NEW MEXICO · BERNALILLO COUNTY
Albuquerque Wind Load Requirements
High desert design on the Rio Grande, where open terrain and monsoon downbursts set the loads under ASCE 7-22.
SITE SIGNATURE
High desert, open exposure
Sandia Mountains to the east, open mesa to the west, river valley between — the terrain, not a single number, drives the load.
WIND & EXPOSURE CONTEXT
What shapes the design pressure
Albuquerque's loads come from severe monsoon thunderstorms and downbursts over open desert — tempered by thin high-altitude air.
Monsoon Downbursts
July–September storms drive sudden microburst and haboob gusts — the governing wind event, not steady winds.
3-SEC GUSTOpen Desert Terrain
Mesa and suburban desert mean Exposure C is the norm — higher pressures than sheltered urban Exposure B.
EXPOSURE CHigh Altitude Air
At roughly 5,000+ ft, thinner air lowers density — the ASCE 7-22 ground-elevation factor Ke accounts for it.
Ke FACTORSandia Topography
Foothill ridges and escarpments can push Kzt above 1.0 near the mountains; the valley floor stays at 1.0.
Kzt > 1.0COMPLIANCE CHECKLIST
What you need to comply
Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque review sealed ASCE 7-22 calculations under the New Mexico CID.
Design Wind Speed
90–100 mph (3-sec gust) for Risk Category II; higher categories read a higher-MRI map.
RISK CAT IIExposure Category
Default to C for open desert; dense urban cores may justify B with site analysis.
C / BGoverning Code
New Mexico CID adopts the IBC and references ASCE 7-22 for wind load design.
NM CID · IBCElevation & Topo
Apply Ke for ~5,000+ ft altitude and check Kzt for Sandia-area ridges and escarpments.
Ke · KztNM-Licensed PE Seal
Structural calculations must be prepared or supervised and sealed by a New Mexico PE.
PE SEALC&C + MWFRS
Submit both component-and-cladding and main-system pressures for plan review.
FULL SETOFFICIAL RESOURCES
Albuquerque & New Mexico authorities
Verify locally adopted requirements with the jurisdictions and the state licensing board.
EXPLORE MORE
Nearby & statewide
Compare requirements across regions and look up wind speed by location.
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Calculate Albuquerque wind loads
Enter an address or zip and get ASCE 7-22 velocity, Exposure C guidance, Ke elevation correction, and PE-ready C&C and MWFRS pressures.