ALBUQUERQUE — Northern New Mexico's mountains are flush with snow as spring begins, but the southern high country is dry, the state engineer says.

And the southern lowlands — particularly the southeast — are parched because of almost no rain or snow this winter, John D'Antonio said Thursday.

"It's a highly variable year," he said.

Water levels in the upper and middle Rio Grande should be the highest in the last three decades as snow melts from adjacent mountains, D'Antonio said.

Runoff, based on March 1 snowpack measurements, could be at record levels for river basins such as the San Juan, Animas and Cimarron in the north, he said.

D'Antonio warned of possible flooding in the north.

Runoff projections in the north range from 57 percent to 72 percent above average, according to D'Antonio's office.

The high water should make for fine rafting, boating and angling, said Dave Simon, New Mexico State Parks director.

"That's the good news that Mother Nature has given us," he said.

Runoff could be reduced if the state is hit by a spell of hot weather coupled with wind, which would evaporate and sap the snowpacks, D'Antonio said.

Along the Rio Grande, Abiquiú Lake should be at 153 percent of capacity by Memorial Day, while Elephant Butte Lake farther south should be at 38 percent, according to D'Antonio's office.

The last time Elephant Butte Lake was full was in 1996, Simon said.

Fire danger remains low in the northern mountains.

"Moisture keeps the mountains green and the flowers blooming — we hope," Simon said.

But the fire danger is higher in the southern mountains — where D'Antonio said snowpack is poor — and even higher in the southern lowlands.

Todd Haines, the state Forestry Division's Bernalillo district forester, said fire danger also is anticipated to be higher in the lower and middle Rio Grande bosque.

So far this year, 164 fires have burned 116,000 acres of state and private land, he said.




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