New Mexico Drought Status

New Mexico experienced few changes in drought conditions during the past 30 days. As of February 16, precipitation was below or near average, which did little to help improve drought conditions that are firmly entrenched across much of the state. More than 90 percent of the state is experiencing some form of drought; severe, extreme, or exceptional drought covers 63 percent of the state, according to the February 14 update of the U.S. Drought Monitor (Figures 5a–b). The most severe drought conditions continued to cover the southeast quarter of New Mexico; this is the only region in the entire West with extreme or exceptional drought. Small improvements occurred across the far northwest corner of the state, where several winter storms delivered decent precipitation in the past several months. Several counties in this region are now drought-free.