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You'll receive the Update on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND FAR WEST TEXAS WEDNESDAY... .A passing upper level trough will lead to increasing dryness and strong winds on Wednesday. Sustained winds will approach 25 to 35 MPH for much of the area, with gusts around 45 MPH common. The strongest winds will favor along and east of the Sacramento Mountains, where gusts could reach upwards of 60 MPH. This will combine with minimum relative humidity in the low double digits and teens in the afternoon, creating high fire danger.
Southwest Deserts and Lowlands/Las Cruces BLM/GLZ-
South Central Lowlands and Southern Rio Grande Valley/BLM/GLZ-
Capitan and Sacramento Mountains/Lincoln NF/LNZ-
Texas Fire Weather Zone 055
El Paso County- Texas Fire Weather Zone 056
Hudspeth County-
905 PM MST Tue Feb 17 2026
...RED FLAG WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 6 PM MST WEDNESDAY
FOR MOST OF SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND FAR WEST TEXAS...
Upper Gila River Valley-Southern Gila Foothills/Mimbres Valley-
Southwest Desert/Lower Gila River Valley-Lowlands of the Bootheel-Uplands of the Bootheel-Southwest Desert/Mimbres Basin-Eastern Black Range Foothills-Sierra County Lakes-Northern Dona Ana County-Southern Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley-West Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet-Otero Mesa-Central Grant County/Silver City Area-East Central Tularosa Basin/Alamogordo- Southeast Tularosa Basin-Western El Paso County-Northern Hudspeth Highlands/Hueco Mountains-Salt Basin-Rio Grande Valley of Eastern
El Paso/Western Hudspeth Counties-
Including the cities of Hatch, Red Rock, Radium Springs, Gila Hot
Springs, Vado, Mimbres, Hurley, Antelope Wells, Mountain Park,
Tornillo, Orogrande, Mule Creek, Fabens, Las Cruces, Holloman
AFB, Truth Or Consequences, Derry, Spaceport, Upper Valley, Hueco Tanks, Cliff, West El Paso, Cornudas, Dell City, Alamogordo, Grant County Airport, Crow Flats, Cloverdale, Hachita, Tularosa,
Southern Gila Region Highlands/Black Range-
Including the cities of Lake Roberts and Kingston
846 PM MST Tue Feb 17 2026
...HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 9 AM TO 11 PM MST WEDNESDAY...
* WHAT...West winds 35 to 45 mph with gusts up to 65 mph expected.
* WHERE...Southern Gila Region Highlands/Black Range.
* WHEN...From 9 AM to 11 PM MST Wednesday.
* IMPACTS...Damaging winds will blow down trees and power lines.
Widespread power outages are expected. Travel will be difficult,
especially for high profile vehicles.
What:
Based on the recommendations of the Western New Mexico University (WNMU) Presidential Search Committee, five finalists will visit the Silver City campus for extensive interviews and community engagement in late February and early March.
In accordance with the New Mexico Open Meetings Act, the WNMU Board of Regents will meet Tuesday, March 17, 2026, to announce the university's 16th president in open forum.
More information about the candidates and the presidential search is at wnmu.edu.
Who:
CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS FOR MUCH OF SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND FAR WEST TEXAS WEDNESDAY... .A passing upper level trough will lead to increasing dryness and strong winds on Wednesday. Sustained winds will approach 25 to 35 MPH for much of the area, with gusts around 45 MPH common. The strongest winds will favor along and east of the Sacramento Mountains, where gusts could reach upwards of 60 MPH. This will combine with minimum relative humidity in the low double digits and teens in the afternoon, creating high fire danger.
Southwest Deserts and Lowlands/Las Cruces BLM/GLZ-
South Central Lowlands and Southern Rio Grande Valley/BLM/GLZ-
Capitan and Sacramento Mountains/Lincoln NF/LNZ-
Texas Fire Weather Zone 055
El Paso County- Texas Fire Weather Zone 056
Hudspeth County-
437 AM MST Mon Feb 16 2026
...FIRE WEATHER WATCH IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH
WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON DUE TO LOW HUMIDITY AND STRONG WINDS FOR MOST
OF THE SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO AND FAR WEST TEXAS...
Photos by Mary Alice Murphy
[Editor's Note: The photos are not in order of how they were on the program and the photographer failed to take several. Some venues were crowded so the photographer did not try to get names of anyone, so apologies all around.]
Chocolate Fantasia 2026 sold 400 tickets, for the three-day event. The chocolates were served on Saturday, Feb. 14, at 23 different places. From Broadway to College Avenue and with Yankie and Market Streets in between, ticket holders got their exercise.
Organizer Simon Sotelo told the Beat that he and the team have plans for an even larger event next year. The event is an annual fundraiser for other events put on by the Mimbres Region Arts Council.
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