DROUGHT INDICATORS - July 2000
June ended up as being a wet to very wet month across much of New Mexico with the exception of the northwest quarter of the state where near normal to drier than normal conditions prevailed. The combination of a strong back door cold front that slid south and pushed west through the state near the end of June, and the first appearance of subtropical moisture streaming up from the south, resulted in significant to excessive rainfall over parts of southcentral and southwest New Mexico. Both Las Cruces and Silver City recorded over 3 inches of rainfall during this event. July has begun with near tropical moisture available for the usual crop of daily thunderstorms.
Recent rainfall has resulted in a "reversal of fortune" for Divisions 5 and 8 with significant improvement shown for Divisions 3, 4, 6, and 7.
Climate Division Status
| Climate Division | Oct | Nov | Dec | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | June 24 | July 1 |
Status |
| 1 | +2.0 | -0.4 | -1.2 | -1.7 | -1.7 | -1.0 | +0.3 | -2.4 | -4.1 | -3.9 | Emergency |
| 2 | +2.2. | +1.7 | +0.6 | -0.7 | -1.5 | -0.6 | +0.0 | -2.2 | -4.0 | -3.8 | Emergency |
| 3 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +0.3 | -0.7 | -1.6 | -0.8 | +0.8 | -0.9 | -2.2 | -1.2 | Alert |
| 4 | +0.1 | -0.2 | -0.5 | -1.2 | -2.4 | -2.2 | -2.1 | -4.0 | -4.0 | -2.4 | Warning |
| 5 | +1.8 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.1 | -1.2 | -1.4 | -1.0 | -252 | n/a | +1.6 | Warning |
| 6 | -0.8 | -0.9 | -1.2 | -1.7 | -2.4 | -2.8 | -2.7 | -3.9 | -3.7 | -2.6 | Warning |
| 7 | -2.1 | -2.0 | -1.8 | -1.8 | -2.3 | -2.4 | -1.9 | -3.1 | -2.7 | -1.4 | Emergency |
| 8 | +0.4 | +0.8 | +0.1 | -1.1 | -2.4 | -2.9 | -3.2 | -3.9 | -1.7 | +2.0 | Emergency |
Climate Status Justification
Climate Division 1: Climate Division 1 moved from Warning Status to Emergency. The lack of precipitation has driven the Palmer Drought Severity Index (PDSI) from -2.4 in May to -4.1 in June.
Climate Division 2: Based on the extremely dry and extreme fire conditions, the status
was changed from Warning Status to Emergency. Lake levels along the Chama River are
dropping rapidly. If conditions continue, lake levels will drop below the boat launch ramp
at Abiquiu Lake by the end of the month. Streamflow on the Chama River is currently
running about 17 percent of average. Other streamflow conditions are as follows:
Canadian River near Sanchez: 7 percent of average
Vermejo River near Dawson: 32 percent of average
Mora River near Golondrinas: 12 percent of average
San Francisco River near Glenwood: 47 percent of average
Rio Grande near Cerro: 17 percent of average
Gila River near Gila: 40 percent of average
Animas River at Farmington: 40 percent of average
Embudo Creek near Dixon: 10 percent of average
Rio Pueblo de Taos near Taos: 10 percent of average
Pecos River near Pecos: 18 percent of average
Climate Division 3: Remained in Alert Status.
Climate Division 4: Was changed from Emergency Status to Warning Status.
Climate Division 5: Remained in Warning Status.
Climate Division 6: Was upgraded to Warning Status from Emergency Status.
Climate Division 7: The southern ½ remains in Emergency Status, while the northern ½ was upgraded to Warning Status
Climate Division 8: The area west of Las Cruces remains in Emergency Status, while
everything east of Las Cruces in Division 8 was upgraded to Warning Status.
Other Indicators:
Twenty seven counties in New Mexico with the exception of Mora, Union, Colfax, Taos, Rio Arriba, and Taos Counties have received Secretarial Drought designations which now makes them eligible for federal low interest emergency loans. Union, Quay, Lea, Curry, Harding, Torrance, and Santa Fe Counties also received approval for emergency grazing of CRP land.
The ninety day weather forecast models are predicting normal to above precipitation for the state, especially along the Arizona, New Mexico line.
The Weekly Ag. Update is reporting soil moisture conditions to have improved in most areas of the state with the exception of the Northwest which was listed at 47 percent very short, 50 percent short, and 3 percent adequate. Livestock are mostly in fair to good condition.