Drought Information Statement
Issued by NWS Albuquerque, NM

000
AXUS75 KABQ 281647
DGTABQ

NMC001>011-019-021-027-028-031-033-037>049-053>061-312359-

DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
1000 AM MST THU JAN 28 2010

...MODERATE DROUGHT LINGERS IN THE FOUR CORNERS REGION...
...SLIGHT DROUGHT CONDITIONS PERSIST OVER MUCH OF CENTRAL AND
   WESTERN NEW MEXICO...

SYNOPSIS...

A TRIO OF WINTER STORMS GENERATED SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION FOR MUCH
OF CENTRAL AND WESTERN NEW MEXICO DURING THE WEEK OF JANUARY 18-23.
THE MOUNTAINS OF SOUTHWEST NEW MEXICO WERE ESPECIALLY FAVORED WITH
HEAVY PRECIPITATION AND HIGH ELEVATION SNOWFALL. LOWER ELEVATION
RAINFALL RANGED FROM 1.5 TO 2.5 INCHES WHILE ABOVE 8000 FT MSL
PRECIPITATION TOTALS FOR THE WEEK RANGED FROM 2.5 INCHES TO NEARLY
7 INCHES.

EVEN IN NORTHWEST NEW MEXICO WHERE SIX MONTH PRECIPITATION DEFICITS
HAD RANGED FROM 3 TO 4.5 INCHES...PRECIPITATION FROM JANUARY 18-23
STORMS RANGED FROM AN INCH TO ALMOST 2.5 INCHES.

THE HIGH PEAKS WEST AND SOUTH OF RUIDOSO ALSO RECEIVED HEAVY SNOW.
THE SIERRA BLANCA SNOTEL AT 10200 FT MSL REPORTED 6 INCHES OF
PRECIPITATION FROM JANUARY 20 TO JANUARY 24.

YET ANOTHER LARGE WINTER STORM SYSTEM MOVED THROUGH THE STATE NEAR
THE END OF JANUARY...THIS TIME FAVORING THE EASTERN AND SOUTHERN
SECTIONS OF NEW MEXICO WITH SIGNIFICANT WINTER PRECIPITATION.

PRECIPITATION DURING DECEMBER 2009 WAS ABOVE NORMAL IN THE NORTH
CENTRAL MOUNTAINS...THE SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS...AND ACROSS THE
SOUTHEAST QUARTER OF THE STATE. PRECIPITATION WAS GENERALLY BELOW
NORMAL IN THE MID RIO GRANDE VALLEY AND ADJACENT MANZANO MOUNTAINS.

SAN JUAN COUNTY IN THE FOUR CORNERS REGION REPORTED NEAR TO BELOW
NORMAL DECEMBER PRECIPITATION...CONTINUING THE DRY TREND THAT
BEGAN THERE IN JULY 2009.

NOVEMBER WAS A GENERALLY DRY MONTH NEARLY STATEWIDE. NORTHERN AND
EASTERN NEW MEXICO RECEIVED BELOW NORMAL TO SCANT PRECIPITATION...
WHILE THE FAR SOUTHWEST AND THE SOUTH CENTRAL BORDER COUNTIES
REPORTED ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION DURING NOVEMBER.

AS OF LATE JANUARY 2010...DROUGHT CONCERNS ARE STILL FOCUSED ON THE
FOUR CORNERS REGION AND THE WESTERN BORDER COUNTIES...BUT MAINLY IN
THE LONG TERM...FOUR TO SIX MONTH RANGE.

THE CURRENT U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR MAP CAN BE FOUND AT...
HTTP://DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DM/DM_STATE.HTM?NM,W

SUMMARY OF IMPACTS...

THE CIBOLA NATIONAL FOREST MOUNTAINAIR RANGER DISTRICT CONTINUES THE
CLOSURE OF NEW CANYON AND TAJIQUE CAMPGROUNDS...NEAR THE VILLAGES OF
TORREON AND TAJIQUE...DUE TO DAMAGES SUSTAINED FROM THE 2008 BIG
SPRING FIRE.

CLIMATE SUMMARY...

THE FOUR CORNERS EXPERIENCED THEIR SIXTH CONSECUTIVE MONTH OF BELOW
AVERAGE PRECIPITATIONL DURING DECEMBER. FROM JULY THROUGH DECEMBER
2009...THE FARMINGTON AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE CENTER RECEIVED JUST 1.75
INCHES OF PRECIPITATION...WELL BELOW THEIR NORMAL OF 5.38 INCHES.
NAVAJO DAM REPORTED 3.95 INCHES OF PRECIPITATION FROM JULY THROUGH
DECEMBER WHILE THE NORMAL FOR THE SIX MONTH PERIOD IS 7.75 INCHES.

