Drought in Lower Chama River Valley, New Mexico

Drought severity continued to increase across portions of eastern New Mexico throughout the month.

Overall, May fared better than previous months with numerous days of at least some measurable precipitation. Portions of the Rio Grande Valley and eastern plains, for example, recorded near to above normal precipitation. Areas in eastern Catron County as well as most of Socorro County also experienced near to above normal precipitation. North-central portions of the state, the south-central mountains and areas across the west had 50% or lower percent of normal precipitation for the month.

The coverage of Exceptional Drought (D4) nearly doubled, encompassing most of central New Mexico and the eastern half of the state. At the beginning of the month D4 conditions impacted 25% of the area and by month's end that had increased to 45%. The remaining drought categories remained nearly the same. The only areas in New Mexico that were not classified as D4 were in the D3 category, or extreme drought, while the the northeast corner and north central areas were in D2 or severe drought.