KSJD Local Newscast - April 4, 2025

Dry times are here. The local area is in moderate drought and that is expected to continue for at least the next month. Longtime local weather observer James Andrus reports that Cortez saw just 0.41 of an inch of precipitation in March, less than half the average for that month. In February, 124 percent of average precipitation fell on Cortez, but that followed a dismal January in which just 14 percent of average precipitation came down. In an email, Andrus said, “Our winter-season drought persists from last November through this March with no expectation of relief forecast in the 30-day and 90-day climate outlooks.” Andrus also reports that three daily high-temperature records were broken in March, but no new daily lows were set. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports that January and February of 2025 was the 25^th-driest year to date of the past 131 years for Montezuma County. Snow-water equivalent measurements for the San Miguel-Dolores-Animas-San Juan basin are at 65 percent of median. The National Weather Service also reports an additional concern – rapid snowmelt. A recent spring heat wave caused unusually rapid snowmelt at higher elevations across the West. Considerable snow is expected to fall Saturday in the San Juan Mountains, but forecasts say there is still a strong likelihood of well-below-average precipitation and well-above-average temperatures over the next 30 days.