Drought in Upper Gila River and Aravaipa Valleys, Arizona

The extreme (D3) drought category continued across far southern and eastern sections of southeast Arizona during October. The area near the New Mexico line encompassed southern Greenlee, southeast Graham and eastern Cochise counties, including the Chiricahua Mountains; while areas near the International Border stretched from the Huachuca Mountains westward across Santa Cruz County to the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge in southeast Pima County. Isolated locations received nearly an inch of rainfall from thunderstorms during October, but most of the area only received between 5 and 50 percent of normal monthly precipitation. Soil moisture readings remained below the 5th percentile ranking in most areas through October.