This data package contains locally verified monthly total pan evaporation data from a NOAA National Weather Service station located at the USDA Jornada Experimental Range headquarters in southern New Mexico, USA. The evaporation pan measurements commenced in 1953 and ended in 1979 when the instrument was decommissioned. Pan evaporation observations were made using standard U.S. climatological service instrumentation and procedures. The included data were verified and transcribed directly from records retrieved from NOAA in ~1995 and have since undergone quality control and assurance procedures different than those in place at NOAA. These data therefore differ from those directly downloadable from NOAA servers. There is no further data from this decommissioned instrument, so this dataset is now complete and data will no longer be updated here.All observations from this weather station have also undergone NOAA QA/QC procedures and those data are available by accessing the Jornada Experimental Range, NM US GHCN station through the National Climatic Data Center portal (https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cdo-web/datasets/GSOM/stations/GHCND:USC00294426/detail - monthly pan evaporation data are available back to 1930, but there may be data issues prior to 1953).