Why Does New Mexico’s Drought Matter?

New Mexico is dry. No kidding, right? But have you ever asked yourself how dry is too dry? Or why that actually matters? This week, we're hearing from two people who keep a close watch on the water and the weather in New Mexico. John Fleck is a professor at the University of New Mexico and the Director of Water Resources in the university's Economics Department. John breaks down why it matters when New Mexico gets less rain and snowpack, and shares his concerns over the future of the state's water resources. First-time guest and long-time NMNP listener, KRQE's Chief Meteorologist Grant Tosterud, joins Chris and Gabby with an update on where we stand today. Grant offers background on what the last winter was like (in terms of moisture) and what's ahead for the rest of spring and summer.

Stick around to the end of the episode for a recap of what happened in the New Mexico Legislature's one-day special session last week.

As mentioned in the episode, here's a link to Curtis Segarra's article titled, "New Mexico tax rebates: How much will you get?" For more information on John Fleck's work, click here to visit his blog on New Mexico water issues. And finally, Grant's forecast and more from KRQE's weather team can be found here on KRQE.com/weather.

Got a story idea? A comment? Did you really like an episode we did? Let us know. Email us at chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM.  For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our website: KRQE.com/podcasts.