2024 Saw Fewer Inches than a Horny Toad (a.k.a. “Short-Horned Lizard”)–and it was a hot one

Las Cruces saw only 3.64″ of rain in 2024–5.5″ below normal. This marked the driest two-year stretch on record, and the 3rd driest single year since 1892.

A Las Cruces Digest Report
By Levi Gwaltney
Source: U.S. National Weather Service El Paso Texas
Photo: Courtesy National Park Service

2024 was a second straight year of record warmth and dryness. We haven’t seen a two-year drought this bad locally since the Great Depression–and by some accounts… ever.

Nationwide, September 2024 wrapped with severe weather impacting the eastern and western U.S. while Hurricane Helene devastated parts of the Southeast. Extreme heat scorched the Southwest. Phoenix, AZ measured a record-breaking average monthly temperature of 94.6°F during September, where records date back to 1896. October temperatures have continued the trend of topping heat records in the region, with 113°F in Phoenix, AZ, 117°F in Palm Springs, CA, and 100°F in San Jose, CA recorded on October 1. (USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service)

“All I want for Christmas is…”

Our broader community spent Christmas in the midst of various degrees of drought. Most of the farmland from Hatch to La Mesa landed in the “Severe Drought” zone, while the southwestern quadrant of Doña Ana County was in an “Extreme Drought” classified zone. Luckily, the most extreme climate missed the farming and population centers in our area. The U.S. Drought Monitor posted the following map:

While highlighting how the current drought could be worse, it should not go unnoticed that “Extreme Drought” is still a serious climate event. Las Cruces, for example, saw only 3.64″ of rain in 2024–5.5″ below normal. This marked the driest two-year stretch on record, and the 3rd driest single year since 1892.

Here’s a summary of this year’s rainfall for Las Cruces.

Remember When…

Taking a trip down memory lane, 9 years ago much of the Borderland was hit by a winter storm which moved out of the southern Gulf of Alaska and down to our area on December 26, 2015. Snow began falling on the evening of the 26th, and continued, much heavier on the 27th.

The El Paso metro area received around 8-12 inches over the two days. The snow map shows that very few areas escaped the moderate to heavy snowfall, while Las Cruces stacked up more inches of snow than we have total precipitation in 2024.

Back to reality, the National Weather Service sees no chance of precipitation over the next 7-10 days, well into the new year.

Article posted by:

Levi Gwaltney

Levi Gwaltney is the Editor In Chief of Las Cruces Digest. The Editor makes editorial and posting decisions regarding content published on this site. In most cases, the Editor makes little if any contribution to content published, and takes no credit for the content of republished posts. If available, the source or author of posts is provided at the top of the article.

Vamos a chismear…

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