Early Spring Heat Wave in the Southwest U.S.; Critical Fire Weather in the Central Rockies and Plains

An unusual early Spring heat wave will continue much above-normal temperatures over the Southwest U.S. through early next week. Periods of critical fire weather will persist from the central Rockies to the central Plains through the weekend as gusty winds and low relative humidity continue. Read More >

Click a location below for detailed forecast.

Last Map Update: Fri, Mar 20, 2026 at 2:20:17 am MDT

Watches, Warnings & Advisories

National Weather Service Grand Junction, CO

National Weather Service NWS Flagstaff, AZ

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National Weather Service NWS Tucson Arizona

Extreme Heat Warning

Red Flag Warning

Fire Weather Watch

Hazardous Weather Outlook

March Records Stats

Historic March Heat!

Extremely Dry!

Dangerous Car Heat

As of yesterday, Albuquerque has already tied its all-time record high for the month of March! Additional daily records and even all-time March records are likely to be smashed through Saturday. If Albuquerque and Clayton were to reach 90 degrees late this week, it would break the previous earliest 90- degree day records by around 6 weeks and 4 weeks, respectively.

High temperatures more typical of late May and early June rather than mid-March are expected through late this week. All-time March record highs will likely be broken!

Keep the lip balm and skin lotion handy! These very dry conditions will also lead to Elevated to Near Critical fire weather on Saturday. Both grass and timber fuels will continue to become more receptive to fire spread due to the long duration of very dry air.

With outdoor temperatures reaching or exceeding 90 degrees in many areas over the next several days, vehicle interior temperatures will quickly reach life-threatening values well in excess of 100 degrees! NEVER leave children or pets in a locked car.