Latest news with #drought
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
New Mexico governor establishes taskforce to mitigate drought and wildfire risks
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico is currently experiencing some of the worst droughtconditions ever recorded, which could result in the loss of up to 25% of the available water supply over the next 50 years. 'In a water-short state like New Mexico, every drop counts,' said Tanya Trujillo, State Engineer and Water Policy Advocate. Story continues below Crime: Albuquerque business owner faces murder charge for shooting fleeing shoplifter News: Las Vegas deputy charged with aggravated battery and robbery Business: A downtown Albuquerque shoe shine parlor is still serving patrons after nearly a century Events: What's happening around New Mexico May 30-June 5? Kirtland Air Fiesta and more The State of New Mexico is declaring a state of emergency, due to the on going drought the state is facing. 'We've had diminished snowfall in our mountains over the past winter, which will mean we'll have lower levels of water in our rivers and lakes and water to serve our community this year,' continued Trujillo. According to the National Drought Monitor, 84% of the state is experiencing drought conditions, with no improvement in sight. Trujillo told KRQE News 13 that the order passed by Governor Lujan Grisham recognizes the urgent need to take action to conserve water and mitigate fire threats, 'This year we've seen some of the lowest snowpack levels in recorded history. And that translates to some of the lowest levels in our rivers and streams. And so we're really emphasizing the need to take action now.' According to the order, the drought task force will work on three main tasks: spreading information across the state to help conservative water, provide recommendations for municipalities to lower the fire threat, and provide funding where needed. 'We need to be thinking about creative ways of using that existing water, developing new water sources, and really working together to emphasize what we need to do going forward,' emphasized Trujillo. The task force has until July 31 to recommend those short-term measures. To read the order, click this link. For a current list of statewide fire restrictions, click this link. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
End of the month wrap-up — a closer look at May's weather
SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — We made it through May! The first two-three weeks of the month were pretty typical for this time of year, with on-and-off showers and temperatures flip-flopping from hot to cool. The last 10 days dried out and warmed up, which threw our seasonally normal stretch off track. Salt Lake City only saw rain six out of the 31 days, and over half of our total monthly rain fell on the 18th alone. After that, we saw no measurable moisture in Salt Lake City. We closed out the month with 1.26 inches of rain, but the average total precipitation is 1.82 inches. While Salt Lake City itself stayed on the dry end, a lot of locations were much closer to average, and southern Utah actually far surpassed their average total rainfall. Cedar City averages 0.93 inches in May but over doubled that with 1.99 inches. Meanwhile, St. George more than tripled their average of 0.32 inches with 1.15 inches this month! So overall, we didn't do too bad in the precipitation department. Unfortunately, it still wasn't enough to break the extreme drought in southwest Utah. Temperatures were a bit of a roller coaster for the first three weeks. The most significant drop was between the 12th and 13th when Salt Lake City dropped from 89° to the mid 50s. The last week of the month had more consistently toasty temperatures and brought Salt Lake's first 90 degree day and St. George's first 100 degree day. Salt Lake hit its first 90 on May 29th, which is 10 days ahead of the typical timeline, and St. George hit 100 the next day, putting it six days ahead of schedule. Ultimately, Salt Lake City had an average temperature of 63.6° (including overnight lows), which is a little more than three degrees above average. The same is true for high temperatures — we averaged a high of 75° while the 30-year-average is 72°. We'll see what June has to offer! End of the month wrap-up — a closer look at May's weather Vehicle repair scams being done in local parking lots, police say Utah Democratic Party elects new leadership, Brian King Mama and baby bear cool off in California family's pool Last living grandson of 10th U.S. President John Tyler, dies at 96 Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
CBS News
12 hours ago
- Climate
- CBS News
Contra Costa fire captain explains how fire conditions vary across county
On Saturday, temperatures in some inland areas were forecast to hit triple digits. The hot weather comes on the heels of a government report last week that said the state's above-average snowpack is melting at a record-breaking pace. It's raising the possibility of drought and an early start to the wildfire season. Contra Costa County has one of the most diverse land masses in the Bay Area. So, when things start heating up, it can present significantly different timelines when it comes to wildfire. On a hill above San Pablo, overlooking San Francisco Bay, Contra Costa Fire Captain George Laing walked along a path, surveying the golden grasses swaying in the wind. "So, if you grab this grass, this is dry," he said, pulling up a handful of the arid weeds. "You can hear it's dry, it feels dry except for there's a little bit of surface moisture on it because it's kind of humid out here." Laing can tell fire danger simply by feeling the grass. In San Pablo, the temperature was in the high 70s with an ocean breeze that made it feel even cooler. Laing said fire could still happen there, but it would move a lot slower. "But the further east you go in our jurisdiction, the more sustained the warmer conditions are and the drier conditions are," he said. "So, you'll see areas that are completely dry and ready to go." One of those areas would be Brentwood on the eastern edge of the county. There, the temperature was hovering near 100 degrees and at the Three Nunn's produce farm, Ana Valencia's lemonade stand was doing booming business. "For sure," she said. "Yeah, a lot more. I think double what I usually sell because everybody's trying to stay cool." Just across from the farm, the hillside is blackened, the scene of a recent grassfire that, thankfully, was contained to a few acres. But in Brentwood, they know that 99 degrees is not the end of the hot weather. "No. Way hotter than this. It's just starting," said Valencia. "So, it's going to get worse, I know it's coming. This is just the start of it." But did the heat ever make her worry about wildfire? "Oh, for sure, 100%," she said. "Because there's a bunch of grass out here and the majority of it, some of it, is dry. And there's a bunch of land here, so it can just catch on really quick." "What you need to have fire is for all the moisture to burn off the cellulose material," explained Laing. "Once that ignites, then you have a fire. The sooner the moisture evaporates from the grass, the more readily it ignites." With a territory that stretches from the cool of the Bay to the heat of Brentwood, Con Fire's "fire season" can begin as early as May in the east, to as late as July or August nearer the Bay. But Laing said there is no place that is immune to the danger. "This is the prevailing wind. This is coming off the Bay," he said. "It's cool, it's moist, you can still see there's a little bit of the marine layer over there. It's when the winds come from the other direction, and they're dry and they're hot. And the very strong winds can actually blow down these slopes and create significant problems for firefighters because it's not something that you would normally expect." These days, no one is sure what to expect in the way of weather. But the science remains clear. Hot weather dries out the grasses, opening the door for the fires to come.
