Extreme Heat and Fire Weather Conditions in the West; Severe Thunderstorm Threat in the Northern Plains on Thursday

Extreme heat will may set some new daily temperature records across the Desert Southwest. Hot, dry and windy conditions and dry thunderstorms continue to bring fire weather concerns for portions of the Desert Southwest, the central Great Basin and Rockies. Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected across the Northern Plains late Thursday. Read More >

Northwestern Plateau

March-April-May Precipitation

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On average, the relationship between El Niño and above normal precipitation in New Mexico increases across much of New Mexico from winter to spring, and that is certainly true at Aztec Ruins and Chaco Canyon. However, since these stations are located in the northern section of the state, the precipitation increases are not as large as those noted across the southern tier of the state. During the six strong El Niño events, precipitation is above normal during three of the events at both sites. Chaco Canyon experiences a wide-range of variability, but has 111% of normal precipitation for strong El Niño events. Aztec Ruins National Monument averages 117% of normal and 123% for strong El Niño events.

A description of the graphs is located at the bottom of the page.

winter precip for aztec during el nino events

Percent of Longterm Average for all El Niño Events = 117% , for strong El Niño Events = 123%

winter precip for chaco canyon during el nino events

Percent of Longterm Average for all El Niño Events = 107% , for strong El Niño Events = 111%

Precipitation values for 3-month periods during the 18 El Niño starting in 1950. Events are plotted with respect to the long term precipitation average, listed to the right of the graph. The precipitation totals for each 3-month period are plotted above or below each bar. Years for which the El Niño Event was considered to be strong are colored in dark green. "M" represents a 3-month period with missing data. Finally, the percents of long term normal for all El Niño events and for the strong El Niño events are listed below each graph.

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Extreme Heat and Fire Weather Conditions in the West; Severe Thunderstorm Threat in the Northern Plains on Thursday

NWS ABQ - El Nino Spring Precip for CD1