More winter weather is expected to cross northern New Mexico over the next few days, but forecasters say whatever snow ends up falling won't be enough to put a dent in the drought.
Meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque say the deficit stems from back-to-back years of little precipitation and warmer than average temperatures. In fact, the last two years were the hottest and driest on record, and predictions through spring show more warm, dry weather is on the way.
Chuck Jones of the weather service says the first three weeks of February brought some snow to the mountains of northern New Mexico, but the central and southern parts of the state remain dry.
The latest map shows the drought intensifying throughout central New Mexico. Now, nearly half of the state is dealing with extreme to exceptional drought.
Copyright 2013 The Associated Press.