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2004 saw return to normal precipitation for Los Alamos, White Rock

What a difference a year makes. While 2003 was one of the driest years in Los Alamos and White Rock in nearly a half-century, last year was closer to normal. And 2004 went out with cold temperatures, rain and snow.

The nearly nine-tenths of an inch of precipitation recorded in December brought the 2004 total in Los Alamos to 18.78 inches, according to Jeremy Rishel, a Laboratory meteorologist in Meteorology and Air Quality (ENV-MAQ). The total is near the normal (18.95 inches) for the year and nearly double the 9.93 inches of precipitation in Los Alamos for all of 2003.

Likewise in White Rock, .62 inches of precipitation, or about normal precipitation was recorded last month, said Rishel. For all of 2004, 15.64 inches of precipitation was recorded in White Rock, or 116 percent of normal and almost double 2003's total of 8.6 inches.

Will the wet pattern continue? The 30-day outlook issued by the National Center for Environmental Prediction shows all of New Mexico with above normal precipitation but no clear bias in temperature, Rishel said. The 90-day outlook through the end of March continues with the wetter-than-normal trend throughout the state. Temperatures in the western two-thirds of the state, including Los Alamos, are anticipated to be slightly above normal, he added.

"In general, this year's precipitation brought much needed improvement to the state's long-term drought, especially in the southern and eastern regions of the state where annual precipitation amounts were some 25 percent to 100 percent above normal," said Rishel. "Although wetter when compared to recent years, many locations in the northwest and north-central regions of the state still observed less-than-average precipitation amounts."

The mean temperature in Los Alamos was 30 degrees Fahrenheit in December, or about normal, while the mean maximum of 40 F was 1 F below normal. The mean minimum temperature of 20 degrees F was 1 F above normal, he said.

Similarly, in White Rock, the mean temperature of 30 degrees F in December was normal, while the average daily maximum temperature of 43 F was 1 F below normal, Rishel said.

Three low temperature marks were set or tied in White Rock in December: 1 F on Dec. 1 broke the previous record of 8 F established in 1996; 3 F the next day, breaking the old record of 4 F set in 1976; and 6 F on Dec. 4, tying the mark set in 1997.

No temperature records were established in Los Alamos, though an arctic front that plunged into New Mexico the week of Christmas dropped the temperature to 3 F below zero on Dec. 24.

A 41 mile-per-hour wind gust was recorded Dec. 30 in Los Alamos.

More information about weather in the region can be found at http://weather.lanl.gov online.

--Steve Sandoval

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