This article from 2018 in the New Mexico Political report prophesized a dry Rio Grande and said the Jemez Mountains in New Mexico were now too dry to grow confiers.
“Before the Dome Fire and then Las Conchas, which burned here in the Jemez Mountains seven years ago, this was a dense conifer forest. Today, the climate is too warm for those trees to return.”
A dry Rio Grande in springtime isn’t normal. But it will be. | The NM Political Report
Streamflow in the Rio Grande south of Albuquerque is close to normal. During the winter and early spring they retain water in the reservoirs so streamflow is low.
RIO GRANDE BELOW ELEPHANT BUTTE DAM, NM – USGS Water Data for the Nation
Very heavy rain is forecast in the headwaters of the Rio Grande over the next ten days.
Ventusky – Wind, Rain and Temperature Maps
Wolf Creek Ski Area in Southwest Colorado is at the headwaters of the Rio Grande. They have had above normal snowfall for three of the last four years.
Wolf Creek Ski Area Snow History | OnTheSnow
This is what the Las Conchas burn area looked like during summer 2019.
This is what the Las Conchas burn area looked like in Autumn 2021.
This is an unburned area adjacent to the Las Conchas fire during July 2019.
Fire succession in Northern New Mexico brings in Aspen, Oak and Locust first – followed by conifers much later. Fires in 1890 burned up both sides of the Rio Grande and are now filled in with the tallest Aspen trees in the world.
21 Jun 1890, Page 6 – San Francisco Chronicle at Newspapers.com
Spokane Falls Daily Chronicle – Google News Archive Search
The year 1890 was also a very bad years for fires in the upper Midwest.
