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

Severe to extreme drought conditions from January 2019 continued through February.

Moderate to severe drought conditions across portions of western and central New Mexico at the end of January 2019 improved only slightly in February. Severe drought conditions slightly improved to 32 percent of the state, of which around 13 percent was deemed extreme drought or worse. Exceptional drought improved to less than 1 percent of New Mexico. Precipitation amounts for February 2019 ranged from around less than one half inch across the east to three to four inches for parts of northern and northwest New Mexico. Several winter storm systems that moved across the state in February continued to bring much needed snowfall to portions of northern and central New Mexico. However, conditions were drier than normal in the southeast, and portions of the region became abnormally dry in February.