Early monsoon brings unusually high June rainfall to New Mexico
Jun. 29—First, the famine.
Now, the feast.
The much-hoped-for monsoon came early and hard, far surpassing New Mexico's normal rainfall for June with eye-popping totals that have dazed even weather experts.
"Believe it or not, it's about 600 percent of normal," National Weather Service meteorologist Brian Guyer said, referring to a seven-day period that ended Monday.
Nearly all of the storms showering New Mexico from head to toe have rolled through since mid-June, with the most intense rain drenching the state in the past week.
Guyer said he won't have the statewide total for June for at least a week, so he's unable to officially declare a record-setting month of rainfall.
Still, rain totals for the past two weeks eclipse most areas' average for the entire month of June, Guyer said. He noted it was dry for the first half of June, except for a little rain in a northern pocket. The beginning of the month had looked eerily similar to a frighteningly dry spring that spawned massive wildfires.
Santa Fe averages 0.55 of an inch for the month but recorded 3.85 inches at the airport since June 15. Roughly half of that fell Saturday through Monday, Guyer said.
The Albuquerque Sunport usually gets 0.57 of an inch during the month but logged 2.38 inches in the past two weeks.
Los Alamos received about 5 inches of rain during the two-week period. It typically gets 0.6 inches for the entire month and rarely exceeds 1.5, according to WeatherSpark, a commercial weather data site.
The heaviest rainfall — roughly 7 inches — pelted Ramah, a hamlet south of Gallup; usually 0.28 of an inch fall on the town in June.
Roswell's 2.3 inches of rain during the two weeks is three times its monthly record of 0.72, which has stood since 1919, Guyer said.
New Mexico's elevated precipitation was due to the monsoon arriving two to three weeks early "with really impressive moisture," Guyer said.
The rain fell more as a steady drizzle spread out over days instead of torrential downpours from thunderstorms. The slower rainfall allows soil to absorb the water, recharging groundwater systems and avoiding flash floods, Guyer said.
The rain has been credited with stemming, if not fully dousing, the destructive Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon and Black fires, turning them dormant. In the case of the Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire, now at 93 percent containment, the rain has been enough to hinder the fire without causing widespread flooding problems — so far.
Heavy rains have buoyed the Rio Grande and other rivers, he said.
Water managers have reported the storms replenished long, dry stretches in the Rio Grande.
The next couple of days are likely to be drier, with a 20 percent to 30 percent chance of rain, Guyer said. Rain is more probable going into the holiday weekend, with the chances increasing to as much as 80 percent.
"If you get under a thunderstorm, you could get 2 inches for two days," Guyer said.
