Weekend Weather

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 8 through SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2019:
OK, this is not too bad. Really. It may be cold and windy as I write this (Wednesday night) but weather changes! Fast, in New Mexico. It will be dry this weekend, and cool (high temperatures 50 to 60 F) but the winds get better and better as the weekend goes on. On Friday winds are mostly moderate to strong SE (10-15 mph). But in Alamogordo, they are forecast to be light SW. On Saturday, moderate S/SE, but in Alamogordo, moderate to strong SW. Sunday will be cloudy, but the best of the weekend for winds - light to moderate, and SW, for most of the region. (Alamogordo probably more south.) My recommendations are to fly Dry Canyon or La Luz on Friday, and possibly Anapra. Sod Farm might be good as well. On Saturday, Dry Canyon and La Luz again, and towing on Exit 116 Road, west of Las Cruces, might be good. Sunday you have all kinds of options: Dry Canyon, Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch, Magdalena Rim, and Little Floridas. Towing at the Sod Farms should be good all weekend long. I should be free on Sunday, if anyone has a yen to see what we can do with a southwest wind that day - Dry Canyon might be fun. Keep me in the loop!
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, FEB. 15 through MONDAY, FEB. 18 (Presidents Day):
This is the traditional weekend for a meet-up at the Guadalupe Rim, west of Carlsbad, New Mexico. I have some bad news about that, I'm afraid. It looks like both Friday and Saturday will be blown out. Maybe Sunday and Monday, too, though the Windyty weather site shows that winds might be possible those days - moderately strong, out of the southwest. Friday, February 15th, is supposed to be warm and windy all over our area. The jetstream is supposed to be over Southern New Mexico and El Paso all weekend long, with west/southwest winds 20 to 30 mph on the ground. Alamogordo might be a little milder than the other sites, being a bit farther north - it's possible that La Luz and Dry Canyon may work. Temperatures on Friday will be pretty warm, getting close to 70 degrees F (about 20 C.)
Saturday is forecast to be cooler, though, and a blowout everywhere in the region, with winds 20-30 mph from the west and southwest. Sunday looks more promising. Ground winds in Alamogordo may top out at 15 mph, making La Luz and Dry Canyon good for hang gliders early on - and maybe PG's very early on. The Little Floridas, if flown by 10:00 or 11:00, might work as well. Agave Hill, Nelsons Launch and Kilbourne Hole are also worth investigating with a PG - again, early in the day. Monday is about the same as Sunday. What can I say about the Guadalupes? It's chancy for this weekend. If it works at all, I think it will be on Sunday and Monday, fairly early in the day. They are a long drive from Las Cruces (well, from anywhere) and it may be marginal flying. At least, though, it won't be icy cold this time! For myself, I think I will try to postpone a trip out to the Guads until March, when Spring Break rolls around, and we may get a better weekend. Anyone who wants to fly in Alamogordo this Sunday (or Monday!) let me know. It might just work.
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22 through SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 24:
Well, getting airtime should be possible this weekend, but it might not be comfortable. When the winds are right, the days are cold. Here's the situation as I see it, here at my desk on Wednesday evening. On Friday, winds are going to be strong south-southwest, with a good chance of precipitation. Temperatures will be cool and we might even be treated to snow flurries. The jetstream is overhead that day, bringing moisture in from Arizona. On Saturday the weather moves on and the day gets clear and cold - high temperatures ranging from 45 or so (in Alamogordo and Deming) to 55 or so (in El Paso). Winds that day are moderate west in El Paso, moderate NW in Alamogordo, and moderate west in Deming and Las Cruces. The jetstream loop should be moving on east by late afternoon. On Sunday the temperatures warm up by about 5 degrees F, but the winds are light & variable, except in Alamogordo where they get light SSW. Still sunny that day, too. My recommendations are to put in a good day's work on Friday - indoors. "Move on, move on - nothing to see here..." Saturday, La Luz is worth a try, if you dress real warm, and maybe Nelson's Launch and Agave Hill. Towing at the Sod Farms ought to be great, and warmer than any other site around. On Sunday, Dry Canyon might be good for PG's and HG's. I wouldn't trust any other site to have enough wind consistently to be worth the drive. (Except, again, the Sod Farms are possible.) Count on dressing warm, wherever you go, and let me know how it comes out. I might be up for a try at Dry Canyon on Sunday afternoon, if anyone has the urge to join me there.
