Temperatures for much of New Mexico, including Albuquerque, were above average for 2004, but only by a fairly small margin this year.  To the right, monthly average temperatures for Albuquerque (yellow) are compared to long term (purple) and 30-year normals (blue) in the top graph, and departures from 30-year normals are shown in the bottom graph. 

For Albuquerque, 6 months averaged above normal, while the other 6 were below normal.  Much of the 1st half of the year had large month to month temperature swings when compared to normals.  January, March and May were much above normal, while February and April were below normal, especially February.  The second half of the year was generally closer to normal, although the July through October months were all between 0.5 and 1.5 degrees below normal.  

For the year, the average temperature of 57.3^oF was 1.2 degrees above the 111 year average of 56.1^oF, and 0.5 degrees above the 30 year normal of 56.8^oF.  

2004 was indeed a wet year for Albuquerque, reversing the trend of recent years with below average precipitation.  Prior to 2004, the last year with precipitation above the 111-year normal was 1998 (8.93 inches).  The 2004 year was the wettest since 1997 when 12.36 inches of precipitation was recorded.  Each of the eight days from July 18th through the 25th, inclusive, had measurable rain, the 2nd longest consecutive day streak on record at the airport (since 1931).  On the other hand, there was no measurable rainfall between April 11th and June 22nd, the 5th longest consecutive day dry streak (72 days) on record at the airport.

February, April, July and November were significantly above normal, while May and especially August were much drier than normal.  April 2004 was the 2nd wettest April on record.  A closer look at the individual days of the year reveals what is typical in a desert climate, that is, well above normal rainfall for a year can often be attributed to just several days.  The top 7 rainfall days this year accounted for 6.55 inches, or 56% of the year's total precipitation.  The three day rainfall total from April 2nd through 4th measured 2.47 inches, an impressive 21% of the yearly total precipitation.  This included 1.92 inches on April 3rd, which tied the all time record wettest single calendar day, and 2.29 inches in a 24 hour period from the 2nd to 3rd, the all time wettest 24 hour period on record.    

The definition of drought is complex and the status of drought conditions can be difficult to assign.  The U.S. Drought Monitor (http://drought.unl.edu/dm) combines a number of drought indices as well as the expertise of individuals from several government agencies and academic institutions to assign drought categories.  In Fig. 11, snapshots of the U.S. Drought monitor are used to illustrate the status of drought conditions throughout 2004.

By the end of 2003, moderate to extreme drought covered approximately 70 percent of 11 western states (NCDC), a region where drought had persisted for the past three to five years in many locations.  The extent of the drought across New Mexico is evident in the panel from January 2004, with most of the state depicted with an conditions ranging from extreme to exceptional drought.

Through March, the pattern exhibited little change, with just slight improvement across portions of the east central plains.  However, above normal to record-breaking rain the first week in April resulted in improvements across much of the state, with the exceptional to extreme status being downgraded slightly to extreme and severe.

Above normal precipitation for most of New Mexico was recorded in July, August and September.  Precipitation amounts were as high as 150-200% of normal across the northeast and east. By mid-September, the extreme eastern plains were removed from a drought status for the first time in nearly 4 years.

Portions of the northwest and north central New Mexico did not receive the beneficial rainfall.  By the end of the year, additional improvements were noted across the east, while extreme drought remains over northwest and north central New Mexico.

When defining droughts, three types or classifications are commonly used: a meteorological drought occurs with an extended rainfall deficit, an agricultural drought is associated with a topsoil moisture deficit, and a hydrological drought occurs when the a shortage results in the surface and/or subsurface water supply. In general, meteorological drought onset is first, followed by agricultural then hydrological.  The sequence is similar for recovery.  During 2004, drought conditions improved over a good portion of the state, especially the east.  In Fig. 12, a comparison of the Vegetative Health Index, or VHI, is shown for August 2003 vs. 2004.  The VHI indicates that not only was an improvement noted in the levels of meteorological drought, but that a positive agricultural response followed.  Conditions at Elephant Butte Reservoir, which currently has only 10% of its 30 year average storage, nicely illustrates that indeed the hydrological drought is the last to recover.