THROUGH THE END OF 2009...SITES WITH SIGNIFICANT SIX MONTH
PRECIPITATION DEFICITS...JULY THROUGH DECEMBER...IN NORTHWEST NEW
MEXICO INCLUDED:

NORTHWEST NEW MEXICO     6 MONTH TOTAL    DEFICIT
FARMINGTON AG            1.75 INCHES      3.63 INCHES
FRUITLAND                1.40             3.12
NAVAJO DAM               3.95             3.80
GALLUP AIRPORT           4.48             2.90
ZUNI                     3.69             4.48
GRANTS AIRPORT           4.52             2.99

EASTERN NEW MEXICO       4 MONTH TOTAL    DEFICIT
CARLSBAD                 2.87 INCHES      1.48 INCHES
ARTESIA 6S               2.72             1.21
JAL                      2.31             1.83
TATUM                    4.40             0.49
YESO 2S                  2.32             1.57

CALENDAR YEAR 2009 STATEWIDE PRECIPITATION INCREASED SLIGHTLY
FROM 84 PERCENT OF NORMAL AT THE END OF NOVEMBER TO 86 PERCENT OF
NORMAL AT THE END OF DECEMBER. CALENDAR YEAR 2009 PRECIPITATION
THROUGH DECEMBER RANGED FROM 92 PERCENT OF NORMAL IN THE NORTHERN
MOUNTAINS CLIMATE DIVISION AND 89 PERCENT OF NORMAL IN THE
SOUTHWESTERN MOUNTAINS TO 75 PERCENT OF NORMAL IN THE NORTHWEST
PLATEAU CLIMATE DIVISION.

CALENDAR YEAR 2009 WAS THE DRIEST YEAR FOR NEW MEXICO SINCE 2003.
STATEWIDE PRECIPITATION YEARLY AVERAGES...PERCENT OF NORMAL...
SINCE 2001 WERE AS FOLLOWS...

2009  86 PERCENT OF NORMAL
2008  99 PERCENT OF NORMAL
2007 105 PERCENT OF NORMAL
2006 116 PERCENT OF NORMAL
2005 103 PERCENT OF NORMAL
2004 117 PERCENT OF NORMAL
2003  70 PERCENT OF NORMAL
2003  88 PERCENT OF NORMAL
2001  83 PERCENT OF NORMAL

PRECIPITATION/TEMPERATURE OUTLOOKS...

THE PRECIPITATION OUTLOOK THROUGH THIS SPRING WOULD FAVOR SOUTHERN
AND EASTERN NEW MEXICO FOR ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION DURING THE
ONGOING MODERATE STRENGTH EL NINO EPISODE.

THE THREE PREVIOUS EL NINO EVENTS...2002/2003...2004/2005...AND
2006/2007...GENERATED ABOVE NORMAL WINTER PRECIPITATION ACROSS NEW
MEXICO. THE CURRENT EL NINO EPISODE IS EXPECTED TO PERSIST INTO
THE SPRING.

FOR THE LATEST WEATHER FORECAST FOR THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS OF
NEW MEXICO, PLEASE SEE THE NWS WFO ALBUQUERQUE WEB SITE AT...
HTTP://WWW.SRH.NOAA.GOV/ABQ

HYDROLOGIC SUMMARY AND OUTLOOK...

RESERVOIR STORAGE IS ABOVE NORMAL AT ABIQUIU LAKE...EL VADO LAKE
AND COSTILLA LAKE...WHILE WATER LEVELS WERE NEAR NORMAL AT HERON
LAKE...EAGLE NEST LAKE...COCHITI LAKE AND NAVAJO LAKE. WELL BELOW
NORMAL STORAGE PERSISTS AT CONCHAS LAKE...ELEPHANT BUTTE LAKE...
BLUEWATER LAKE...SANTA ROSA LAKE...SUMNER LAKE AND CABALLO LAKE.

NEXT ISSUANCE DATE...

THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED IN MID FEBRUARY...OR SOONER IF
NECESSARY IN RESPONSE TO SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN WEATHER...WATER
SUPPLY...OR DROUGHT CONDITIONS.

RELATED WEB SITES...

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CURRENT OR PAST DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY
BE FOUND AT THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES /USE LOWER CASE LETTERS/
U.S DROUGHT MONITOR...HTTP://DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/DM/MONITOR.HTML
NWS PRECIPITATION ANALYSIS PAGE...HTTP://WATER.WEATHER.GOV
PUBLIC LANDS INFORMATION CENTER...
HTTP://PUBLICLANDS.ORG/FIRENEWS/PRESSRELEASES/NM.PHP
CLIMATOLOGY AND PALEOCLIMATOLOGY LINKS...
HTTP://WWW.DROUGHT.UNL.EDU/WHATIS/CLIMLINKS.HTM
WESTERN REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTER...
HTTP://WWW.WRCC.DRI.EDU/INDEX.HTML
CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER...HTTP://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/
ADDITIONAL RIVER INFORMATION...
NWS...HTTP://AHPS.SRH.NOAA.GOV/INDEX.PHP?WFO=ABQ
USGS...HTTP://WATERDATA.USGS.GOV/NM/NWIS/CURRENT?TYPE=FLOW

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS...

THE U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTI-AGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING
THE NOAA NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND NATIONAL CLIMATIC DATA
CENTER...THE USDA...STATE AND REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTERS AND
THE NATIONAL DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER.

QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS...

IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT
INFORMATION STATEMENT...PLEASE CONTACT...

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE
2341 CLARK CARR LOOP SE
ALBUQUERQUE NM 87106
PHONE...505-244-9147
SR-ABQ.WEBMASTER@NOAA.GOV

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