JOE: NEW MEXICO IS GETTING TTHOER AND DRIER, BUT JUST LIKE THE GENERATIONS BEFORE US,E W LOOK FORWARD TO A BETTER -- WETTER PERIOD DURING THE SUMMER MONSOON SEASON. THE TMER MONSOON SEANSO REFERS TO SEASONAL CHANGE OF WINS. THE MORE SOUTHERLY WIN UDSSHER IN MORE HUMID AIR, WHICH CAN TAP MOISTURE FROM THE GULF OF MEXICO, GULF OF KOBANI, AND THE PACIFIC. MUCH-NDEEED RAIN. STATEWIDE, HALF OF NEW MEXICO’S ANNUAL PRECIPITATION IS A RESULT OF MONSOON SEASON. BECAUSE OF OUR CHANGGIN CLIMATE, THE SUMMER MONSOON PATTERN IS CHANGI ANGND NOT IN A GOOD WAY TOIN GENERATIONS PAST, THE TRADITIONAL MONSOON CABIN WAS A SOUTH-TO-NORTH FLOW OF MOISTURE. THIS IS CALL AED MONSOON BURST OF MOISTURE. WHEN THIS FLOW OF MOISTURE WHICH SHIFT AWAY FROM US, IT WOULD BE A DRYER PATRNTE CALLED A MONSOON BREAK. WHAT PLAYOR F- -WHAT MADE FOR A PLENTIFUL MONSOON SEASON? IT WAS A MATTER OF HAVING MORE MONSOON BURST OF MOISTURE RATHER THAN T DRYERHE MONSOON BREAKS. BUT GETTING THE MOISTURE INTO NEW MEXICO W NOIS A LOT MORE COMPLEX. WITH THE TRADITIALON PATTERN, THERE IS MOISTURE THAT WRAPS AROUND THE HIGH-END PRESSURE SYSTEM THROUGH THE EAST. BUT OFTEN WHAT WEEE S NOW IS THE HIGH-PRESSURE SYSTEM IS SO STRONG THAT WE CAN GET MEAGER AMOUNTS OF SHOWERSND A STORMS AND A PATTERN THAT USED TO BE PLENTIFUL. THAT IS NOT ALL. THE HIGH-PRESSURE KNOW OFTEN TASKEP U RESIDENCE AROUND THE FOUR CORNERS REGION. METEOROLOGISTS COMMONLY REFERRED TO THIS AS THE FOUR CORNERS HIGH. WHAT DOES IT DO? IT CAN BRING A REVERSE MONSOON PATTERN, WHERE STORMS COME FROM THE NORTH AND GENERALLY DROEDPP TO THE SOUTH. THIS IS NOW BECOMING A MORE DOMINANT PATTERN, AND WITH IT SOME PROBLEMS. IN A REVERSE MONSOON PATTERN, STORMS FORMED AROUND THE MOUNTAINS A SNDTART DROPPING SOUTH. IN TIMES OF RICH ATMOSPHERIC MOISTURE, THESE STORMS TEND TO DROP A LOT OF RAIN AND A LOCALIZED AREA, THEN FALL APART. WINDS FROM THESE COLLAPSING STORMS CANRE CATE NEW, STRONG STORMS FURTHER TO THE SOUTH. SOMETIMES THIS RESULTS IN HIT AND MISS DOWNPOURS. IN OTHER INSTANCES LIKE WNHE CELLS MGEER TOGETHER, IT CAN CREATE SEVERE WINDS AND FLOODING RAINS. THE CHANGING MONSOON PATTERN TEOFN BRINGS VERY DANGEROUS STORMS DROPPING IN FROM THE NORTH DURING THE REVERSE MONSOON PATTERN. ALBUQUERQUE, JULY 2021. TORRENTIAL RAIN ROLLED OVER SENDING US INTO THE FOOTHILLS, DROPPING MORE THAN AN INCH OF RAIN IN JUST 15 MINUTES. REACHING WITH TORRENTS OF WATER, THREE PEOPLE DIED IN THESE FLOODWATERS COULD SANTA FE, JULY 2018. COLLIDING WINDS FROM COLLAPSING STORMS TO THE NORTH CREATED A NEW STORM RIGHT OVER THE HEART OF STAAN FE, CAUSING HISTORIC FLOODS. IN ABOUT AN HOUR, SOME SPOTS PICKEDP U ABOUT THREE AND A HALF INCHESF O RAIN. THIS TYPE OF EVENT CHARACTERIZED AS A 1000-YEAR TYPE OF FLOOD. RHODES TURNED INTO RIVERS AND SEVERAL CARS WERE WAEDSH AWAY, AND MANY HOMES AND PROPERTIES SUFFERED DAMAGE. ALBUQUERQUE, JULY 2013, ANOTHER POWERFUL STORM APPROACHING FROM THE NORTH. 