Wet Winter in West Eases Raft of Problems

[question everything]

The Wall Street Journal

Wet Winter in West Eases Raft of Problems
By JIM CARLTON
April 11, 2008; Page A3

The West has been inundated with snow and rain this year, easing the effects of a years-long drought that has hurt farmers and kept front yards brown. In the Treasure Valley surrounding Boise, Idaho, the irrigation district said late last month that it plans to keep spigots open to farmers and municipal users until early October, about a month later than last year. Arizona's fishing industry is gearing up for its busiest year in a quarter-century. And Colorado ski resorts -- buried in epic amounts of snow -- are on track for a record number of skier days. The heavy snowpack will also help refill depleted reservoirs along the Colorado River that serve millions of people in Arizona, Nevada and California.


The region isn't completely out of the woods from a drought that began spreading throughout the West in 2001. About 15% of the West remains in severe or extreme drought conditions. That compares with 29% at the same time a year ago, according to the National Drought Mitigation Center, a nonprofit monitoring group in Lincoln, Neb. For the moment, though, many are breathing a sigh of relief. "It stops the long-term drain on water supplies and buys another year on when problems could occur," said Kelly Redmond, a climatologist with the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno, Nev.

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In the desert Southwest, a snow pack of about 120% of normal in the Rocky Mountains that feed the Colorado River is expected to arrest a nearly eight-year slide in the levels of Lake Mead and Lake Powell, which store water for tens of millions of users in Phoenix, Las Vegas and Southern California. Water officials say that Lake Mead, which has fallen approximately 100 feet since 2000, could rise about 10 feet. Farther upstream, Lake Powell could rise 50 feet after having fallen more than 100 feet over the past decade, officials say. Both reservoirs have lost almost half their water supplies amid the worst drought to hit the Southwest on record. Severe water restrictions are in place in cities like Las Vegas, where grass front yards on new homes are now prohibited.

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In Arizona, which for the first time this decade is considered completely out of drought, people are gearing up for what could be the busiest fishing season in a quarter-century. Officials say fuller lakes have more fish, and small game like rabbits are flourishing. The precipitation patterns this year surprised many climatologists. They say the Pacific was under a La Niña system that normally sends winter storms to the Northwest and northern Rockies while leaving California and the Southwest bone dry. This time, the latter region also experienced storms. Climate change is one possible explanation. Climate models suggest that warmer temperatures may increase precipitation in some regions, partly by increasing evaporation from oceans. However, if rain and snow fall in a burst too early in the year, it may be hard to trap all of it in reservoirs, and excess water may have to be diverted to oceans. The long-term effect of climate change on precipitation remains uncertain, and some parts of the U.S. are still hard-hit by drought, in particular Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas.


URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120787898180206955.html (subscription)

[Sinistrous]

1. I am so hungry for good news on the climate front,

that this item of positive input looks like prime rib with a twice baked on the side.

However, the bottom line is, water is precious and must be conserved.

[Lex1775]

2. This has been a pretty nice year out here in Phoenix.

A lot of the native vegetation looks much healthier.

[GregD]

3. Contrary to this report, it is dry here.

We are at 3500' an hour south of the Oregon border. Although we set a 40 year record for snowfall in January, the last measurable snow was Feb 2 and it has barely rained since them. This weekend we were running around in shorts, the fruit trees are blooming, there already grasshoppers and dragonflys. Not a rosy picture for what should still be winter.