New Mexico, 1998

Drought in New Mexico, December 1 to 31, 1998

December 1 to 31, 1998 · NWS MAF · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

The devastating drought continued into the Winter with little precipitation reported around the region in December. The estimated damage totals are for calendar year 1998.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
$2.0 million
Crop damage
$12 million
Events
3

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS MAF wrote it up.

The devastating drought continued into the Winter with little precipitation reported around the region in December. The estimated damage totals are for calendar year 1998.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

3 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County / X W Eddy

When
December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Guadalupe Mountains of Eddy County / X W Eddy forecast zone
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
32.472, -104.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Eddy County Plains / Eddy Except X W

When
December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Eddy County Plains / Eddy Except X W forecast zone
Property damage
$2.0 million
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
32.472, -104.304 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Drought, Lea

When
December 1, 12:00 AM MST to December 31, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Lea forecast zone
Crop damage
$12 million
Reported by
NEWSPAPER
Coordinates
32.792, -103.412 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Drought
A drought reaching severe (D2) or worse on the US Drought Monitor, or with notable impacts.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in New Mexico in 1998Every state in 1998This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, December 1998

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5678087, 5678088, 5678089.