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Monday downpour leaves at least one dead from flooding in Albuquerque
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New Mexico is gearing up for a wetter-than-usual start to June, with a series of Pacific storm systems ushering in widespread rainfall across much of the state.
The incoming moisture is already producing showers throughout the region and may bring severe storms to parts of eastern New Mexico from the beginning of the week until Saturday, according to National Weather Service meteorologist Nicolas Porcelli.
“We can see a severe gust or two and some hail in far eastern New Mexico, like Curry County and Roosevelt County, and then for the next couple of days, it should remain pretty moist within the region,” Porcelli said.
A severe storm brought gusty winds and flash flooding to Albuquerque on Monday afternoon, inundating streets in the area of Mountain and 18th Street and Lomas Boulevard and Central Avenue. The city urged people to avoid those roadways through the early afternoon.
The downpour proved deadly for at least one person in the city as Albuquerque Fire Rescue pulled a body from a North Valley washout Monday evening. An AFR official said the person was initially spotted in the main diversion channel near Menaul but “was not seen again” until being recovered at the washout.
The afternoon showers are expected to generally stay under a quarter inch but Porcelli warned that any localized area with more than an inch of rain, particularly over the burn scars from recent wildfires, could cause damage in the form of rising rivers and flooded low-water crossings.
The wet weather comes amid a drought that prompted Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham to sign an executive order last week declaring worrisome dry conditions and severe fire risk across the state.
“New Mexico’s river basins have seen below average precipitation this year, and our reservoir levels are among the lowest on record,” State Engineer Elizabeth Anderson wrote in the executive order.
Despite the increase in rainfall, temperatures will remain above average, between 80 to 90 degrees.
The following week another Pacific storm system will bring increased rainfall to the northern and western parts of New Mexico, which have been “dry the last few weeks,” Porcelli said.
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“That should be pretty beneficial to them because a lot of fuels have been dry, so this should lower the fire threat that we’ve been seeing over the last couple of months,” he added.
However, the rainfall can also pose a danger to regions still scarred by recent wildfires, Porcelli said. Areas like the Calf Canyon/Hermits Peak and Ruidoso burn scars remain highly susceptible to flash flooding.
“It usually takes five to ten years for the ground to recover after a fire,” Porcelli said. “The soil is still pretty hydrophobic. Even small amounts of rain can saturate the area and lead to flash floods.”
Looking ahead, New Mexico is expected to experience above-average rainfall and temperatures through June.
“We’re not in monsoon season just yet,” Porcelli said, and added that true monsoonal patterns typically develop with a high-pressure system over the desert southwest pulling in southern moisture — more likely to occur in late June or July.
