The last week was an average one for July as the temperatures were around the normals for this time of year and we continued to get at least some precipitation from the influx of monsoon moisture. The rainfall amounts have been much lower that. The heavier rains that we received earlier in the month and have not provided sufficient water to keep plants and trees healthy without supplemental watering. During periods without any cloud cover, the soil gets baked and dries out quickly. At this station, we have felt the brunt of a lot of outflow winds from nearby thunderstorms that have exasperated the drying effect and provided no moisture on a few days. For the week, we received 0.19” of precipitation. For July, we have received 2.43” compared to the NOAA normal of 1.73”, which is 140% of normal. For the 2025 WYTD, this station is at 8.29” against the NOAA normal of 9.73”, which is 85% of normal. For the 2025 calendar year to date, we are at 100% of normal. Overall, temperatures averaged 1.5 degrees above average for the last week. Temperatures were as much as 0.6 degrees below normal on Monday and 3.0 degrees above normal by Wednesday. Forecasts call for a strong chance of thunderstorms continuing through Wednesday and then tapering off to a slight chance through the rest of the week with a return of warmer temperatures continuing into the weekend. Short-term and long-term we are still in the near normal category, as the above average moisture over the last two to three months, have lifted us back to normal for the year but the lower moisture amounts over the last couple of weeks are starting to see us shift backwards again. Long-term drought impacts, however, are still evident in the surrounding environment. Energy usage was up slightly last week as compared to the the previous week, as a few warmer days without clod cover and/or precipitation caused A/C usage to increase. Air quality was in the good to moderate range last week. An air quality alert was issued for ozone on Wednesday fueled by an influx of wildfire smoke. The primary pollutants over the past week have been ozone, and fine and course particulate matter. Grass, birch, plantago, urticaceae, pine, and chenopod pollens, were the main irritants over the last week, all at low levels. Fire danger is still at the high level for all Ranger Districts of the Cibola National Forest, except for the Mountainair Ranger District, which is at the moderate level. Albuquerque open space areas currently are still open and are under stage 2 fire restrictions in the bosque areas. East Mountain Open Space areas are open and are also under stage 2 fire restrictions as well. Most plants and trees continue to do well from the moisture they have received but do require supplemental watering. Bird activity has dropped off some over the last two weeks in line with the drop in moisture. Hummingbirds, bees, and moths are still highly active over the last week. Insect activity is still highly active with the continued shower activity. Several neighbors have had issues with ant colonies over the last couple of weeks. Rio Grande river flow at the Alameda bridge is at 103 cf/s this evening, which is much below normal for this day of the year. The flow has been as low as 100 cf/s and as high as 115 cf/s over the last week. Turbidity is at 22 FNU today. Turbidity has been increasing over the last three days and has had a few spikes due to storm runoff. The Rio Grande River through Albuquerque has gone dry this week and will remain so through the rest of the summer. This is due to lower-than-average snowpack totals over the winter and construction problems/delays on the Abiquiu Dam rebuild. The lack of expected water releases will once again affect everyone that relies on Rio Chama and Rio Grande water releases. Updated aquifer monitoring data for the Middle Rio Grande Basin was unavailable for the last week. Voluntary weekly watering restrictions began on March 1st and continue through November. Outdoor spray irrigation is prohibited in the City of Albuquerque between the hours of 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. April 1st through October 31st.
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