Critically Dangerous Fire Weather Today - Damaging Winds/Blowing Dust Sunday!
April 21, 2026. High-Based Dry T-Storm. Looking North From The Carlsbad Truck Bypass. New Mexico's fire weather season is upon us, and we already have a couple of fires active across the state. The Tusas fire near Sapello, NM, in San Miguel County, is the largest. See the Watch Duty Map link below (via my blog post link) to view all current fire activity in the state. The Otero County Electric Cooperative has cut power to some residents in the Alto area north of Ruidoso as a precaution due to the Red Flag Warning and high winds. See their link and Facebook article below via my blog post link. We may have to deal with fire weather conditions until the start of our annual summer monsoon, which normally begins around the middle of June. However, we have entered neutral El Niño conditions with some forecasts indicating that El Niño may return by June. We can only hope for an early and wet start this year. There is some hope that an upper-level low will drop into the ...