New Mexico, 2024

Drought in New Mexico, November 1 to 30, 2024

November 1 to 30, 2024 · NWS EPZ · 11 events in 11 counties and zones

Most areas in the region received well above normal precipitation in November. This lead to some improvements in drought conditions, especially across Sierra and northern Otero counties.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 11 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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
11

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 EPZ wrote it up.

Most areas in the region received well above normal precipitation in November. This lead to some improvements in drought conditions, especially across Sierra and northern Otero counties.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS El Paso, TX wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 31, 9:59 PM MST, 2 hours 1 minute earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 31, 9:59 PM MST, 2 hours 1 minute before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service El Paso Tx/Santa Teresa NM
1059 PM MDT Thu Oct 31 2024

...New AVIATION...

.SYNOPSIS...
Issued at 151 PM MDT Thu Oct 31 2024

Conditions will be quiet during the day on Friday, but will
become active overnight Friday into Saturday morning mainly east
of the Rio Grande as a disturbance moves over the South Plains. A
stronger storm system will bring a mix of rain and snow to the
mountains and rain showers to the lowlands from Sunday afternoon
through Monday morning. The temperatures will be above the normal
on Friday and Saturday, but will be cool to below the normal
beginning on Sunday and lasting through much of next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
Issued at 151 PM MDT Thu Oct 31 2024

Currently, conditions are quiet with light winds, sunny skies and
cool temperatures. For tonight, conditions will continue to be
non-active with light and variable winds and partly skies. The
low temperatures on Friday morning will above the normal for this
time of the year. For Friday, an upper level trough will dig
across the far Southwest and as it does, the moisture will
increase with a dryline moving westward at least over the eastern
CWA. There will not be a lot of instability associated with the
this somewhat active pattern; thus, most of the activity will be
in the form of stratiform rain. Any thunderstorms during
overnight hours on Friday will be across eastern Otero and
Hudspeth counties. Showers and a thunderstorm or two will
continue into early Saturday morning a much of the energy moves
into the Plains. As of now, there is a slight chance for
precipitation on Saturday morning across the aforementioned areas.

By Sunday, the deepened trough axis will move closer to the
Borderland bringing breezy to windy conditions and rain showers
to most of the area. The snow levels on Sunday will be above
8000ft. As we head into Sunday night, the snow levels will lower
to 7000ft along the Continental Divide, which will allow for a
mix of rain and snow across the Gila Mountains. By this time, the
best chance for snow will be in the high elevations of the
mountains. Also, the winds overnight Sunday into Monday morning
will be strong as a frontal boundary is expected to move across
our area. By Monday morning, the axis of the tough will be across
the eastern CWA with the bulk of the moisture across Otero and
Hudspeth Counties. The snow levels will be around 6500ft in the
morning then increasing to near 7000ft in the afternoon. Rain and
mountain snow showers will continue throughout the day as this
storm system traverses the Rockies with the precipitation ending
during the afternoon hours. With this system moving through the
area, the temperatures on Monday will be 7 to 21 degrees below
the climatological normal. For the rest of the period, conditions
will be quiet with the temperatures gradually warming a few
degrees each day while they continue to be below the normal.

&&

.AVIATION...
(06Z TAFS)
Issued at 1051 PM MDT Thu Oct 31 2024

VFR conditions prevail through nearly all of the forecast period.
FEW-SCT250 continue to pass overhead on Friday, giving way to
isolated to scattered thunderstorms after 0z east of the Rio
Grande. Confidence is too low for any mention of TS in this TAF
cycle, but KELP could see storms nearby from 3z onward. Storms may
produce strong winds and small hail in eastern areas close to the
end of the period. Light and variable winds persist through the
morning, shifting S in the afternoon AOB 8kts.

&&

.FIRE WEATHER...
Issued at 151 PM MDT Thu Oct 31 2024

Dry weather will continue for the rest of the afternoon. Tonight
recovery will be fair to good. For Friday, conditions will be
quiet throughout the day; however, conditions will become active
mainly east of the Rio Grande during the overnight hours. There is
a chance for showers and thunderstorms Friday night into Saturday
morning across the aforementioned area. Any storm that develops
will have the potential to produce heavy rainfall, frequent
lightning, and strong gusty winds. For the rest of the period, a
more potent storm system will move in overnight Sunday into Monday
morning bring rain and snow to the mountains, and rain showers to
the lowland area. The temperatures will be above the normal this
weekend, but cool to below the normal early next week. With that
being said, there will be no fire weather concerns through the
period across all of the zones.

The min RHs on Friday will be mainly in the teens west of the Rio
Grande and between 20 and 50% to the east of the Rio Grande. The
min RHS on Saturday will continue to be in the teens west of the
Rio Grande while decreasing 5 to 10% from what they will be on
Friday to the east of the Rio Grande. The ventilation rates will
be poor to very good on Friday then fair to excellent on Saturday.

