WARM RAYS OF MAY
Charlotte Clayton-Payne, a University of New Mexico foreign exchange student, takes advantage of Tuesday’s unseasonably warm weather to soak up some rays with boyfriend Sam Wright, who is on a visit from London. Albuquerque’s high temperature reached 90 degrees for the first time this year on Tuesday, several weeks earlier than the average arrival date for that kind of heat.
Albuquerque’s high temperature officially reached 90 degrees for the first time this year at 3:11 p.m. Tuesday, the earliest the city has gotten that hot since 2009.
According to the National Weather Service, May 27 is the average date for Albuquerque’s first venture into the realm of 90 degrees or better.
“It’s a little toasty out there,” said Kerry Jones, a meteorologist with the weather service’s Albuquerque office. “And it’s only going to get hotter from here, unfortunately.”
Jones said Tuesday that the weather service is forecasting three more consecutive days of 90-degree or higher temperatures. He said if that happens, it would be the earliest streak of four days of consecutive 90-ormore temps in Albuquerque since May 3-6, 1947. Today’s forecast high is 93 degrees.
“It does look like we are in for an early-season heat wave — and critical fire weather,” Jones said. “(Today), Thursday and Friday, we are looking at 10 to 20 degrees
above normal, record or near-record temperatures. We may see 100 degrees in Roswell this week. It is going to be one of those weeks when it might be good to stay indoors.”
Forecasts do call for Albuquerque highs to back off into the 80s Saturday through Monday. Average high temperatures in Albuquerque this time of year are in the high 70s.
Even though Albuquerque’s climb to 90 degrees on Tuesday is much earlier than average, it’s not close to the record. The earliest date for that is May 3, 1947, when the city’s temperature topped out at 92 degrees.
On six different occasions, the city’s temperature has climbed to 90 degrees or more prior to Tuesday’s date of May 8. And, counting Tuesday, the temperature has reached the 90s on May 8 seven times over the years.
Still, it’s plenty warm for this time of year.
“The kind of temperatures we are seeing this week are generally about three weeks early,” Jones said. “The last three years, we have held off our first 90-degree day until the first week in June.”