Forecasters: New Mexico should brace for worsening drought

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The last three months have been very dry in New Mexico and it’s only going to get worse.

That’s the word from forecasters with the National Weather Service and other climate experts in the state. They said during a meeting this week that New Mexico reservoirs continue to be far below historical averages and that ranchers are bracing for a winter with little moisture out on the range.

Some snow is expected in the higher elevation on Christmas Eve, but it will be less than the precipitation that has helped to ease drought conditions elsewhere in the West in recent weeks. Parts of California are in line for even more snow, but the latest drought map shows nearly half of the western region is still dealing with the most severe categories of drought.

Andrew Mangham, a senior hydrologist with the weather service in Albuquerque, shared a series of maps that showed chances are good for above-normal temperatures and below-normal precipitation for the next two weeks, the next month and into April.

“Really the story is we had a dry year that is getting worse and worse as we move through this second La Niña,” he said.

The benefits of a decent monsoon over the summer have all but evaporated and most of New Mexico missed out on any meaningful moisture in the fall, Mangham said. The far northern reaches of the state saw some snow earlier this month, but he said New Mexico would need a lot more of that to get snowpack levels closer to normal for this time of year.

Stream flows? Soil moisture levels? Mangham said it's the same story and it doesn't look good heading into the next year.

“Everything is just getting drier," he repeated.

Ranchers say they are feeling the pinch, and farmers who rely on traditional irrigation systems called acequias say they're...