2016 Albuquerque Monsoon Rainfall

This season, 3.09 inches of rain fell at the Albuquerque Sunport.  This is almost two inches shy of the 2015 total and is also well below climatological normals. Not all locations across Albuquerque saw this kind of paltry precipitation, but there were some, and they were scattered across the metro. Some of the obvious areas that saw these lower precipitation totals included portions of the northeast heights and western Rio Rancho. Meanwhile, the light green splotch across the southeast side of Albuquerque north of Four Hills shows where the biggest precipitation totals were this year. Though the seasonal total was above 5.5 inches, between 2 and 2.5 inches of that fell on August 4th, when very heavy rain fell for almost two hours. Fortunately, no significant flooding was observed with those storms. Nearly two inches of rain fell on portions of northwest Albuquerque and portions of southern Rio Rancho during the early evening of July 29th. Then the following day, over an inch of rain fell across south central Albuquerque, near and just south and east of UNM. The intersection at Silver and Yale as well as the Lomas and Carlisle intersection were closed due to flooding on July 30th.

In 2015, most areas saw above normal precipitation. Wetter parts of the Metro included the westside as well as portions of  the foothills. Most areas along and west of the Rio Grande in Bernalillo County received between 5.5 and 7.5 inches of rain as did the foothills. Rio Rancho was among the driest area in the metro with most locales reporting less than 5 inches of rain.

Precipitation amounts for 2014 were very similar to 2015, but different areas saw the greater amounts. Wetter parts of the Albuquerque Metro in 2014 were the UNM area, which was due to between 2.50 and 2.80 inches of rain falling in a two hour period on the night of August 1st. Season totals for the UNM area were between 6 and 7 inches of rain. The foothills were again one of the wetter spots, but interestingly, Rio Rancho was again one of the driest areas.

Using the same scale as above, it is easy to see that the 2013 Monsoon was a wet one. Everyone in the metro area received over 5 inches of rain, and some areas received over 10!  The rain was a welcome sight for many, though in most cases, the rain came faster than what soils could absorb. The enhanced area of precipitation totals, ranging from 10 to 12 inches across the northeast heights, largely stemmed from the back-to-back thunderstorm events on July 26th, where some calendar day totals exceeded 4 to 5 inches. Perhaps more notably, was the week-long stretch of rainfall in September, which accounted for almost half of Albuquerque's Monsoon precipitation. For the Albuquerque Sunport, 3.14 inches of rain was recorded during these 7 days, though some areas in the Foothills and in Rio Rancho received over 5 inches!  Even only using the 3.14 inches at the official station, this was the wettest 7-day stretch since June 1933!

Just three years ago, we thought it would never rain again.  Ok, that's a bit dramatic, but we were desperate for rainfall. In fact, you'll notice that for many areas, the week-long stretch mentioned above in 2013 provided more rainfall than all of the 2012 Monsoon Season for most of the metro area.  In 2012, the Albuquerque Sunport received 3.36 inches for the entire season.  Going back even further, in 2011 the Albuquerque Sunport measured only 1.72 inches.  2011 was the 5th driest Monsoon Season on record.  What a difference a few years makes!

Many people wondered if the 2013 totals would reach the totals from 2006.  Though close, they didn't quite get there. The map to the left shows the precipitation distribution across the metro area from 2006 using the same scale as above.  2006 still ranks as the wettest Monsoon on record, with 9.42 inches measured at the Albuquerque Sunport.

The biggest calendar day rain total during the 2016 Monsoon at the Sunport was only 0.58 inches on September 11th.  Following behind this day, the highest calendar day totals included 0.45 inches on August 4th and July 29th, and 0.44 inches on July 30th.  These 4 days made up approximately 62% of this years total Monsoon rainfall.  That's right, nearly two-thirds of this year's Monsoon rainfall in just 4 days! Normal Monsoon rainfall in Albuquerque totals 4.61 inches. The seasonal total of 3.09 inches at the Sunport this season is only 67% of normal. This makes Monsoon 2016 the 29th driest Monsoon on record. Though, the Sunport was one of the drier areas of the metro, once again.