National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

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...Extreme to Exceptional Drought Across Most of New Mexico...

...Moderate to Severe Drought Nearly All Remaining Areas...

January through April 2013 statewide precipitation was 47% of normal. The Northwest Plateau has received 65% of normal precipitation while the the Central Valley was only 30% and the Southern Desert only 31% of normal.

May 2013.The first nearly half of the month was saw near to above normal precipitation over the lower Rio Grande Valley and portions of the Southeast Plains while most other areas were below normal.

Percent of Normal Precip: May 1-14, 2013

April 2013. April is in the books and brought near to above normal precipitation to Northwest New Mexico - thanks to the storm on the 8th into the 10th. The remaining two thirds of the state was mostly below to well below normal.

Percent of Normal Precip: April 2013

March 2013. Precipitation in March was below to well below normal across much of New Mexico. There were only a few pockets of near normal precipitation, mainly across the west and central portions of the state.

 Percent of Normal Precip: March 2013

2013 Water Year Review

October 2012 - April 2013.  Statewide average precipitation through the first seven months of the Water Year is only 45% of normal. The driest areas have been the central valley with 27% of normal and the Southern Deserts with 25% of normal precipitation. The 'wettest' area was the Northwest Plateau at 60%.

(click map to see current data)
Precipitation Estimates and departures from normal can be generated for a variety of time periods including the current day, archived days, the previous month and the calendar year to date.	October 2012 - April 2013  (click map to enlarge)

US Seasonal Drought Outlook from the Climate Prediction Center 

(click map to enlarge) 

The current U.S. Drought Monitor map depiction of drought for New Mexico can be found at:

http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DM_state.htm?NM,W

Other Hydrologic Information

Reservoir storage is well below normal at all lakes across the state. Water levels were particularily low at Abiquiu, Cochiti, Caballo, Brantley, Elephant Butte, Conchas, Santa Rosa and Sumner Lakes. All of these reservoirs were 15 percent or less of their storage capacity! Lake Avalon and Navajo reservoirs had the highest percent of storage at 45% and 55% respectively. You can use the link below to see the current percent of storage capacity at all the major New Mexico dams:

http://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/cgibin/resv-graph.pl?state=NM

Areas affected by the Whitewater-Baldy Fire Complex and Little Bear Fire this year, and the Las Conchas fire in 2011 remain closed. Many national, state and tribal parks and monuments have declared stage one fire restrictions. Please see the following link for a listing of the current fire restrictions:

http://publiclands.org/firenews/?plicstate=NM

Below is a map of real-time streamflow compared to historical streamflow for the current day of the year. Click on the image to take you to the USGS site.

  New Mexico Water Watch from the USGS  

 (click map to enlarge image)

Special Hydrologic/Climate Features

1. The past 12 months (May 2012 - April 2013) average statewide precipitation ranked as the driest year on record. The last 24 months (May 2013 - April 2013) was also the driest consecutive 24 months on record! Through the first seven months of the current (2013) water year, precipitation ranks as the 19th driest on record (not shown graphically).

2. The graph below shows the model predictions on expected ENSO conditions over the next year, in three month blocks (periods of time). We are still in ENSO-neutral conditions, and most models are favoring the continuation of ENSO-neutral conditions through the late spring, summer and even fall. Here is the link to the latest ENSO Dignostic discussion from the Climate Prediction Center:

http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/enso_advisory/ensodisc.pdf

Figure provided by the International Research Institute (IRI) for Climate and Society 

Drought Indices

Drought Indices Explained
Crop Moisture Index
Palmer Drought Severity Index
Percent of Normal Precipitation
SPI (Standardized Precipitation Index)

    External Links and Sites  

New Mexico State Engineer Drought Task Force
Water Supply Forecast

Additional Information

New Mexico Precipitation Summaries
Climatology and Paleoclimatology 
Western Region Climate Center

This product will be updated in early June, or sooner if necessary in response to significant changes in weather, water supply or drought conditions.

Acknowledgements

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
505-244-9147x228

or by e-mail to:

sr-abq.webmaster@noaa.gov