Fig. 12.  Vegetative Health Index for the Four Corners area for August 2003 vs. August 2004. (Source: http://www.orbit.nesdis.noaa.gov/smcd/emb/vci/index.html )  

Fig. 13.  The effects of the hydrological drought are illustrated by the drought rings around Elephant Butte in October 2004.

In general, the 2004 fire weather season for northern and central New Mexico was less active than that of  2002 and 2003.  Red Flag warnings issued and the number of spot forecasts provided to land agency customers were significantly down compared to the past two years.  The main reason was due to the lack of fire starts, both in lightning and human-caused fires.  Fire weather was quite variable during the year with significant dry and wet periods.    

Winter precipitation started out on the drier side early on with below normal precipitation from November through early January.  The winter storm track began to pick up by mid January with a wet February.  Precipitation receipts during the month of February brought Snotel (USGS precipitation/snow gauges) sites up to near normal. Ski New Mexico, who is an organization which tracks ski resort snow receipts, reported the most snowfall ever for the month February.  The Albuquerque airport also broke the single day precipitation record for the month and tied it for any day of the year.  This active storm track continued into early March but as the month progressed, storm systems began to skirt the state.  Above normal temperatures and relatively dry conditions were reported most of March.  The first week of April opened with quite a bang as one of the most significant storms in New Mexico history developed.  The Albuquerque airport measured 2.29 inches of rain over a 24 hour period.  This amount broke the 24 hour precipitation record which had stood since 1893.  Generally, most of New Mexico recorded anywhere from half an inch to 3 inches of liquid water with this storm system.  Gascon had nearly 5 inches of liquid water in the form of snow and Carlsbad reported significant flooding.  Coincidently, the Albuquerque airport recorded measurable precipitation 8 days in a row which was the second longest streak ever.  Conditions turned much drier the latter half of April and this lasted through all of May and continued through much of June.  Starting on April 11^th no measurable precipitation was recorded at the Albuquerque airport for 72 straight days ending June 22^nd.  This represented the 5^th longest dry streak on record.  Spotty moisture in the form of thunderstorms prevailed late June through the earlier half of July but widespread wetting rains and a significant increase in  humidity levels occurred the last week of July.  The summer thunderstorm season which goes from mid July to early September favored the eastern third of the state, while the far west and especially the northwest received below normal returns.  The normal southerly monsoon flow pattern was replaced by a semi-consistent north to northwest flow of air which favored eastern areas.  The summer rainy season ended a bit earlier than normal as the fall westerly winds returned during late August.  Occasional storm systems moved through during the fall with the remnants of Hurricane Javier in mid September.

Through August 31^st, fires for the state of New Mexico were below the historical average, with 3105 actual fires, versus the average of 3955 fires. Acres burned were also down with 300,436 compared to the historical average of 320,853.  As was with 2003, acres burned were dominated by fire use across the southwest portion of the state.  

Fig. 14.  Locations of large wildland fires through October 7, 2003.

The year started out with fewer prescribed burn spot forecasts (127 completed versus 161 in 2003) for the period January through March.  This was most likely due to the active storm track which lasted from mid January through early March.  Due to the significant storm system in early April and subsequent widespread/significant green up of the fuels the latter half of April into early May, spot forecasts for both prescribed burns and wildfires were substantially down compared to 2003 (96 completed in 2004 compared to139 in 2003).  The significant green up during early 2004  limited lightning wildfire starts and curtailed prescribed burns.  As the green up ended, the significant dry period from April 11^th to June 22^nd took its toll on the fuels and created high fire danger levels.  Periods of windy conditions also were noted during the months of May and June with several Red Flag Warnings issued from mid May through early June.  The number of human and lightning starts however remained at minimal levels.  June is historically regarded as the critical fire weather month for New Mexico, but only 54 spot forecasts were completed compared to 140 in 2003 and 177 in 2002.  Like last year, an upswing in spot forecasts was seen during the month of July as thunderstorm activity picked up.  This created more lightning starts but significant fire activity was lacking due to higher resident daytime humidity levels resulting from east to west low level moisture surges. The main fire season basically ended in late July as wetting rain coverage intensified.  This substantially increased the 10, 100 and 1000 hr fuel moisture levels and reduced the spot forecast load significantly.  Some fire activity remained across the far northwest during the month of August but was finally subdued in the latter portion of August as a series of wetting storms moved through that area from the west.  The fall burn season of September through November was more active than in 2003,  with 142 spot forecasts completed, versus 113 in 2003.

