Drought in San Francisco River Valley, New Mexico

Extreme drought was removed from the zone.

January 2026 was generally a mild and wet month for most of northern and central New Mexico. There were two active periods during the month, with the first being from January 7th to 9th and the other from January 23rd to 25th. This resulted in well above average precipitation across southern and central areas and near to slightly above average precipitation across east central and northern areas. Temperatures for the month were well above average across western and central areas and well below normal across the southeast plains. The well below normal temperatures across the southeast plains were due to a potent arctic like airmass impacting eastern NM during the 2nd aforementioned active period with the cold temperatures continuing through the end of the month due to extended periods of low clouds and freezing fog over the lingering snowpack. The wetter than average conditions for the month resulted in the removal of extreme drought across the San Francisco River Valley and removal of severe drought across almost all of southern Chaves County.