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MARCH 1 through SUNDAY, MARCH 3:
It looks like Spring is here! It'll be dry (no surprise) and, at last, warm, this weekend. High temperatures in the high 70's to low 80's. Winds mostly westerly, not too bad on Friday, getting up to 20 mph on Saturday and Sunday. On Friday, winds in Alamogordo will be northwest in the morning, but moderate SSW in the afternoon. Meanwhile, the rest of the region sees WSW all day, moderate to strong in Deming, moderate elsewhere (top winds about 15 mph). On Saturday and Sunday it looks good in Alamogordo, SW all day and moderate to strong (top winds about 15-18 mph). The rest of our region gets strong winds, peaking about 22 mph in the afternoon both days. If you fly Nelson's Launch or Agave Hill those days, go early or quite late. I'd not try any other sites that day, except perhaps for Kilbourne Hole. In summary, it looks like La Luz and Dry Canyon are the sites to fly this weekend. Enjoy the nice weather, and go fly if you can. I am hoping to soar on Saturday out at Dry Canyon, if anyone wants a ride up to the launch that day. Be safe, everyone!
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MARCH 8 through SUNDAY, MARCH 10:
There could be some good flying this weekend, but not on Friday. If you aren't cowering in a bunker somewhere that day, you obviously don't understand the situation... The jetstream will be right over New Mexico today and tomorrow, with gusts up to 40+ mph (that's 60 kph for the metric world) out of the southwest. Dry and warm, though. By Saturday the temperature gets cooler, into the 60's F (18 C) for the high. But the winds drop down, at least. West-Southwest all over the area. Light in Alamogordo, moderate to strong (15+ mph) everywhere else. Fairly clear skies. On Sunday the skies get cloudy, the temperatures stay about the same as Saturday, and the winds are similar - more south-southwest, but about 12-15 mph. Accordingly, I recommend taking shelter on Friday, then emerging on Saturday to find out what airtime the gods will grant us. La Luz and Dry Canyon should work pretty well that day, as well as the Little Floridas (early), Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch, and maybe Kilbourne Hole. The Sod Farms should be great for towing all day long. On Sunday the clouds might moderate the thermals, but otherwise I'd say that La Luz, Dry Canyon, Magdalena Rim, and maybe Nelson's Launch will be good. Look into Kilbourne Hole and the Sod Farms as well. See? And here you thought that the world was going to end, just because on Friday it gets a little breezy... Bill Cummings and I had some fine flying at Dry Canyon on Wednesday, but give me a call if you're going out Saturday or Sunday - I could be up for more of it.
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MARCH 15 through SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 2019:
Spring is almost here, folks - and winter is passing in a pretty big way. Today (Wednesday) was ferocious - I heard of a 104-mph gust through San Augustin Pass. Thursday should be almost calm, though, as the gust front passes us going eastward. Then, on Friday, we go into an odd easterly situation - for several days the winds will blow east over most of our area. The exception is Alamogordo, where light south and south-southwest winds are expected. Temperatures this weekend will be cool, with highs about 50 to 60 degrees F (12 to 15 C). Conditions should be dry. Looking at what the winds have to offer, I would say that on Friday you have a choice between strong wind soaring at Anapra (HG only, I'd guess) and light wind soaring at Dry Canyon. Same holds for Saturday - maybe a little lighter at Anapra that day than the previous. On Sunday there might be some towing at the Exit 116 road, west of Las Cruces (winds out of SE that day) or, again, a light-wind day at Dry Canyon. Winch towing at the Sod Farms might be good all weekend, if it isn't turbulent - and I don't expect much of that, the jetstream will be to the east of us that day. It isn't optimal, but I'll bet some airtime can be had. I should be available until early to mid afternoon on Friday - after that, can't fly the rest of the weekend. I hope the rest of you can! Good luck, and be safe. As today's howling gales demonstrated, Nature is a whole lot stronger than we are.
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MARCH 22 through SUNDAY, MARCH 24:
This should be a flyable weekend. Warm and dry, and the jetstream is mostly leaving us alone until later next week. Friday will be fairly strong, out of the west and southwest. Best to go early that day; ground winds will peak around 20 mph in the early afternoon. Saturday will see west winds, 10 to 15 mph on the ground over most of the area, but more southwest and a little lighter in Alamogordo. Sunday, pretty much the same. I'd recommend being ready to launch by noon in a hang glider and earlier in a paraglider. Sites that should work: On Friday, Dry Canyon and La Luz, Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch, and the Little Floridas. (Looks a little too westerly for Magdalena Rim.) In all of these, be ready to launch real early. Saturday and Sunday, I'd say the same sites should be OK, with a little more leeway in the launch timing. With the consistent wind direction, towing at the Sod Farms should work all weekend long, unless the winds get too strong and gusty. And Monday looks interesting; the Windyty model shows decent conditions for hang gliding at Volcanic Peak, with NE winds about 10 mph through much of the day. We have some visiting pilots who want fly, so let me know if you want to join them. I'll probably be taking them to Dry Canyon on Friday and Saturday, if the winds don't howl too loudly.
