How did 1999s Summer Precipitation Measure Up?

Just like about any summer, the June through August 1999 precipitation was above normal in some areas and below normal in others. However, this summer=s precipitation was above normal over approximately 80 percent of the state.

It is over western New Mexico we generally consider the Southwest monsoon to play a large role in the annual precipitation (40 to 50 percent of the annual total falls during the three summer months). In 1999, western New Mexico did especially well, with many areas receiving between 150 and 200 percent of the normal summer rainfall. Aztec, Star Lake, Augustine, and Hachita all exceeded 250 percent of the normal summer precipitation.

Meanwhile, the Eastern Plains is generally not considered to be an area especially affected by the Southwest monsoon. Precipitation from thunderstorms tends to be more spread out from mid-April through September over the eastern counties. The 1999 summer precipitation was above normal over some areas of the east, but below normal in other areas. The driest areas were from Roy to Tucumcari in the northeast, and generally south of a Lovington to Carlsbad line in the southeast. In the far southeast, Jal received only 56 percent of the normal precipitation, while Tucumcari (in the northeast) received 64 percent.

To sum the measured precipitation across the state and compare to normals provides a statewide average of how things went.This number may be rather meaningless for most purposes. The statewide average was 133 percent of normal.

National Weather Service
Albuquerque, New Mexico
 

1999 SUMMER (June-August) PRECIPITATION

 
Weather Station Normal Summer Precip. 1999 Summer Precip. % Normal
Abiquiu Dam 4.44 9.67 218
Alamogordo 5.16 5.51 107
Albuquerque 3.48 5.11 147
Alcalde 4.08 7.37 181
Animas 4.96 5.75 116
Augustine 5.09 13.05 256
Aztec Ruins 2.56 7.33 286
Beaverhead Ranger Stn. 6.54    
Bernardo 3.45 5.61 163
Bingham 5.04 7.13 141
Black Lake 9.17 14.40 157
Bloomfield 2.59 4.56 176
Bosque Del Apache 3.72 5.86 158
Brazos Lodge 5.96 10.05 169
Buckhorn 5.56 8.78 158
Cameron 8.78    
Canton 6.82 9.25 136
Capitan 7.75 8.98 116
Capulin/Des Moines 9.28 14.42 155
Carlsbad Airport 5.19 3.82 74
Carlsbad Caverns 6.24    
Carlsbad City 5.31    
Chaco Canyon 2.93 5.69 194
Chacon 8.98 7.78 87
Chama 5.75 8.19 142
Cimarron 7.23 10.86 150
Clayton 6.84 6.39 93
Clines Corners 7.77    
Cloudcroft 12.86    
Clovis 13N 8.39 7.99 95
Cochiti Dam 4.75    
Columbus 4.42 4.85 110
Corona 5.81 6.09 105
Corrales 4.42    
Cuba 5.04 8.37 166
Deming 3.71 6.80 183
Dilia 6.58 11.76 179
Dulce 5.36 8.66 162
Eagle Nest 6.77 7.65 113
El Rito 4.71 9.46 201
El Vado Dam 5.03 9.45 188
Elida 7.22    
Estancia 5.33 7.69 144
Farmington Airport 2.49 4.89 196
Farmington 2.21 5.94 269
Fence Lake 5.29 5.35 101
Fort Sumner 6.62 9.79 148
Fruitland 2.17 3.26 150
Gallup Airport 4.06 6.92 170
Gascon 10.66 10.10 95
Ghost Ranch 4.75 8.24 175
Golden 5.55 8.19 148
Grants Airport 4.46 8.39 188
Hachita 4.76* 12.72 267
Hobbs 6.38    
House 7.35 7.64 104
Jal 5.09 2.84 56
Johnson Ranch 4.37 11.39 261
Las Cruces 4.43 6.43 145
Las Vegas Airport 8.85 5.55 63
Las Vegas Treatment 9.47 14.15 149
Los Alamos 8.36    
Los Lunas 3.60    
Maljamar 6.49 5.41 83
Moriarty 8.11 5.12 63
Mosquero 7.98 5.47 69
Orogrande 5.00 7.28 146
Pecos National Monument 7.69 10.24 133
Raton 8.45 11.44 135
Raton Filter Plant 8.15 12.17 149
Red River 7.43 7.81 105
Reserve Ranger Stn. 5.88 7.45 127
Roswell Airport 5.06 6.36 126
Roy 8.02    
Ruidoso 10.07 11.91 118
San Jon 8.14 5.67 70
Sandia Park 7.00 8.20 117
Santa Fe 5.38 5.47 102
Santa Rosa 6.81 6.59 97
Silver City 5.85 10.02 171
Socorro 3.77 6.42 170
Springer 7.96 9.30 117
Stanley 5.65 6.11 108
Tatum 7.01 12.05 172
Taos 4.57    
Tierra Amarilla 5.42 5.09 94
Thoreau 4.49 5.61 125
Truth or Consequences 4.74    
Tucumcari Airport 7.55 3.70 49
Tucumcari 7.19 4.62 64
Villanueva 5.10 9.85 193
Total 448.38** 595.48 133

* There is no established normal for Hachita. An approximated normal determined by nearby stations was used.

**Total does NOT include stations for which the 1999 summer precipitation is missing.