Weekend Weather

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, APRIL 22 to SUNDAY, APRIL 24:
This weekend should be flyable, but like last weekend, watch out for winds too strong. And maybe a bit of rain, late Friday and/or early on Saturday. Winds on Friday should be southerly, light to moderate in strength. Winds on Saturday, somewhat stronger, out of the southwest. On Sunday, stronger still, getting more westerly. On Friday, then, I'd recommend Dry Canyon as a great place to soar. On Saturday, all of our southwest facing sites should be fine: Agave Hill, Matt's Mountain, La Luz, Dry Canyon, Little Floridas, Kilbourne Hole. Mesquite Dam training hill, even. Be there fairly early, though. On Sunday, get there very early, because it might blow out by noon. La Luz, Little Floridas, Agave Hill, Dry Canyon and Kilbourne Hole should be possible - probably too westerly for Matt's Mountain. And training at the Sod Farm should be fine all weekend, early. I'd like to fly on Saturday and maybe on Friday, too - give me a call!
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, APRIL 29 to SUNDAY, MAY 1:
This looks like another flyable weekend, but be there early if you go on Friday. Winds that day look to be pretty strong, from the west/southwest. On Saturday, moderate to strong, from west/southwest. On Sunday, pretty mild winds, but mostly south and southeast. Very little chance of rain this weekend, but we'll probably see a lot of clouds. I'd recommend Dry Canyon and La Luz Friday and Saturday, as well as the Little Floridas, Agave Hill, and Kilbourne Hole. I'm guessing that Matt's Mountain will be a little too westerly for good soaring. On Sunday, probably only Dry Canyon will work. I'll hope to fly on any of those days that look good - give me a call!
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MAY 6 to SUNDAY, MAY 8:
Let's give the summary right at the start: For Southern New Mexico, it'll be dry and windy. Friday may be the windiest day, but none of them are going to be real nice. A low pressure hole over California is going to swirl (counter-clockwise, of course) a good deal of its energy into New Mexico starting on Friday. Early on Saturday might be flyable, and maybe the same for Sunday. The winds will start out on Friday south/southwest, getting up to 20 to 25 mph on the ground by early afternoon. Saturday they will be southwest, getting up to about 20 on the ground. Sunday, maybe the same, but more westerly. (Meanwhile, up at Gray Hill, where an expedition was proposed, we'll see strong winds, cool temperatures, and possibly rain on Sunday, which will be the calmest of the days.) I'd recommend that PG's mostly stay grounded this weekend. For HG's, early on Friday is good for Matt's Mountain, as well as Little Floridas, Dry Canyon, La Luz and Agave Hill. Probably Kilbourne Hole as well. On Saturday the weather is about the same, but the winds a little more westerly, which isn't as good for Matt's Mountain. Sunday, pretty much the same as on Saturday. Most of the sites will have the right wind direction, but be there early! I can probably fly (or do some mentoring) on Saturday or on Sunday. Let me know your plans if you want to go out and fly. Be cautious, with winds like these, and good luck.
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MAY 13 to SUNDAY, MAY 15:
This should be a flyable weekend, but watch out for thunderstorms and some strong winds. Friday and Saturday look pretty good, with moderate southwest winds all day. Our usual sites should work pretty well: Dry Canyon, La Luz, Matt's Mountain, Little Floridas, Agave Hill, maybe Kilbourne Hole. We have a slight chance for thunderstorms on Friday. On Sunday, we still get southwest winds, but they could go up to 20 mph on the ground, most places, and there may be some thunderstorms with it. Again, all the usual sites should work, but keep a close eye on the overdevelopment. If the clouds start dumping, get out of the sky! Even if they're not dumping yet on you - the gust fronts will probably be pretty strong, this time of year. We're starting to get hot again, too, so have water and a hat when you go out to fly. Good luck! I plan to fly today (Thursday) at Dry with Bill Cummings and Mike Ellsworth, and maybe do the flyover at Dry Canyon that was requested for Saturday. Be safe!
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MAY 20 to SUNDAY, MAY 22:
This looks like a great weekend for flying, at least until Sunday. (That day gets windy.) Today in Las Cruces, following yesterday's epic hailstorm, my yard looks like a battleground, and there's still some hail piled up in the shady parts. Good for the lawn, though. But the skies are clear, and any chance of precipitation is pretty much gone by tomorrow. Winds today are gentle southwest. Winds will stay southwest through the weekend, getting gradually stronger day by day, until Sunday afternoon gets to be a blowout. I'd recommend going early that day. Sites that should be launchable are Little Floridas, Matt's Mountain, Agave Hill, La Luz, Dry Canyon and Kilbourne Hole. By Sunday they might get too strong for PG's, unless you're flying early early. Good news for the week to come - it looks good pretty much all week, and into next weekend at the Dry Canyon Fly-In. For a pleasant change, NO blowout conditions are forecasted for next Friday and Saturday, at least. Anyway, this is the weekend to do some flying if you want clear skies, warm conditions, and non-hostile winds. Fly safe!
