New
Mexico's Record-Breaking Summer Precipitation
The
Numbers |
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Precipitation
totals for June through August 2006 across
the state show that summer precipitation was well above normal at
a number of locations. At the Albuquerque Sunport (the official observing
site), June through August precipitation was a record high of 8.43
inches (when using our current location and records back to 1931).
The previous record was 8.27 inches in 1933. Another way to look
at
this amount is to note that 89% of our normal annual precipitation
was recorded
this
summer,
and
much
of
that in
July
and August. July precipitation at the airport was a record 3.55 inches,
breaking the previous record of 3.33 inches in 1968. The record
precipitation for August (3.74 inches in 1934), was tied in 2006.
The number of days with measurable precipitation in July and August
of 2006 was 24 - this was close to the record of 28 reported
in 1963.
In the chart below, locations across the state with summer precipitation
which ranked in
the
top
five wet
years are
listed.
Yellow
rows
highlight record amounts of precipitation
at stations for
which
records
have been
collected for
at least 50 years. Cloudcroft reported 23.15 inches of precipitation
this summer! This amount ranks first, however, the current station
has only been in place since 1987.
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Summer season (June/July/August)
precipitation
data reported by early September (32 stations) indicates that all sites
received at least 100% of normal precipitation. Stations across extreme
northern and southeastern New Mexico were near or just above 100% of
normal. Locations near Albuquerque, the central valley, and the western
and south central mountains reported summer precipitation totals near
or above 200%.
Summer (JJA) precipitation averaged over the state for the years 1931
through 2006 (plotted below) shows that the 2006 statewide average
precipitation of 8.59 inches tied the previous record of average statewide
precipitation reported in 1988. Also, while summer precipitation is
generally variable from
one
year
to the next, the
summer of 2006 ended a somewhat persistent trend of dry summers and
was the first summer since 1999 that had above normal precipitation
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| The wet summer helped to lift the annual precipitation (measured
since January 1) to near or above normal for much of the state. Stretches
of northern New Mexico and a portion of the central plains remain below
normal, while the southwest quarter of the state ranges from 100 to 250%
of normal. The graphs below depict the the daily precipitation (green bars)
and percent of normal precipitation (orange line and shading) for Albuquerque,
Roswell and Clayton. For all areas across the state, the year started out
very dry with an unusually low winter snowpack. In Albuquerque, the year
remained very dry until the summer season, and by the end of August precipitation
was 140% of normal. In Clayton, spring rain helped to support a steady
increase toward normal and by the end of August precipitation was near
normal. Finally,
even with the active summer thunderstorm season, precipitation in Roswell
remained only about 80% of normal. |
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2006 Precipitation
and Percent of Normal through August for Albuquerque |
2006 Precipitation
and Percent of Normal through August for Clayton |
2006 Precipitation
and Percent of Normal through August for Roswell |
Atmospheric Circulations |
| The months of July and August are generally considered to
be thunderstorm season across New Mexico. While several different patterns
can contribute to precipitation across New Mexico during these months, the
North American Monsoon System is a major component of our thunderstorm
season. Two distinct patterns were evident this year, with
one pattern occurring in July and a second more persistent pattern
in August. |
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In July, higher than normal pressure was located over or
northwest of the state. Subtropical moisture took a more indirect route
into the state, and thunderstorms often moved from north to south. In late
July , a more typical monsoon regime for New Mexico developed
with high pressure
centered east of New Mexico and a low pressure trough located to the
west. This circulation pattern was exceptionally persistent in August, and
resulted in a large plume of moist air over the state. This plume
resulted in numerous days of heavy rainfall and flash flooding and record
amounts of
precipitation in many locations. |
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| 500 mb heights for
the period 1-18 July 2006. Anomalies
can be viewed here. |
500 mb heights for
the period 1-26 August 2006. Anomalies can be viewed here. |
Other Impacts |
| Certainly, excessive rainfall can have a number of impacts,
and flash floods were a common hazard reported this year. These are listed
in our monthly
highlights for July and August. Another interesting impact of the
persistent patterns and associated rainfall is the impact on aviation.
Convective Sigmets
are issued by NOAA's Aviation Weather Center to alert aircraft pilots to convection
(thunderstorms) which could result in hazardous flying conditions. Convective
Sigmets are drawn as polygons, lines, or circles that depict convection.
Maps which illustrate the frequency of Convective Sigmets have been
calculated starting in January 1995. The average
frequency of
occurrence, and departures from average, throughout the contiguous US have
been determined for each month.
Maps for the southwest portion of the United States, including New Mexico,
are shown below for July and August 2006. These graphics show a maximum
over New Mexico for each month. When compared to normal (lower panels),
the
frequency of Convective Sigmets for July of 2006 in the greatest since
1999. In August, the frequency was just below the high value of August
2001. The original graphics and more information can be found on the NCDC
web site. Maps of the monthly frequencies are available for any month
from January 1995 to the present. (Maps for the 10-year mean of each
hour of the day
for each month are also available.) |
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