Arizona Drought Status

Several cold winter storms moved across the Southwest in December but they ferried in little moisture and, consequently, brought little drought relief to the region. Drought conditions remained largely unchanged between mid-December and mid-January, according to the January 15 update of the U.S. Drought Monitor (Figures 4a–b). All of the state continues to observe some level of drought with over 97 percent at the moderate level or worse, the same as last month. While the December storms brought little precipitation to lower elevations in central and western Arizona, they did help increase snowpack levels to near average along the Mogollon Rim.

In drought-related news, the U.S. Department of Agriculture designated Apache, Maricopa, Navajo, and Pinal counties in Arizona as Primary Natural Disaster Areas due to the persistence of long-term drought conditions across the region. The USDA declaration allows farmers and ranchers to apply for low-interest emergency loans to support operations impacted by drought conditions.