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MAY 27 through MONDAY, MAY 30:
This looks like a great weekend for our Memorial Day Fly-In in Alamogordo. No rain, high temperatures in the mid-80's, and winds west to southwest, about 10 mph on the ground. It should be fine for our other flying sites, too, though the winds may be a little light for soaring hang gliders at Mag Rim, Agave Hill and Kilbourne Hole. Dry Canyon and La Luz should work just fine. Come out and fly!
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, JUNE 3 to SUNDAY, JUNE 5:
The weather this weekend looks kind of unsettled for our area. Not much chance for precipitation, despite the rains this week - though not zero chance. The winds look fairly light, which is typical for June. Temperatures will be cooler than normal, though, in the low 90's Fahrenheit instead of close to 100. Winds? At this point, light to moderate. They should be northerly on Friday, perhaps northeast or even south/southeast on Saturday, and south/southwest on Sunday. For foot launching, La Luz is probably your best bet for a Friday flight. It might work on Saturday, too, or it could be that the winds will be coming in enough on Saturday evening to make Dry Canyon work. On Sunday I would try Dry Canyon, with Matt's Mountain as a backup site. If you didn't get enough airtime at the Fun Fly last weekend, then I'd say that Sunday is the day to do it on this one. Good luck, and fly safe! (Keep an eye out for thunderstorms, just in case I'm wrong again...)
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, JUNE 10 to SUNDAY, JUNE 12:
This looks like a pretty good flying weekend. There's a chance for afternoon thunderstorms, but not real great; temperatures will drop from the 100's into the 90's, so it might be tolerable up at launch heights. Winds are going to be light to moderate. On Friday they are likely to be light and variable, from southeast to southwest. Dry Canyon often works in those circumstances, but our other sites could be chancy. Saturday is much better. Winds should be light to moderate out of the southwest. Sites that should work are the Little Floridas, Matt's Mountain, Agave Hill, La Luz and Dry Canyon. Probably a little light for Kilbourne Hole. Training at the Sod Farm ought to be good, too. Sunday I expect winds to turn a little more westerly. With that in mind I'd pull Matt's Mountain off the list, but the other sites should still be worth trying. Saturday and Sunday I'd expect cloud streets over the Tularosa Basin - I wonder if this could be a 100-mile XC weekend? You can bet on thermals, with the heat we've had, and the instability coming in. Good luck, if you go out flying! And if you see a lightning bolt, it's probably time to land...
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, JUNE 17 to SUNDAY, JUNE 19:
This weekend can be summed up as hot, dry and breezy. High temperatures are supposed to be 100 degrees F each day, and winds will be light or moderate, at most. On Friday they seem to be mostly northwest. This makes La Luz about the only good foot launch site in the area. On Saturday, probably north in some areas, and east-southeast in others. It might be pretty light, though. Dry Canyon might work, though that's not the best direction - I'm sure there'll be some thermals, though, with that much warming. On Sunday, in Las Cruces and El Paso the winds should still be south/southeast, so Matt's Mountain won't work,but Anapra might. However, they are forecast to be light south/southwest in Alamogordo. I'd vote for flying Dry Canyon that day. Mike Ellsworth is interested in a late afternoon flight, in hopes of a glassoff (and cooler temperatures then) and since I am now back in the area, I'd probably enjoy that, too. Anyone else interested? Give me a call!
-Robin
575-541-5744

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, JUNE 24 to SUNDAY, JUNE 27:
It appears as though the monsoon season is arriving in the Southwest a week or two earlier than usual. Evening thunderstorms are a possibility throughout the weekend and into next week, in New Mexico, which is probably a good omen for those fighting wildfires up towards Albuquerque. For our area, expect winds to be light and variable this weekend, mostly out of the north. La Luz might be our best bet for foot launched flight, especially since there's also a southwest launch if the winds switch to that direction. I am hoping to attend the Monsoon Madness fly-in over in Sierra Vista, Arizona, where the winds might also be mostly north. (Fortunately, they have 3 launches there: southeast, east, and north.) Be careful if you fly, and watch out for the t-storm gust fronts.
-Robin