Drought in Upper Tularosa Valley, New Mexico

Severe drought conditions from March 2022 continued in April.

The exceptionally dry and windy conditions felt across northern and central New Mexico during the month of March only continued and even worsened during April. While the storm track remained active across the western United States, it wasn't favorable to New Mexico as these systems largely remained to the north of the state. As such, precipitation was scarce during April with amounts well below one inch. The Albuquerque area recorded only a trace of precipitation during the month, well below the normal of 0.51 inches. As these dry, windy conditions persisted, this only fueled numerous wildfire starts across northern and central New Mexico, and drought conditions only worsened with about 96 percent of the state in at least severe drought conditions. Areas of extreme to exceptional drought spread rapidly with now about 68 percent of the state in these categories, and about 16 percent of that in exceptional drought.