Last updated: November 25, 2025
Article
Climate and Groundwater Monitoring at Fort Bowie National Historic Site: Water Year 2024
NPS
Overview
Together, climate and hydrology shape ecosystems and the services they provide, particularly in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. Understanding changes in climate, groundwater, and surface water is key to assessing the condition of park natural resources—and often, cultural resources.
At Fort Bowie National Historic Site (Figure 1), Sonoran Desert Inventory and Monitoring Network scientists study how ecosystems may be changing by taking measurements of key resources, or “vital signs,” year after year—much as a doctor keeps track of a patient’s vital signs. This long-term ecological monitoring provides early warning of potential resource problems, allowing managers to mitigate them before they become worse. At Fort Bowie National Historic Site, we monitor climate and groundwater, among other vital signs.
Groundwater conditions are closely related to climate conditions. Because they are better understood together, we report on climate in conjunction with groundwater. Reporting is by water year (WY), which begins in October of the previous calendar year and goes through September of the water year (e.g., WY2024 runs from October 2023 through September 2024). This web report presents the results of climate and groundwater monitoring at Fort Bowie National Historic Site in WY2024.
NPS
Climate and Weather
There is often confusion over the terms “weather” and “climate.” Weather describes short-term meteorological conditions (e.g., it’s currently raining or snowing, it’s a hot or frigid day), and climate reflects patterns of weather at a given place over longer periods of time (seasons to years). Climate is the primary driver of ecological processes on Earth. Climate and weather information provide context for understanding the status or condition of other park resources.
Methods
The closest long-term weather station to Fort Bowie National Historic Site is 10.5 mi (16.9 km) away at Chiricahua National Monument, where the climate is not representative of Fort Bowie National Historic Site because of drastic differences in topography. As a substitute, climate analyses in this year’s report use WY2024 and 30-year averages (1991–2020) of gridded surface meteorological (GRIDMET) data from the location of the visitor center at the park.
GRIDMET is a spatial climate dataset (4-kilometer resolution) that is interpolated using weather station data, topography, and other observational and modeled land surface data. Temperature and precipitation estimated from GRIDMET may vary from actual weather at a particular location depending on the availability of weather station data and the difference in elevation between the location of interest and that assigned to a grid cell. Data from both the weather station and GRIDMET are accessible through Climate Analyzer.
NPS
Results
Precipitation
Highlight: Precipitation was below average as the strong start to the monsoon season rapidly dwindled.
Annual precipitation at Fort Bowie National Historic Site in WY2024 was 13.79″ (35.0 cm), 1.24″ (3.1 cm) less than the 1991–2020 annual average. Precipitation totals in October and November were substantially less than the 1991–2020 averages (Figure 2). Monthly precipitation totals for December–April were similar to or above the averages. May was completely dry. The monsoon season started off strong with above average rainfall in June, continuing to slightly below average rainfall in July and August, and substantially below average rainfall in September.
Air Temperature
Highlight: Summer and fall months were warmer than average.
The mean annual maximum temperature in WY2024 was 75.7°F (24.3°C), 0.1°F (0.1°C) above the 1991–2020 average. The mean annual minimum temperature in WY2024 was 46.1°F (7.8°C), 0.8°F (0.5°C) above the 1991–2020 average. Mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures in WY2024 differed by as much as 4.6°F (2.6°C; see March as an example) relative to the 1991–2020 monthly averages (Figure 2). Mean monthly maximum and minimum temperatures in WY2024 were warmer than the 1991–2020 averages during most of the year. Cooler temperatures occurred in January and March–May.
NPS
Drought
Highlight: Drought continued in 2024.
Reconnaissance drought index (Tsakiris and Vangelis 2005) provides a measure of drought severity and extent relative to the long-term climate. It is based on the ratio of average precipitation to average potential evapotranspiration (the amount of water loss that would occur from evaporation and plant transpiration if the water supply was unlimited) over short periods of time (seasons to years). The reconnaissance drought index for Fort Bowie National Historic Site indicates WY2024 was drier than the 1991–2024 average from the perspective of both precipitation and potential evapotranspiration (Figure 3).
Reference: Tsakiris G., and H. Vangelis. 2005. Establishing a drought index incorporating evapotranspiration. European Water 9: 3–11.
NPS
NPS
Groundwater
Groundwater is one of the most critical natural resources of the American Southwest. It provides drinking water, irrigates crops, and sustains rivers, streams, and springs throughout the region.
Methods
Fort Bowie National Historic Site groundwater is monitored at one well, WSW-2 (Figure 1). Park staff manually monitor the well four to twelve times a year.
Results
Highlight: Depth to groundwater in 2024 was similar to recent years.
Average depth to water at WSW-2 in WY2024 was 53.37 feet below ground surface (ft bgs; 16.27 m bgs), 1.60 ft (0.49 m) lower than in WY2023 (Figure 4, Table 1). Over the monitoring record, the static water level has been relatively stable, ranging from 49.62 to 64.33 ft bgs (15.12 to 19.61 m bgs). Prior to 2010, WSW-2 was the park’s water supply, and groundwater pumping to support park operations caused temporary drawdowns of 42 to 138 ft (13 to 42 m), after which water levels quickly rebounded. The current water supply well, WSW-3, is located 46 ft (14 m) from well WSW-2. When well WSW-3 is being pumped to support park operations, the drawdown observed in well WSW-2 is typically about 23 ft (7 m).
Table 1. Groundwater monitoring results in water year (WY) 2024, Fort Bowie National Historic Site (amsl = above mean sea level; bgs = below ground surface).
| Well Number | State Well Number | Wellhead Elevation (ft amsl) |
Depth to Water (ft bgs) |
Water Level Elevation (ft amsl) |
Elevation Change from WY2023 (± ft) |
Elevation Change (± ft) from Earliest Recorded Water Level (year) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WDW-2 | 582902 | 4,601.75 | 53.37 | 4,548.38 | −1.60 | +6.20 (2004) |
NPS
Report Citation
Author: Kara Raymond
Raymond, K. 2025. Climate and Groundwater Monitoring at Fort Bowie National Historic Site: Water Year 2024. Sonoran Desert Network, National Park Service, Tucson, Arizona.