Is New Mexico in a drought?
This week's U.S. Drought Monitor for New Mexico, and the category in each of its 33 counties, from the National Drought Mitigation Center.
Yes, in part: 79.99% of New Mexico is in drought (D1 to D4).
97.63% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4), 43.21% in severe drought or worse (D2 to D4), 8.3% extreme or worse (D3 to D4) and 0% in D4 Exceptional Drought.
Next map: released Thursday 22 October 2026.
On the map valid 13 October 2026, 33 of 33 counties had some drought (D1 or worse). D3 Extreme Drought somewhere in 11. D2 Severe Drought somewhere in 16.
Every county, map valid 13 October 2026
The category is the most severe one covering any part of the county; the share says how much of it. "Weeks" counts the weekly maps in a row with that category or worse somewhere in it.
| County | Category this week | Share in it | In drought (D1–D4) | Weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernalillo County | D2 Severe Drought | 33.92% | 100% | at least 54 weeks |
| Catron County | D1 Moderate Drought | 31.12% | 31.12% | at least 54 weeks |
| Chaves County | D2 Severe Drought | 24.99% | 99.22% | at least 54 weeks |
| Cibola County | D2 Severe Drought | 9.1% | 50.02% | at least 54 weeks |
| Colfax County | D3 Extreme Drought | 66.74% | 100% | 29 weeks |
| Curry County | D1 Moderate Drought | 64.71% | 64.71% | 34 weeks |
| De Baca County | D2 Severe Drought | 7.69% | 100% | 27 weeks |
| Doña Ana County | D1 Moderate Drought | 12.84% | 12.84% | at least 54 weeks |
| Eddy County | D2 Severe Drought | 17.38% | 92.86% | at least 54 weeks |
| Grant County | D2 Severe Drought | 20.94% | 99.67% | at least 54 weeks |
| Guadalupe County | D3 Extreme Drought | 8.95% | 99.99% | 16 weeks |
| Harding County | D3 Extreme Drought | 67.63% | 100% | 24 weeks |
| Hidalgo County | D2 Severe Drought | 63.25% | 87.06% | at least 54 weeks |
| Lea County | D1 Moderate Drought | 67.22% | 67.22% | at least 54 weeks |
| Lincoln County | D3 Extreme Drought | 26.65% | 99.68% | 10 weeks |
| Los Alamos County | D2 Severe Drought | 100% | 100% | at least 54 weeks |
| Luna County | D2 Severe Drought | 33.52% | 79.96% | at least 54 weeks |
| McKinley County | D2 Severe Drought | 0.6% | 57.34% | at least 54 weeks |
| Mora County | D3 Extreme Drought | 34.06% | 100% | 24 weeks |
| Otero County | D2 Severe Drought | 23.57% | 74.79% | 30 weeks |
| Quay County | D2 Severe Drought | 81.01% | 96.6% | 31 weeks |
| Rio Arriba County | D3 Extreme Drought | 0.02% | 100% | at least 54 weeks |
| Roosevelt County | D1 Moderate Drought | 52.69% | 52.69% | 50 weeks |
| San Juan County | D2 Severe Drought | 75.13% | 92.69% | at least 54 weeks |
| San Miguel County | D3 Extreme Drought | 3.28% | 100% | 22 weeks |
| Sandoval County | D2 Severe Drought | 57.15% | 100% | at least 54 weeks |
| Santa Fe County | D3 Extreme Drought | 1.47% | 100% | 19 weeks |
| Sierra County | D1 Moderate Drought | 94.22% | 94.22% | at least 54 weeks |
| Socorro County | D2 Severe Drought | 1.85% | 34.03% | at least 54 weeks |
| Taos County | D3 Extreme Drought | 31.47% | 100% | 28 weeks |
| Torrance County | D3 Extreme Drought | 61.73% | 100% | 16 weeks |
| Union County | D3 Extreme Drought | 25.75% | 92.27% | 27 weeks |
| Valencia County | D2 Severe Drought | 54.86% | 100% | at least 54 weeks |
Natural disaster risk in New Mexico by county · Drought in every state
The categories
| Category | Name |
|---|---|
| D0 | Abnormally Dry (not drought: going into or coming out of drought) |
| D1 | Moderate Drought |
| D2 | Severe Drought |
| D3 | Extreme Drought |
| D4 | Exceptional Drought |
What each category means on the ground is described on the Drought Monitor's classification page.
How this page reads the Drought Monitor
- The figures are the U.S. Drought Monitor's own statistics (share of area in each category), read from its data service. The categories are theirs, unchanged. This site does not make its own drought assessment.
- The Drought Monitor gives each county a share in each category. A county's category here is the most severe one covering any part of it, with the share it covers. "Weeks" counts the weekly maps in a row, newest first, on which some of the county was at that category or worse.
- A new map is released every Thursday, valid for the Tuesday before. Every figure here carries that valid date. This site reads the new week once, after the Thursday release, and keeps it.
- Counties are matched to the Drought Monitor by their five-digit FIPS code. Connecticut is shown by its nine planning regions, which replaced its eight counties in 2022; the Drought Monitor's county statistics use the same planning regions.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Map courtesy of NDMC.
Source: U.S. Drought Monitor, droughtmonitor.unl.edu · The official map for New Mexico · Drought Monitor data tables · drought.gov current conditions · NOAA seasonal drought outlook
Questions
Is New Mexico in a drought right now?
On the U.S. Drought Monitor valid 13 October 2026, 79.99% of New Mexico is in drought (D1 to D4) and 97.63% is at least abnormally dry (D0 to D4). 43.21% is in D2 Severe Drought or worse.
Which counties in New Mexico are in the worst drought?
This week the most severe category in New Mexico is D3 Extreme Drought, in Colfax County, Guadalupe County, Harding County, Lincoln County, Mora County, Rio Arriba County, San Miguel County, Santa Fe County and 3 more.
How is a county's category chosen on this page?
The U.S. Drought Monitor gives the share of each county in each category. This page names the most severe category covering any part of the county, and always says how much of the county it covers.