Parched New Mexico awaits moisture

The blood-red color on the U.S. Drought Monitor map released Thursday symbolizes the dryness that has spread across New Mexico and the rest of the West. Winter is half over, and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains haven’t received significant snowfall since before Thanksgiving, when the region received a foot of snow, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. The water equivalent of the snow left in the mountains was at 56 percent to 62 percent of the normal level over the last three decades, based on measurements taken at telemetry sites. The portion of the Land of Enchantment in extreme drought conditions — measured by precipitation, snowpack, soil moisture and other factors — rose to 13 percent. But that’s better than this time last year, when one-fourth of the state was in extreme drought. Only a small sliver of the far southern part of the state in Eddy and Lea counties shows a normal precipitation pattern. Albuquerque is in the third-driest winter stretch it has seen in the last 94 years, based on precipitation records. If Feb. 1 rolls around with no rain or snow at the Albuquerque International Sunport, the city will have gone 42 days without measurable moisture, the longest stretch dating back to 1920. The lack of snow is impacting businesses. Santa Fe Mountain Sports is closing in April, and the Los Alamos Ski Club is talking about handing over the small Pajarito Mountain Ski Area to the county due to the lack of snow, skiers and revenue. Despite the bad start to winter, nature could still be kind. Drought conditions and winter precipitation looked even worse at the end of January 2013. But heavy rains in late summer and early fall made up the difference, leaving New Mexico close to normal precipitation levels by the end of 2013, according to the National Weather Service...more