Important Takeaways:

• The record-breaking event began Friday and continued through Sunday due to a slow-moving upper-level low-pressure system sitting on top of the Four Corners region in the Southwest, according to the FOX Forecast Center.
• New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Monday, declaring an emergency in Chaves County after record-breaking rain led to deadly flooding in the Roswell area over the weekend.
• That declaration now unlocks $1 million in funding to help bolster flooding relief efforts in and around the Roswell area.
• “My declaration of a state of emergency for Chaves County will help support local recovery efforts in the aftermath of historic and severe flooding in and around Roswell,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “I’m grateful for the swift actions taken by local authorities and our state departments to help communities in need.”
• In addition to the emergency declaration, Lujan Grisham signed a second executive order that authorized the release of $250,000 to the New Mexico National Guard to support the disaster relief efforts.
• On Saturday, NOAA’s Weather Prediction Center (WPC) warned that heavy precipitation was likely to cause flash flooding in the region.
• That forecast came to fruition late Saturday night when round after round of rain and thunderstorms marched across the Roswell area, eventually leading to rare Flash Flood Emergencies due to the rapidly rising water.
• Rainfall rates of 1-3 inches an hour were reported, which exceeded the average hourly rain rate for October, November and December combined, according to the FOX Forecast Center.

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