Friday is the calm before the wind machine kicks on in El Paso. Clear skies and mild conditions greet the city on March 13, with morning temperatures in the low 50s and a sunny afternoon high near 82°F on tap. It looks like an easy day, but forecasters say the pattern flips this weekend toward hotter afternoons and much drier, windier nights, a combo that could push fire weather into the elevated to near critical range by Sunday.
Weekend Fire Threat
The National Weather Service has issued a Fire Weather Watch for portions of El Paso and Hudspeth counties from Saturday afternoon through Sunday evening, March 14 to 15. Minimum relative humidity is expected to drop into the single digits while winds increase. The watch includes both lowland and mountain zones, where drying fuels and poor overnight humidity recovery are expected to team up with gusty conditions and raise fire potential. For the official watches and full forecast discussion, see NWS El Paso.
When To Expect Gusty Winds
Saturday, March 14, should turn breezy, with west winds generally between 5 and 16 mph and stronger gusts building late in the afternoon and evening, possibly reaching into the low to mid 20s in mph. The peak wind period arrives on Sunday, March 15, when sustained west-northwest winds of 14 to 24 mph and gusts to roughly 33 mph are possible in the lowlands and along the eastern slopes. A cold front is expected to push through late Sunday into Monday, March 16, bringing a brief cooldown before temperatures climb again by midweek.
How To Prepare
Residents in the watch area should skip outdoor burning and any spark-producing yard work on Saturday and Sunday, March 14 to 15, and secure loose patio furniture or other items that could turn into airborne projectiles in the gusts. Anyone planning to camp or hike in the nearby mountains may want to head out earlier on Saturday or wait until after the watch expires, since local agencies could post burn bans or other restrictions. For background on the warm and windy setup that led to this watch, see our March 6 coverage on how winds cranked up as fire danger loomed, as per Hoodline.
