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© UnknownThe doves seem to be having a difficult time coping with the cold.
The villages of Angel Fire and Eagle Nest in Northern New Mexico boasted the coldest temperature in the country at -36 F (-37.7 C) on Thursday morning. Albuquerque set a record low temperature of -7 F (-21.6 C) surpassing the previous low set in 1939. Five other cities set all-time records, Moriarty -34 F, Pecos -31 F, Ruidoso -27, Capitan -22, and Socorro -14. Moriarty is about 40 miles East of Albuquerque on the East side of the Sandia Mountains. Temperature highs around the state ranged from a low of 9 F at Ruidoso to 25 F in Silver City in Southwest New Mexico. I recorded a high of 18 F (-7.7 C) for the day. Winds here were less of a factor than previous days with a high reading of only 9 mph. As a result of the unusually cold temperatures, approximately 32,000 people around the state are still without natural gas as a result of frozen regulators in the pipe line coming out of Texas.

Overnight temperatures moderated somewhat around the state on Friday morning. My home, at the Eastern edge of Albuquerque, recorded a low of 7 F (-13.8 C) this morning. It has now warmed to 33 F (0.5 C), the wind has switched to WSW at 1 to 2 mph, and the sky is clear. All of our major snow drifts have been cleared and we are almost back to normal.

The doves shown above huddled in the sunny areas of the yard where the snow was melted away. As the sun moved across the yard they moved and huddled again. I have never seen them do this before, and they are doing the same thing today.

Take care and keep warm,

Kay