A combination of the occasional moisture surge from the south or southwest during the first half of June and the early onset of the summer monsoon season after the 20th combined to generate above normal rainfall for the western two thirds of New Mexico during June. Only parts of the northeast and east central plains remained drier than normal during June. In southeast New Mexico much of Eddy and Lea counties saw spotty heavy rains from thunderstorms.

The first two weeks of May started out dry and warm before moisture surged northwards and changed the character of the last two weeks of May to cool and showery. Even though precipitation was not evenly distributed, May ended up as the wettest month of the year so far for many locations in southern New Mexico.

As of late June, drought concerns focus on southeast New Mexico.

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

The Mountainair Ranger District initiated Stage 1 fire restrictions on March 9th due to recent prolonged dry conditions across the Manzano and Gallinas Mountain regions.

The Kiowa National Grasslands in northeast New Mexico prohibits open fires as of March 4th, except in developed campgrounds.

 

Many sites in southwest and south central New Mexico received more precipitation in May than they had during the first four months of 2009. However, much of southeast and east central New Mexico reported a fifth consecutive month of below normal precipitation.

Some sites in east central and southeast New Mexico with significant five month precipitation deficits to start 2009 (January through May) included:

5 Month Total Deficit

Location	Observed (Inches)	Deficit (Inches)
Las Vegas	2.15	1.75
Deming	0.48	1.09
Roswell	0.85	2.38
Carlsbad	0.70	2.30
Las Cruces	0.69	0.91
Ruidoso	3.31	1.86
Tatum	1.70	2.39
Clovis 13N	1.69	2.50
Portales	1.98	2.30
Albuquerque	1.01	1.36

Calendar year 2009 precipitation through May was about 62 percent of normal for a statewide average. The Northwest Plateau and Northern Mountains Climate Divisions were just slightly above 70 percent of normal, while the Southeastern Plains Climate Division was the driest at 39 percent of normal so far in 2009.

Water year 2009 precipitation (October 2008 – May 2009) is below normal for a statewide average of 78 percent. The Northern Mountains Climate Division averaged 98 percent of normal precipitation while the Southern Desert Climate Division precipitation averaged only 51 percent of normal, and the Southeastern Plains reported 53 percent of normal.

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The near-uniformly dry conditions in the spring of 2008 left several regions with significant precipitation deficits through the first six months of last year. Drought conditions extended across much of the southeast two-thirds of the state by early July of 2008. Despite the near normal to abundant summer precipitation in most areas of the state, parts of Union County and far northeast Colfax County still reported moderate precipitation deficits as of the end of August. Persistent dry conditions in the northern portions of the state through November resulted in the continuation of a abnormally dry classification across north central and northeast New Mexico. By late November abnormally dry conditions spread to the northwest corner of the state. A snowy December over the northwest and north central areas eased the dry conditions, while the dry weather persisted in the northwest. The abnormally dry conditions spread south over most of the eastern plains by January and over southern portions of the state in February. The abnormally dry conditions continued over the east and south in February and March, and by May much of the area had deteriorated to moderate drought with severe drought in the southeast.

Summer thunderstorms usually favor the western and northern portions of the state with periodic rainfall. Southeast New Mexico, however, can go for long periods of hot and dry weather this time of the year.

The precipitation outlook through July is for our summer shower and thunderstorm season (Monsoon season), which usually results in diminished drought conditions due to seasonal rainfall.

For the latest weather forecast for the northern two thirds of New Mexico, please see the NWS WFO Albuquerque Forecast Map.

Reservoir storage is above normal at Abiquiu Lake, El Vado Lake, and Costilla Lake, while water levels were near normal at Heron 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.

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

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. Information for this statement has been gather from the NWS and FAA observations sites, state cooperative extension services, the U.S. Geological Survey and other government agencies.