Drought Article in the Arizona Republic

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[opes dry up for end of drought Email this article Print this article Most popular pages Click to send Choose File P'rint or Ctrl P or Apple P Today I This Week Hopes dry up for end of drought Michael Clancy The Arizona Republic Dec. 7, 2005 08:16 PM At times last winter, Phoenix got so much rain that washes flooded, reservoirs filled and fears of a long-term drought dried up. But nine mostly parched months later, the Phoenix area has fallen behind the year- to-date average. It hasn't rained in the Valley for more than seven weeks, and no storms are on the horizon before Christmas and the end of the year. The last measurable rainfall took place on Oct. 17, when 0.17 inch fell at the official monitoring station at Sky Harbor International Airport. The year began with such promise. Almost 5 inches of rain fell in January and February. It looked like 2005 was on track to exceed the yearly average of just over 8 inches. But in the next nine months, only August, with a monsoon-driveri 1.21 inches, surpassed the norm. Not everything is bad news. Plenty of rain in other parts of the state, which has filled the Verde and Salt rivers regularly, have kept the Salt River reservoirs relatively full - limiting the impact of drought on the Phoenix area. And early snowfall in Colorado and Wyoming holds promise for filling up Lakes Mead and Powell, both are around half full now. Southeast and central Arizona are currently the only parts of the state at risk for drought. The National Weather Service lists those areas as "likely" for drought development. That area includes the Valley, where Wednesday marked the 51 st consecutive day with no rain. If Phoenix reaches the end of the year without rain, it will be the sixth longest dry spell in history, according to data from Randy Cerveny, an Arizona State University climatologist. Go three days into next year without rain, and the dry spell will rE:ach the top five, with 78 straight days of no rain. The all-time record dry spell ran for 91 days, from Jan. 6 to April 5, 1984. While rain in Phoenix does notgreatly affect the city's water supply, which mainly comes from the reservoirs on the Salt and Colorado River, it does keep plants watered, holds dust down and washes pollution out of the air - a problem for the Phoenix area so far this season. The silver lining, even if there are no dark clouds, is that the state's high country and Colorado River Valley have had a decent year of rain. Flagstaff and Payson are 2'/2 inches above average, and Prescatt is more than 3 inches to the good. Yuma and Parker also are more than 2 inches above normal. Likewise, Colorado and Wyoming have had good early snowfall, which will melt into the Colorado River. Phoenix forecasters looking ahead to the end of the month are saying chances are Page 1 of ttp://www.azcentral.com/php-bin/clicktrack/print.php?referer=http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/ 120... 12/8/200