Yahoo
15 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
One of state's oldest trees — tourist attraction ‘Old Wolf Oak' — has died
Nebraska's "Old Wolf Oak" tree, a burr oak that is more than 380 years old, has died after a long drought. (Courtesy of Nebraska Game and Parks Commission) LINCOLN — One of Nebraska's oldest trees has died, and officials are blaming drought conditions. The 'Old Wolf Oak,' a burr oak with a 9.8-foot circumference located along a hiking trail at Ponca State Park, was estimated to be more than 380 years old. The tree was a popular stop for park visitors, given that it was 223 years old when Nebraska became a state in 1867 and was a silent witness to the Lewis & Clark Expedition of 1804-06. But Nebraska Game and Parks Commission officials say drought conditions in eastern Nebraska have created large areas of dead or declining mature trees, including the stately oak. The past two years have seen extreme drought across Nebraska, officials said. While native species like the bur oak are drought-tolerant, prolonged drought causes dieback in the canopy and root systems, weakening tree defenses. This creates an opening for pests and pathogens, officials said, and makes a tree more vulnerable to infection. Game and Parks staff had been monitoring and, where possible, treating bur oaks for bur oak blight, which can weaken a tree. Officials also identified a new threat to trees, hypoxylon canker, a fungus that invades the vascular systems of drought-stricken trees and dooms a tree. The old oak will soon be cut down under a response plan developed after consulting with experts, Game and Parks announced. Infected material must be destroyed on-site, officials said, to avoid stressing the surrounding healthy trees. A sign at the Wolf Oak, erected in 1964, states that it 'began its life in 1644.' But more modern dating techniques later added another half century to its age. Ironically, it was not a state champion tree in its category. A registry kept by the Nebraska Forest Service lists a burr oak with a circumference of 18.7 feet near Peru as the state champion. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
New York Times
17 hours ago
- Climate
- New York Times
Rare Early June Rainfall Could Reach Phoenix
A storm spinning off the coast of Baja California in Mexico on Saturday was poised to dive into the Southwest United States and drag with it remnants of post-tropical storm Alvin. This system, which is uncommonly wet for this time of year, will bring a rare chance for thunderstorms and brief heavy downpours to the region, especially to southeast California, southwest New Mexico and southern Arizona, including Phoenix, Sunday into Monday. The rain would be much welcome in an area with widespread drought conditions after a winter of below-normal precipitation. 'For this time of year this is quite unusual,' said Mark O'Malley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Phoenix. The Weather Service's official gauge for the Phoenix area is at Sky Harbor International Airport. It has recorded measurable rainfall in the first week of June on 21 occasions, with records going back to 1896. 'Normal rainfall is zero,' Mr. O'Malley said of the first week in June. There's a 75 percent chance the airport will record rain on Sunday afternoon or evening, with rainfall chances continuing into Monday. A thunderstorm or two could move over the airport and bring half an inch of rain, or the downpour could hit 10 miles west of the airport, and there would hardly be any rain. This unusual weather setup will bring a chance for rain and thunderstorms to most of the Southwest on Sunday into Monday, including southeastern California, southern Nevada, all of Arizona, western New Mexico, the Wasatch Mountains in Utah and portions of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. 'This is a fairly large swath of moisture, so I'd actually say, there's not just a chance of rain, but rain is likely,' said Peter Mullinax, a meteorologist with the Weather Service's Weather Prediction Center. The chances are highest across southern Arizona, southwest New Mexico and southeast California, and the Weather Prediction Center has put this area under a marginal risk — level 1 out of 4 — for excessive rainfall that could lead to flash flooding on Sunday. A slice of Southern Arizona is at a higher slight risk, level 2 out of 4. Mr. O'Malley said that minor flooding on roadways in the greater Phoenix area is possible. Storms occasionally pass over the Southwest in late spring but they're usually dry. Rain is more common during the monsoon season that starts June 15 and lasts into September. 'These storms come through and you'd never know, other than a little wind,' Mr. O'Malley said. 'With this storm, you have that moisture that's being pulled in from Alvin — that's the big difference.' Mr. Mullinax said there's also a strong southerly wind component that's escorting the tropical moisture northward into the Southwest. Alvin formed over the Pacific Ocean off the coast of west Mexico on Thursday, sending pounding surf to west-central Mexico and southern Baja California. The system has since dissipated and was a post-tropical cyclone over the North Pacific Ocean on Saturday.
