Arizona Climatologist: Recent Snow, Rain Likely Not Enough To Head Off Lake Mead Drought Declaration

There are still some snow-capped mountains ringing the valley after last week’s winter storm dropped rain and some snow in the metro Phoenix area — and record snowfall in Flagstaff. That city actually set a record for daily snowfall on Thursday with nearly 3 feet. Overall, Flagstaff got more than 40 inches of snow. So, has all that precipitation helped Arizona’s drought conditions at all? With me to talk about that is Nancy Selover, Arizona state climatologist. And Nancy let’s start there. Just how important was the rain and snow we got around the state to the drought conditions we’re in and have been in for years now?