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Tuesday, March 03, 2009
Start of '09 Driest Ever for Duke City
By John Fleck
Journal Staff Writer
This is the driest start to a year since weather record-keeping began in Albuquerque, according to the National Weather Service.
A trace of rain fell twice in January and once in February, but none of it was enough to measure at the Weather Service rain gauge.
That is the first time Albuquerque has racked up zeroes for January and February since record-keeping began in 1892, according to Ed Polasko, who tracks winter precipitation for the Weather Service's Albuquerque office.
The last measurable precipitation fell Dec. 26 — 0.17 inch. That makes 66 consecutive dry days. The Albuquerque record dry stretch was in 1902, when we went 108 days without measurable rain or snow from Jan. 31 to May 19.
The dry spell coincides with the late onset of La Niña, the Pacific Ocean pattern that tends to push the storm track to our north. That is exactly what has happened since December, Polasko said.
Our next best chance for rain comes Thursday night and Friday, according to the Weather Service. A storm coming down from the northwest brings with it a 10 percent chance of rain in Albuquerque — a long shot, but rain is not out of the question, Polasko said.
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