Right on time, the summer monsoon is drawing to a close, bringing days of calm weather to New Mexico ahead of a breezy Balloon Fiesta weekend.

The week will largely see what meteorologists call "chamber of commerce" days — pleasant, postcard-like conditions that would prompt visitors to pack their things and move here permanently. Temperatures will hover at or above normal throughout the week, and the monsoon's final hurrah is predicted fizzle out by Wednesday.

On Tuesday — the official end of the monsoon — isolated showers and thunderstorms will traverse across the high terrain in Northern and Western New Mexico. Storms that form could bring gusty winds and a few hundredths of an inch of rain, meteorologist Carter Greulich said at a Monday briefing by the National Weather Service's Albu

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