Rain and thunderstorms were expected across New Mexico starting Wednesday, Oct. 21, and could endanger communities with flash flooding, dangerous river conditions and damaging wind gusts, particularly in the north and west, the Santa Fe New Mexican reports. Runoff from mountain snowmelt could raise water levels even as recent rainfall brings relief from drought.
The storms followed repeated heavy rainfall in late September that brought some relief from months of dry conditions. The latest U.S. Drought Monitor data at the time showed parts of Doña Ana County no longer in drought, and no area of New Mexico remained in exceptional drought, the most severe category. Andrew Mangham, a senior service hydrologist with the National Weather Service’s Albuquerque office, said the rain would probably lead to "some more kind of nibbling around the edges of the drought," though drought remains a concern in parts of the state, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported.
Advertisement
Thursday was expected to bring the most widespread rainfall of the week, with precipitation chances approaching 100% in Chama, Farmington, Gallup and Glenwood and localized flash flooding possible across western and central New Mexico. Forecasters expected Santa Fe to receive about 1.5 inches of rain from Wednesday morning through Friday night.
Mangham also warned that rain falling on the snowpack in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains could speed melting and increase runoff into streams and rivers from the Northern Highlands west toward Farmington and Shiprock. Although rivers were expected to stay within their banks, he said snowmelt water is dangerously cold and can pose a danger to anyone who enters it.
About This Story
Daily Reports is Brant.One’s news roundup. Each day we gather the New Mexico stories worth knowing from newsrooms across the state, sum them up and point you to the source. This one comes from the Santa Fe New Mexican’s reporting, and their original story has the interviews and full details.
Editor’s note: Updated Oct. 31, 2026. This story is now part of Daily Reports, our New Mexico news roundup, and was revised to credit the Santa Fe New Mexican’s original reporting. Learn how Daily Reports works in our editorial standards.