2 HUGE IT’S FROM CELLS COMBINED AND PRODUC AED MASSIVE BURST OF WIND AND HEAVY RAIN. AND THE STORM ROLLED SOUTH OVER THE CITY MACHINES OF RAIN FLOODED ROADS. PARTS OF I-25 SHUT DOWN BECAUSE OF POWER LINES FALLING ON THE INTERSTATE. SEVERAL ROA CDSLOSED DUE TO FALLING TREES AND HIGH WATER. I 90-MILE PER HOUR NDWI GUST REPORTED AT THE SPORTUN, THE HIGHEST READING EVER. FRESH MEMORIES ARE STILL WITH US FROM JULY OF LAST YEAR TO THREE INCHESF O RAIN IN ABOUT TWO HOURS, THREE MAJOR CANALS REACHED, FLOODWATERS THROUGHOUT THE CITY. THE TOWN HAS ABOUT00 30 STRUCTURES AND 1200 WERE DAMAGED . JUST ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF HOW REVERSE MONSOON PATTERNS CAN BE SO DISRUPTIVE. >> IT ALL STARTS WITH MOIURSTE MOVING IN. SOMETIMES IT FLOWS IN FROM SOUTH TO NORTH. ITAN C ALSO SWEEP THROUGH THE GAPS IN THE MOUNTAINS FROM EAST TO WEST. AS THAIST HAPPENING, SOUNDS LIKE A AND HBEE GIN ABSORBING THE WARMTH OF THE SUMMER SUN. ROCKS ARE WARMING FASTER AND AROUND THEM. THE HOTTER AIR STARTS TO RISE UPWARDS, PICKING THEM WHICH ARE IN PLACE WITH A GREAT DEVICE MOISTURE REACHES COOLER AIR HIGHER UP IN THE SKY. THAT COOLER AIR CAUSES THE MOISTURE TO CONDENSE AND FORM CLOUDS. THE CLOUDS BELOW BIGRGE AND BIGGER AS MORE HEAT AND MOISTURE FEED INTO THEM. EVENTULYAL THE CLOUDS CANNOT HOLD THE MOISTURE, AND IT STARTS TO FALL TO THE GROUND AS RAIN. THE RAIN SHOWER INTENSIFIES AS MORE AND MORE THAT HEAT AND MOISTURE FEED TOIN IT. AT THE SEAM TIME, ELECTRICAL CHARGES BUILDING UP IN THE CLOUDS GIVE WAY TO LIGHTNING STRIKES, TURNING THAT RAIN SHOWER INTO A FULL-FLEDGED MONSOON STORMED STELLA:SE THO STORMS CARRY SOME RISKS. THE PARCHED DESERT GROUND DOESN’T ABSORB WATER VYER QUICKLY, AND ALL OF THAT RAIN HAS TO GO SOMEWHERE. IT RUSHES DOWNHILL AND FILDLE CHANNELS CALLED ARROYOS. THEY C BANE NATURAL AND A DRY STREAM THAT SOUND IN THE DESERT AND FOOTHILLS. HIKERS NEED TO BE AWARE OF THE FORECAST AND BE ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS. A THUNDERSTORM MILES AWAY COULD SEND RUSHING WATER THROUGH THE LOW-LYING AREAS. THE SYSTEMND A ALBUQUERQUE WAS CRTEEAD TO CARRY WATER AWAY FROM THE MOUNTNSAI AND INTO THE RIO GRANDE. THESE CHANNELS MAY BE DRY 99% OF THE TIME, BUT THEY ARE NOT SAFE TO WALK OR PLAY IN. EVEN IF IT IS NOT RAINING WHERE YOU ARE, WATER FROM A DISTANT TH UNDERSTORM CAN FLIL AN OREO AND A FEW SHORT MINUTES. RECENT LACKLUSRTE MONSOON SEASONS HAVE BEEN CALDLE NONSNSOO. WITH THE SPOTTY NATURE OF THUNDERSTORMS, SOME SELECTED LOCATIONS MAY GET ABOVE AVERAGE RASTE OR EVEN SEE FLASH FLOODING. IF MUCH OF THE SURROUNDING AREA IS DRY, WE MAY NOT SEE MUCORH ANY IMPROVEMENT IN THE DROUGHT. THE AVERAGE MONSOON RAINFALL FOREVER COOKS IESTJU UNDER 4.5 INCHES. BASED ON WHERE WE STDAN NOW, THE METRO AREA WOULD NEED NINE INCHES OF WIDESPREAD RNAI TO END THE DROUGHT B