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

Extreme drought conditions from November continued through December 2018.

Moderate to severe drought conditions across portions of western and central New Mexico at the end of November 2018 improved only slightly through December 2018. Unfortunately, extreme to exceptional drought conditions also persisted over the northwestern half of the state. Severe drought conditions remained at 36 percent of the state, of which around 20 percent was deemed extreme drought or worse. Exceptional drought remained at roughly 15 percent of New Mexico. Precipitation amounts for December 2018 ranged from around one half inch to two inches of parts of central and northern New Mexico. Several winter storm systems moved across the state and brought much needed snowfall to the region. Snow pack conditions continued to improve for the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.