ROSWELL, N.M. — Roswell, New Mexico is famous for other reasons, but it is now also renowned because of the amount of rainfall measured this past weekend.  Massive amounts of flash flooding were reported in that area with a Doppler radar estimate of over eight inches of rain in a very short amount of time.

Remember, Roswell is a semiarid climate that only measures 10 to 15 inches of precipitation per year. This past weekend produced at least eight inches of rainfall. That may not sound like a lot compared to some of the precipitation totals along the East Coast, but it was extraordinary considering the geographic location of this flooding.

During the weekend of October 19 and 20, the National Weather Service declared a flash flood emergency for Roswell. During that time they measured six months’ worth of rain and just 12 hours. In their recorded history, that was a record for any single day.  In comparison, Rochester usually has an annual average amount of precipitation between 30 to 40 inches. Unfortunately, there were two people that lost their lives and nearly 300 people had to be rescued.

Water has since receded, but it was an extraordinary amount of precipitation for this small New Mexican community.