Drought — Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet, New Mexico

2023-08-22 to 2023-08-31 · Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet, New Mexico

Event narrative

The entire zone went from Moderate(D1) drought to Severe(D2) drought on August 22. The Cloudcroft Cooperative Observer reported 5.52 inches of precipitation which was 0.51 inches above normal after 2.31 inches fell on August 23-24. July was very dry as well after being 2 to 3 inches below normal.

Wider weather episode

A very dry Monsoon Season across the southwest lead to drought conditions worsening across the region. The month of August started with most areas in Abnormally Dry(D0) drought or Moderate(D1) drought, but by the end of the month, most areas were at least in Severe(D2) drought.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1134972. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.