Barometric Pressure Forecast for Taos, New Mexico
Barometric pressure forecast for Taos, New Mexico — at 2,100 metres on the high plateau below the Sangre de Cristo range. See current barometric pressure and what it means for weather-sensitive people.
Download Pressure Pal to track barometric pressure and get migraine alerts for Taos and your area.
Pressure and weather in Taos
Taos sits at roughly 2,100 metres on a high sagebrush plateau, with the Sangre de Cristo Mountains rising another kilometre immediately east and the Rio Grande cutting its gorge a few miles west. Elevation is the first thing to understand about pressure here. Actual station pressure runs near 780 hPa, roughly a quarter below sea-level values, so the raw number means nothing in isolation and only the trend is informative. The air is also extremely dry, which amplifies the daily temperature swing and makes dehydration an easier trap than the mild-sounding temperatures suggest. The year has two distinct weather seasons. From early July to mid-September the North American Monsoon draws moisture north from the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Mexico, and thunderstorms build over the peaks on most afternoons, producing sharp local pressure and temperature changes with almost no synoptic movement behind them. From November to April, Pacific troughs cross the Southwest and force air up the western slope of the Sangre de Cristos, which is where the heavy mountain snow comes from and where the year's deepest falls appear.
What this means for you
Readings here sit far below sea-level values simply because of the altitude, so only the change carries information. A barometric pressure forecast read as a slope rather than a number is the only useful way to use it at this elevation.