Fig. 15.  The Sedgewick Fire.  (Picture above taken by Seth Nagle, IMET Midland TX)

Significant fire incidents were also down compared to the previous couple of years.  Only two Type 2 Incident Management teams were dispatched to northern and central New Mexico during the months of May and June.  No type I teams were dispatched to New Mexico in 2004.  The two significant acreage fires included the Lookout Fire which covered around 5200 acres and occurred in the latter part of May.  This fire was located in the Gallinas Mountains around 70 miles to the southeast of Albuquerque.  The Sedgwick Fire, which occurred during the middle portion of June, engulfed nearly 8600 acres 14 miles west of Grants.  The Albuquerque Incident Meteorologist (IMET) was dispatched to both fires.  Other noteworthy fires included an 80 acre fire which affected Bernalillo county, including the southern metro area of Albuquerque, on June 11^th.  The city of Albuquerque had a 17 acre fire which also created quite a stir, albeit for a brief time, on June 23^rd.  

The spring snow melt runoff for 2004 was below average state wide, with the better-than-average exceptions noted in portions of the upper Pecos River Basin and Canadian River Basin where late spring snowfall was most abundant.

Fig. 16.  Water level at the Dark Canyon Draw, April 2-5, 2004.  (Click on graphic for a larger image.) 

Fig. 17.  Flow at the Dark Canyon Draw, April 2-5, 2004.  (Click on graphic for a larger image.) 

April was only one of several wetter-than-normal months during 2004 and for New Mexico, it was the fourth wettest April on record. By the end of November, sites in the east central plains and southeast plains had received 150 to 220 percent of normal precipitation (through November 2004, which was the fourth wettest November on record). Tatum had received nearly 34 inches of precipitation through November 2004 which was about 2.5 inches shy of their all time yearly rainfall record set in 1941. However, parts of northwest New Mexico had missed out on the wet year with Chama, Jemez Springs, Gallup, and Grants all reporting less than normal precipitation for 2004 through November.

Fig. 18.  Discharge on the Pecos River near Anton Chico, October 4-7, 2004.  (Click on graphic for a larger image.) 

Fig. 19.  Discharge on the Pecos River near Ft. Sumner, October 4-7, 2004.  (Click on graphic for a larger image.) 

Reservoir storages at the end of December 2004 were generally greater than what had been reported one year ago. As might be expected, the reservoirs along the Pecos River showed the greatest storage increase from 12 months ago. The good news is that the combined storage of Avalon, Brantley, Santa Rosa, and Sumner Reservoirs as of the end of the year was 378 percent of the storage of 12 months ago. The bad news is that the December 2004 storage was still only 73 percent of the 30 year average, and nearly 40 percent of the total Pecos storage is contained at Brantley Reservoir, which is the farthest downstream in the basin in New Mexico.

In the Rio Grande Basin, the combined storage of Heron, Abiquiu, El Vado, Costilla, Cochiti, Caballo, and Elephant Butte Reservoirs as of the end of December 2004 was 104 percent of the storage of 12 months ago. The bad news is that the state’s largest reservoir, Elephant Butte, held only 15 percent of the 30 year average storage (9 percent of total capacity) at the end of the year.

The statewide average of the 13 reservoirs referenced above, as of the end of December 2004, was still only 48 percent of the 30 year average. Graphics of the most recent New Mexico reservoir storage can be obtained from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.