Social media was flooded with pictures of an unexpected snowfall that happened early Tuesday morning. Northern parts of New Mexico got up to , while the south and eastern parts got a light dusting.
A majority of the state faces , or high fire risk and frequent water shortages.
Todd Shoemake is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. He said the recent rain and snowfall dropped temperatures around the state, lowering the risk of wildfires.
鈥淚f we keep up that pattern, then we could slowly dent away at the drought conditions,鈥� Shoemake said. 鈥淏ut it鈥檚 going to take some time. It鈥檚 not an overnight thing for sure.鈥�
Shoemake said the precipitation is expected to last a couple more weeks.
New Mexico depends on the snowfall during these last winter months to refill its water supplies. If La Ni艅a warm and dry weather patterns last, New Mexico could face that haven鈥檛 been seen in at least 20 years.
