After significant rainfall, drought conditions in Cibola are improving.
Breaking from earlier months this year, only 94.77 percent of Cibola County is in a moderate drought. The county remains in drought as 100 percent of Cibola is suffering through abnormally dry conditions, according to the National Integrated Drought System.
T he improvements in conditions come after the drought hit a fever pitch. Cibola suffered through the driest May in 128 years of drought tracking in the county, the area was suffering so badly that scientists who conduct drought tracking declared Cibola was in an “Exceptional Drought” the worst level of drought recognized by the federal government. Following the drought, in June, a large wildfire known the Cerro Bandera Fire destroyed 939 acres of land in the Zuni Mountains. Fire personnel in Cibola rallied together after the fire, asking for increased fire restrictions through the month of June, especially because the Independence Day holiday was rapidly approaching and residents often celebrate with firework usage. At the time, the drought rating in Cibola was at the highest rating recognized by federal authorities who track drought across the country. Increased rainfall at the end of June, that continued through July, was enough for local governments to lift firework restrictions. Rainfall, despite expectations by meteorologists, did not stop after the holiday. Rainfall has since continued to persist. “Exceptional Drought” Tracking Cibola’s rainfall lessened the shock of the “Exceptional Drought” back in May. 2013 was the first time Cibola entered the “exceptional” category, the rating lasted for several months before ending.
While the county remained in drought, it was not given the “exceptional” rating again until 2020. The rating was assigned in December, and persisted through most of 2021. May of 2022 saw the worst “Exceptional Drought” in county history. The United States Drought Monitor tracks the severity and length of drought across the country. The severity of 2022’s “Exceptional Drought” was starkly more severe than either of the previous two times this rating was assigned to Cibola. However, 2022’s situation lasted for a shorter amount of time than either of the previous two instances.
Current Drought Rating The improved conditions come after significant rainfall through the month of July 2022. This July was the 17th wettest July the Cibola area has seen in 128 years of drought tracking. The month brought 1.19 more inches of rainfall to the county than average.
Despite how dry the first half of 2022 was for Cibola; monsoon rains have pulled the county from the brink of disastrous drought. Increased rainfall has made the area greener while improving conditions for farming and livestock. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 425 acres of hay are estimated to be in drought across Cibola, this is 23 acres less than June. 28 acres of haylage, down from 30 last month, are suffering from drought. along with 9,743 cattle and 2,868 sheep, down from 10,281 and 3,026 respectively.
Drought Data
The National Integrated Drought Information System is a tool used by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; a department of the United States known by many as the team who tracks Santa Claus during the Christmas holiday. NIDIS has been tracking drought in the Cibola area since 2006, and they use other historic data and environmental sampling to get a drought reading on years prior, all the way up to 1894.
Much of the data Cibola Citizen utilizes comes from NIDIS, but also NOAA and the US Department of Agriculture and the National Agricultural Statistics Service. These entities supply data for Cibola’s acreage of hay and number of livestock.