Even all that rain they just received just makes a small dent:
As the wet days of summer wane, the National Weather Service says we can expect an average to wetter-than-average winter. ...But a weak El Nino system appears to be forming in the Pacific, and that's a good harbinger of snowy weather to come.
...The period from November 2005 to July 2006 was the 13th driest on record for the state, according to the National Climatic Data Center.
...The monsoons have helped reservoirs recover a small amount after suffering from a drought that started in 1999, but to really get over it the state needs snowpack and spring runoff - lots and lots of it.
"If you look at Elephant Butte, in early 2000 the water level there was 132 percent of normal," Liles said. "After all the summer rain we've had after the drought, it's up to about 22 percent of normal now. Without that rain, it would probably be below 10 percent. A long-term drought takes a long time to get out of."
What would be needed to repair damage from six years of drought?
"One year of 250 percent of normal snowpack could do it," Liles said.
"That may have never happened before," he added quickly.
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