Weekend Weather

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MARCH 20 through SUNDAY, MARCH 22:
Well, the weather gods are treating us pretty nice this week. Today (Wednesday) we received an excellent rain in the area - and you know we're not going to say no to that! But tomorrow will be dry, and windy, and by Friday we get a very fine weekend. On that day winds will be mostly south to southwest, 8-10 mph most places (SE in El Paso, though). Saturday, SW 8-10 again. Sunday, SW in Las Cruces, WSW elsewhere. Take your pick, folks! On Friday Dry Canyon, La Luz and Magdalena Rim should work. On Saturday, the same, plus Little Floridas, Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch. On Sunday, the same. By Monday we will see the start of a windy week, but Mag Rim, La Luz, Dry and the El Paso sites still should work if you go out early. Let me know what you'd like to do - I hope to be flying through most of the weekend. We have guests, Jim and Marzena Gibson of Michigan, in town for a week, so I hope to show them the sites (and sights). Come and join us if you can!
-Robin
575-541-5744 home
575-386-8212 cell

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MARCH 27 through SUNDAY, MARCH 29, 2020:
This should be a fairly nice flying weekend, minus Friday. Temperatures will get cooler suddenly as the jetstream comes over on Friday, with strong winds from the southwest that day. No flying that day. On Saturday the winds are much calmer. As usual, there will be more west and northwest winds that day, following a wind event. Sunday we get moderate southwest winds, and temperatures warming up from the 60's to the low 70's. My recommendations (assuming you can leave your house to fly): On Friday, don't bother. A good day to be sheltering in place. On Saturday, La Luz should work well, and maybe Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch. The best site, though, seems to be the Little Floridas, with winds WSW, 10-12 mph. (And don't forget the poppies!) On Sunday Dry Canyon, La Luz, Magdalena Rim, Little Floridas, Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch all look good - but go a little earlier, winds will be a bit stronger than Saturday. In this strange time in our history, stay healthy, folks! But if you get out to fly, I think you'll find a lift to your spirits as well as your glider. Fly safe!
-Robin
575-541-5744 home
575-386-8212 cell

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, APRIL 3 through SUNDAY, APRIL 5, 2020:
This is a good flying weekend (provided we can leave our homes to do it!) Warm (mid-70s) dry, and not too windy, though it will be fairly strong. Direction is the consistent thing this time around: southwest, all weekend, all across the region. Friday, 10-15 mph southwest in Alamogordo and Deming, 10-12 SW in El Paso and Las Cruces. Pretty much the same for Saturday and Sunday. Dry Canyon, La Luz, Mag Rim, Little Floridas, Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch should be launchable all weekend - just go a little early, so you can catch it before the wind gets stronger than you like. I should be free to fly every day, so give me a call if you want to take a try at it. Be safe! And let us all know how it works out.
-Robin
575-541-5744 home
575-386-8212 cell

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, APRIL 10 through SUNDAY, APRIL 12, 2020:
Looks like a dry, warm, windy weekend for us - so nice to see "normal" in something, during this time in history. Yes, it's spring in New Mexico and West Texas. Expect southwest winds around the area on Friday, 10-15 mph, maybe a bit lighter in El Paso. This may be our best flying day. On Saturday, WSW, 15-20 mph around the region, and on Sunday, west winds 20-25. On Friday, if you go out early, you could find Dry Canyon, La Luz, Little Floridas, Magdalena Rim, Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch all flyable. Kilbourne Hole as well, I think. On Saturday and Sunday, I expect the winds will be too strong to fly. This all assumes that we would go out in any case, since so many "shelter in place" proclamations are in place across the nation. Wait it out, both for the crisis and the weather, and know that better times will eventually come.
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, APRIL 17 through SUNDAY, APRIL 19, 2020:
This will be a weekend similar to last, warm, dry and windy. Expect winds in the 10 to 15 mph range from the WSW over our region on Friday, a little stronger in Deming. Saturday gets windier, about 15 to 20 mph from the southwest. On Sunday, milder (10 to 15, stronger in Deming) and from the west. I'd recommend going out early on Friday to fly, with Dry Canyon, La Luz and Magdalena Rim as possibilities. (Little Floridas will be blown out, and Franklin Mountain State Park sites are closed.) Kilbourne Hole might be good as well. On Saturday I would just regard it as a blowout day, and leave it alone - might be launchable at Mesquite Dam training site. Sunday should be good at Dry Canyon and La Luz. Here in New Mexico we are still respecting the coronavirus regulations, sheltering in place as much as feasible, but if you go out anyway, I'd say that Friday and Sunday look the best. Good luck and stay healthy if you can!
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, APRIL 24 through SUNDAY, APRIL 26, 2020:
As the pandemic drags on, the weather gets warmer - and the flying conditions look pretty good. This weekend should be hot (80 - 90 F in Alamogordo, 90+ elsewhere), dry, and relatively calm. No blowouts this time around! Friday, winds should be NNW 8-10 around the area, maybe WSW 10-12 in Deming. Saturday, light west in Alamogordo, light east in the rest of our area. On Sunday (the hottest day of the weekend) we see SW 8-10 in Alamogordo, SSW 8-10 in El Paso and Las Cruces, WSW 8-10 in Deming. If you can arrange some flying, then, here are my recommendations. On Friday, La Luz, Little Floridas and possibly Volcanic Peak are your best bets. Saturday, Dry Canyon, La Luz and Anapra should all be flyable. On Sunday, La Luz and Dry Canyon are good again, along with Magdalena Rim, Agave Hill, Nelson's Launch and the Little Floridas. Don't forget your hat! It'll be warm and sunny. If you get out to fly, let us know how it goes! It's been too long since we've had any airtime - let me know if you feel like flying, I may be able to go out with you.
-Robin
575-541-5744 home
575-386-8212 cell

