Drought Expands In The Southwest

Above, the front of the house on February 20. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

When I first moved to New Mexico in February, the locals told me that it has been a dry winter in the Gallup-Jamestown area. After this was said, it seemed like we were hit by one snowstorm after another. The most recent snowstorm came three days ago.

It appears that the whole Southwest region of the U.S. is in a drought to some degree.

According to Yahoo News:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Drought is tightening its grip across a wide swath of the American Southwest as farmers, ranchers and water managers throughout the region brace for what's expected to be more warm and dry weather through the spring. 

A federal drought map released Thursday shows dry conditions intensifying across northern New Mexico and into southwestern Arizona. Every square mile of Nevada and Utah also are affected by at least some level of dryness. 

On the southern high plains, Oklahoma is ground zero for the worst drought conditions in the United States. 

The exceptional drought in the Panhandle — an area dominated by agriculture — has more than doubled in size. Many farmers rely on precipitation to help water their crops as pumping groundwater is the only other option.

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