Drought in Chiricahua Mountains, Arizona

The exceptional (D4) and extreme (D3) drought categories continued across a large part of southeast Arizona during January, with the exception of western Pima County. Precipitation totals for the month totaled 0.5 to 1.5 inches, with higher amounts in the form of snow on the highest mountains. These totals were 25 to 125 percent of normal, but even where substantial precipitation occurred, were not enough to improve the drought status. Soil moisture readings improved slightly, but were still below the 5th percentile ranking across Santa Cruz and eastern sections of Pima and Pinal counties and below the 10th percentile ranking elsewhere. Levels at San Carlos Reservoir remained around 2 percent of storage capacity.