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MAY 1 through SUNDAY, MAY 3, 2020:
It looks like another dry, warm, and somewhat windy weekend. Not unflyable, though. High temperatures will be in the 90's for our area (about 35 C) and the winds are mostly west and southwest. On Friday, westerly 10 to 15 mph in El Paso and Las Cruces, WSW 15-20 in Deming, southwest 10-15 in Alamogordo. On Saturday, about the same, or slightly milder. Sunday, again west and southwest, but in the 10 to 12 mph range. Where can you fly? On Friday it looks like Dry Canyon and La Luz could be good. If you go early, Nelson's Launch and Agave Hill ought to work as well. On Saturday, it looks about the same. And on Sunday, it looks like Magdalena Rim can be added to the mix, especially if you're there fairly early. Don't forget the RGSA Virtual Meeting (via Zoom) to be held this Saturday evening at 7:00 - but if you want to fly at any other time this weekend, let me know! Maybe it's time to give Dry Canyon or La Luz a try again. Fly safe and stay healthy, wherever you go!
-Robin

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MAY 8 through SUNDAY, MAY 10, 2020:
Flying should be good this weekend, and I am hoping to do some - after we fix the Dry Canyon road. The weather will be a little unsettled by Sunday, but if you want to fly somewhere, you can do it. The current heat wave should cool a bit this weekend, and we might even see a brief rainstorm on Monday. Friday the winds will be light WSW in Alamogordo, but east and southeast around the rest of the area, 15 mph or more. Saturday looks a lot lighter - it should be 5-8 mph in Alamogordo, out of the west, SSE in El Paso, SSW in Las Cruces and SW in Deming - all about 5-8 mph. On Sunday, south and southwest around the area, again in the 5-8 mph range. I would look at Dry Canyon and La Luz on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Both the Little Floridas and Mag Rim should also work, on Saturday and Sunday. Even if the Franklin Mountain State Park was open, I don't see the El Paso sites with a good wind direction this weekend. I plan to be in the Cox Field LZ in Alamogordo on Saturday morning, ready to do a road work day going up to Dry Canyon. There are 2 or 3 places that need work, but the rest of the road is in pretty good shape. (Or at least it was back in March!) I will happily be the driver for anyone that wants to fly after we get the road fixed and get up to launch. Since we are planning to hold our Memorial Day Weekend Fun Fly just two weeks later, this will get the road fixed right on time. I'll hope to see some volunteers there to meet me that morning - call me if you can be there then. Be safe, whatever you do, and stay healthy.
-Robin
575-541-5744 home
575-386-8212 cell

[RobinHastings]

FRIDAY, MAY 15 through SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020:
This looks like a fine weekend to go flying. Warm (high temperatures about 85 to 90 F), dry, and winds fairly light. Mostly westerly, too. On Friday we get winds from west and southwest, about 15 mph in Deming, 10-12 in Las Cruces, 5-10 elsewhere. Dry Canyon, La Luz, Agave Hill and Nelson's Launch (assuming the Franklins are open) should all be good. Saturday we get some east winds in the El Paso area, making Anapra possible for PG's. Elsewhere, west 5-10 in Alamogordo (Dry Canyon and La Luz should work), west 5-10 in Las Cruces, WSW 10-12 in Deming (Little Floridas should be good, but go there early). Sunday looks like our best day. Again, ESE in El Paso 8-10, making Anapra a good bet, but SSW elsewhere, about 8-10. I'd expect that Dry Canyon and La Luz will be good, Magdalena Rim and the Little Floridas as well. Give me a call if you feel like flying! I should be able to go out for airtime. Long range forecast for next weekend's Fun Fly in Alamogordo looks pretty positive, so keep that on your calendar. Stay healthy, and fly safe this weekend!
-Robin
575-541-5744 home
575-386-8212 cell

[RobinHastings]

Tuesday, May 19, 2020: Weather still looks good for this weekend's fun-fly in Alamogordo. Max winds around 10-15 mph on the ground, sunny skies, max temps in the 80's. Sounds fine to me!
-Robin