21 SEPTEMBER. NEW MEXICO: CLIMATE Average
annual rainfall for Albuquerque is 8.88 inches, which has now been exceeded
by 2.17 inches - not a lot by some standards but it's one-fourth of the
yearly average in our arid high desert country. In a discussion last week
with the NWS people here, I was told that this is within the normal variability
for this area. However.....that was before Hurricane Linda - an El Niño
event, according to the news. In tracking outflow from Linda on the GOES
EastPac satellite (infrared, water vapor) this past week, the additional
0.63 inches between 09/10/97 and 09/19/97 is directly attributable to the
hurricane. More rain is forecast this weekend (9/20/97) as the midwestern
remnants of Linda are pushed down with the Canadian cold front. This may
dislodge the stationary high over us which has kept Nora from moving much.
I am watching Nora for more of this same activity as the moisture continues
to flow up from Mexico in this prolonged monsoon season.Oh, yeah, we're
a lot cooler, too, and degree days are way down (data available from NWS
and NCDC).--Alice Gomez <myadesta@aol.com>.
Back to The 1997
El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO 97-98)