality and die back fuels will increase the wildfire risk as ERCs climb to 85-90 percentile.

Full Alert Message

URGENT - FIRE WEATHER MESSAGE National Weather Service El Paso Tx/Santa Teresa NM 342 AM MDT Fri Apr 24 2026 ...CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS SATURDAY, AND ESPECIALLY SUNDAY FOR SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO, AND ADDITIONALLY WEST TEXAS ON SUNDAY... .Strong southwest flow aloft will develop as a Pacific storm system moves to southern California Saturday and across the Four Corners region Sunday. Wind gusts Saturday will increase to around 40 mph, and Sunday to 50 mph or greater. Minimum relative humidity will range from 10-15 percent lowlands to 15-20 percent mountains. Widespread tree mortality and die back fuels will increase the wildfire risk as ERCs climb to 85-90 percentile. ...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM SATURDAY MORNING THROUGH SATURDAY EVENING, AND SUNDAY MORNING THROUGH SUNDAY EVENING FOR STRONG WINDS, LOW HUMIDITY, AND DRY FUELS FOR THE SOUTHWEST MOUNTAINS, SOUTHWEST AND SOUTH CENTRAL LOWLANDS, AND THE SACRAMENTO AND CAPITAN MOUNTAINS... * AFFECTED AREA...Fire Weather Zone 110 Southwest Mountains/Gila NF/Apache NF/GLZ, Fire Weather Zone 111 Southwest Deserts and Lowlands/Las Cruces BLM/GLZ, Fire Weather Zone 112 South Central Lowlands and Southern Rio Grande Valley/BLM/GLZ and Fire Weather Zone 113 Capitan and Sacramento Mountains/Lincoln NF/LNZ. * TIMING...winds both days increasing after 10 am, and peaking in middle to late afternoon. * WINDS...Saturday...west 15 to 25 mph with gusts up to 40 mph. Sunday...west 20-30 mph with gusts to 50 mph. * RELATIVE HUMIDITY...As low as 10-15 percent. * TEMPERATURES...Up to mid 80s. * IMPACTS...any fires that develop will likely spread rapidly. Outdoor burning is not recommended PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... A Fire Weather Watch means that critical fire weather conditions are forecast to occur. Listen for later forecasts and possible Red Flag Warnings.

---