Wind in New Mexico (Rio Rancho, Farmington: home, to live, price)

[g2prairie]

I've been in love with New Mexico for many years, and would like to one day retire there, however, I do not like a lot of wind. I am considering Northern New Mexico, in particular, the areas of Raton or Las Vegas. Is there anywhere in NM that does not have a lot of wind on a daily basis?

[BrianH]

If you dont like wind stay away from Raton, not so sure about LV

[ontheroad]

Not much wind in Taos--just spells.

[Steve-o]

Steer clear of anything between ABQ and Gallup! Never fails, every year I go through there and I have to dodge tumbleweed and dust storms, it gets NASTY! I stopped in Gallup last year to pump gas and was pelted with garbage and dust, alot of fun that was. The year before I had the samething happen to me in Tucumcari, only on a lighter scale. All my visits to NM (spare Sante Fe) were windy and dusty nightmares. Its funny to watch all the cars coming your way on the highway, alot of them have tumbleweeds stuck in their car grilles. I caught a big mutha right upside the wife's car last year, wasnt too happy about it. ABQ never seems as windy to me, probably because of the Sandias?

[ktristen]

I live in Silver City and it seems like 3/4 of the year the wind is blowing. Sometimes it is just a 5-15mph breeze, but we do get a lot of harsh winds that I think are because the jet stream just gets south enough to create it. We experienced non-stop winds when we lived in Alamogordo in the spring of 2003 from March through June. However, this is a hot spot for retirees! They come from all over to live here. The price of housing is proof of that.

[sisco55]

New Mexico is a bad state for wind. Tornados are almost nonexistent because of the moutnains but the wind is awful. Colorado is the same way.

[Cathy4017]

Originally Posted by g2prairie

I've been in love with New Mexico for many years, and would like to one day retire there, however, I do not like a lot of wind. I am considering Northern New Mexico, in particular, the areas of Raton or Las Vegas. Is there anywhere in NM that does not have a lot of wind on a daily basis?

In my experience, NO.

Wind is endemic to West Texas, so I'm used to it, but yesterday was a bit over the top.

I left Farmington about 9CST...the wind was blowing, but not enough that I noticed it that much when I left.

I got outside of Bernalillo (talk about new development going up EVERYWHERE there)...and it was blowing dust and high winds all the way to Andrews, TX. I had to WORK to keep the car in the road, and the dust made visibility almost non-existent in places.

The wind at Las Vegas/Vadito was certainly there last year, but not quite as bad as what I drove home in yesterday.

[sisco55]

Wind was blowing 30 mph today. I live in Gallup.

[jch928]

Is it that windy in Rio Rancho? How often do you get these winds and dust storms? I'm fine with it happening every once in a while, but think I would be annoyed if it were a daily occurrence. Any info. would be greatly appreciated!

[_yb]

Originally Posted by jch928

Is it that windy in Rio Rancho? How often do you get these winds and dust storms? I'm fine with it happening every once in a while, but think I would be annoyed if it were a daily occurrence. Any info. would be greatly appreciated!

Yes it gets windy and dusty in Rio Rancho. This time of year we can get a whole lot of wind. The state gets much more wind to the east of the sandias.
Spring and fall we get the most winds. There are very nice days during those seasons also. It does not happen every day.