New Threat Looming In Wake Of Wildfires

By Carrie Jung

Albuquerque, NM – Many New Mexicans want to know when monsoon rains will arrive this year. It's been one of the driest years on record for the state. Rain will help to extinguish wildfires and relieve the drought, but the monsoon season also increases the risk of dangerous flooding.

Todd Shoemake is a meteorologist at the National Weather Service. He says this year's wildfire damage is a new concern because "There's no vegetation to absorb any kind of rainfall that does fall. These wildfires will typically harden the soil and harden the ground. Making the soil unable to absorb any kind of water or rainfall."

Shoemake says this year's monsoon rainfall should be average, but it's hard to predict exactly how much rain we'll get in New Mexico. Scattered thunderstorms are expected as early as this weekend.