Drought — Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Above 9500 Feet, New Mexico

2018-01-01 to 2018-01-31 · Southern Sangre De Cristo Mountains Above 9500 Feet, New Mexico

Event narrative

Severe drought conditions were declared on January 23, 2018 for the Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Precipitation amounts were well below normal during the last three months of 2017 coupled with warm temperatures. Snowpack in the high terrain was an abysmal five percent of normal by the end of January 2018. A couple quick-hitting, weak storm systems brought only light precipitation to the area in January. The one exception was a heavy snowfall event around January 20, 2018 when eight to 14 inches of snow fell.

Wider weather episode

An exceptionally long stretch of dry weather over the southwest United States that began in early October allowed drought conditions to return to New Mexico by early January. Much of central and eastern New Mexico experienced wet conditions through the monsoon season into late September so drought was holding in the abnormally dry to moderate categories. Far western New Mexico did not experience as much precipitation through the same period so severe drought conditions returned to the area from Gallup southward toward the Gila Wilderness. A storm system on January 10, 2018 and another on January 20, 2018 brought some minor relief to the area but dry conditions returned quickly thereafter. These weak storm systems were no match for the extended period of well below normal precipitation and above normal temperatures for the state. Severe drought spread into over 60 percent of the state by the end of January 2018. Snowpack conditions were the worst ever recorded at several sites since the SNOTEL network was installed in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 729388. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.