-Robin
575-541-5744 home
575-386-8212 cell

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MARCH 29 through SUNDAY, MARCH 31:
Interesting weather this weekend - but flying is possible. Looks dry and warm - until it suddenly gets dry and cool, on Sunday. Highs of 80 F on Friday, highs of 60 F on Sunday. Wow! Windy from the west on Friday, then from the east on Saturday and Sunday. Lighter in Alamogordo, generally. Looks like the Little Floridas are flyable on Friday if you get there really early, and maybe Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch the same. La Luz and Dry Canyon should be flyable, but again, be there early. On Saturday, Dry Canyon and La Luz should be flyable most of the day. Sunday, maybe just Dry Canyon - and dress warm! Meanwhile, Anapra should be soarable both Saturday and Sunday, but it might blow out with strong east winds those days. Towing at the Sod Farms looks like an early proposition, too. It could be good for towing on the Exit 116 road, both Saturday and Sunday, as winds should be 12 to 15 mph from the southeast. Looks like one of those weekends where all the decisions will be made at the last minute - but somewhere, at least, it should be flyable each day. I might try to fly at Dry on Saturday. Keep in touch, and wherever you go, fly safe!
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY APRIL 5 through SUNDAY APRIL 7, 2019:
This weekend should be a good one for airtime. It'll be warm (highs about 80 F, or 27 C) and dry. No precipitation for at least another 10 days. Winds? Well, the jetstream is leaving us alone this weekend - it seems to be on a 7-day cycle at the moment, blowing hard from the west each Wednesday. Friday, expect southwest winds across the area, about 15 mph peak in Alamogordo, 10 to 15 in Las Cruces, 15 to 18 in El Paso and Deming. On Saturday, a little stronger and more westerly everywhere. Sunday, WSW in Deming, 8 to 10 mph, and NW everywhere else, 10 to 12. Here are my recommendations: On Friday Mag Rim, Dry Canyon, La Luz and maybe Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch should work. (Go early if you fly a PG.) Little Floridas ought to work well, too, but go early - it'll blow out by noon. On Saturday, go early again, but all the sites just named should be good except for Magdalena Rim (too westerly). On Sunday, winds are a bit milder, and the Little Floridas ought to work fine, plus the La Luz NW launch. Kilbourne Hole might be good for PG's on both Friday and Saturday, and I think the Sod Farms should work well - the winds look pretty consistent in direction each day. My own feelings are that I'd like to try Mag Rim on Friday, and either La Luz or the Little Floridas on Sunday. Anyone who wants to join in, let me know!
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, APRIL 12 through SUNDAY, APRIL 14, 2019:
All right, we paid for it yesterday, enduring a dust hurricane in El Paso and Southern New Mexico. This weekend we get our reward. Temperatures will be a bit cool, with highs about 60 F (16 C) on Friday and Saturday, but 70's on Sunday. Cloudy on Friday, and a slight chance of rain in the Sacramentos on Saturday - I don't know if it'll get down to Alamogordo. But, the winds should be good for us. On Friday they are southwest, moderate with highs about 15 mph over our area. Saturday they turn northwest, and lighter, about 5 to 10 mph. On Sunday, we have mostly sunshine, mostly southwest winds across our area, 5 to 10 mph again. So, what's flyable? On Friday, Dry Canyon, La Luz, Magdalena Rim and Little Floridas, as well as Nelson's Launch and Agave Hill if it's not too southerly and strong. (Go early.) Kilbourne Hole and the Sod Farms should be fine as well. On Saturday La Luz NW launch looks good, and towing at the Exit 116 road, west of Las Cruces. Sod Farms should be fine for towing, with consistent NW winds. On Sunday we have all the good choices. Nice temperatures, sunny skies, mild southwest winds all over. La Luz, Dry Canyon, Mag Rim, Little Floridas, Nelson's Launch and Agave Hill are all fine. Sod Farms look good. It might be too light for Kilbourne Hole. But really, we should see some good flying all over the area. I'm up to go out any or all of the weekend; give me a call at 575-541-5744 and see what we can do. Fly safe!
-Robin