&&

.PRELIMINARY POINT TEMPS/POPS...
El Paso                  51  81  56  80 /   0  10  50  10
Sierra Blanca            46  77  53  75 /   0  10  50  10
Las Cruces               43  77  47  76 /   0   0  20   0
Alamogordo               44  76  49  75 /   0  10  40  10
Cloudcroft               34  57  37  55 /   0  10  50  20
Truth or Consequences    41  73  44  74 /   0   0  10   0
Silver City              42  70  43  68 /   0   0   0   0
Deming                   41  77  41  76 /   0   0   0   0
Lordsburg                39  76  39  74 /   0   0   0   0
West El Paso Metro       53  78  57  77 /   0  10  40   0
Dell City                43  80  55  78 /   0  10  50  20
Fort Hancock             47  83  54  80 /   0  10  50  10
Loma Linda               48  73  52  70 /   0  10  50  10
Fabens                   47  82  53  79 /   0  10  50  10
Santa Teresa             45  76  50  75 /   0   0  40   0
White Sands HQ           49  76  53  76 /   0  10  40  10
Jornada Range            41  75  44  75 /   0   0  30   0
Hatch                    38  78  42  78 /   0   0  10   0
Columbus                 44  76  45  77 /   0   0   0   0
Orogrande                44  75  50  75 /   0  10  50  10
Mayhill                  37  69  42  67 /   0  10  50  20
Mescalero                36  67  39  65 /   0  10  50  20
Timberon                 36  65  39  62 /   0  10  50  20
Winston                  30  66  32  67 /   0   0   0   0
Hillsboro                39  73  40  73 /   0   0  10   0
Spaceport                37  74  40  75 /   0   0  10   0
Lake Roberts             36  70  38  68 /   0   0   0   0
Hurley                   38  72  38  71 /   0   0   0   0
Cliff                    28  78  30  75 /   0   0   0   0
Mule Creek               36  71  38  69 /   0   0   0   0
Faywood                  41  71  42  70 /   0   0   0   0
Animas                   39  78  40  75 /   0   0   0   0
Hachita                  38  76  39  75 /   0   0   0   0
Antelope Wells           42  78  42  76 /   0   0   0   0
Cloverdale               45  72  44  68 /   0   0   0   0

&&

.EPZ WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
TX...None.
NM...None.
&&

FORECASTER...39-Aronson

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

11 drought. Local standard time, as filed.

Drought, Southwest Desert/Lower Gila River Valley

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Southwest Desert/Lower Gila River Valley forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.326, -108.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe(D2) drought conditions continued across the zone in November. The Redrock Cooperative Observer reported 0.34 inches of precipitation which was 0.34 inches below normal.

Drought, Lowlands of the Bootheel

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Lowlands of the Bootheel forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.326, -108.548 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme(D3) drought continued in the eastern half of the zone and Severe(D2) drought in the west. The Antelope Wells Cooperative Observer reported 0.67 inches of precipitation which was 0.14 inches below normal.

Drought, Uplands of the Bootheel

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Uplands of the Bootheel forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
31.914, -108.715 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe(D2) drought continued for the entire zone in November.

Drought, Southwest Desert/Mimbres Basin

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Southwest Desert/Mimbres Basin forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.460, -108.066 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

No change across the zone with the southwest remaining in Extreme(D3) drought and improving to Abnormally Dry(D0) drought over the north. The Deming Airport reported 0.83 inches of precipitation which was 0.33 inches above normal.

Drought, Northern Dona Ana County

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Northern Dona Ana County forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.353, -106.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Severe(D2) drought continued across the south with Moderate(D1) drought across the north.

Drought, Southern Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Southern Dona Ana County/Mesilla Valley forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.353, -106.833 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The entire zone started in Extreme(D3) drought but by the end of the month, the eastern half of the zone was improved to Severe(D2) drought. The New Mexico State University Cooperative Observer reported 1.29 inches of precipitation which was 0.87 inches above normal.

Drought, Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Sacramento Mountains Above 7500 Feet forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.613, -105.742 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The zone began November completely in Severe(D2) drought. By the end of the month, the northern half of the zone was placed in Moderate(D1) drought. The Cloudcroft Cooperative Observer reported 3.41 inches of precipitation which was 2.03 inches above normal.

Drought, East Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
East Slopes Sacramento Mountains Below 7500 Feet forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.613, -105.742 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The entire zone remained in Severe(D2) drought during the month of November. The Elk Cooperative Observer reported 1.29 inches of precipitation which was 0.78 inches above normal.

Drought, West Central Tularosa Basin/White Sands

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
West Central Tularosa Basin/White Sands forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.699, -106.589 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

The southern portion of the zone remained in Extreme(D3) drought which improved to Abnormally Dry(D0) to no drought over the far north. The White Sands National Monument Cooperative Observer reported 1.29 inches of precipitation which was 0.84 inches above normal.

Drought, Southeast Tularosa Basin

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Southeast Tularosa Basin forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.613, -105.742 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme(D3) drought was over the southwest portion of the zone with Severe(D2) drought for the remainder of the zone.

Drought, Otero Mesa

When
November 1, 12:00 AM MST to November 30, 11:59 PM MST
Where
Otero Mesa forecast zone
Reported by
Drought Monitor
Coordinates
32.613, -105.742 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Extreme(D3) drought continued for the entire zone except for the far northeast where Severe(D2) drought remained.

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 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in New Mexico, November 2024

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: 1223171, 1223172, 1223173, 1223174, 1223175, 1223176, 1223179, 1223180, 1223181, 1223182, 1223186.