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Experts: Southwestern U.S. Sees Some Drought Relief

Luke Runyon
/
KUNC
Lake Mead stores water from the Colorado River on the Nevada-Arizona border.

Drought conditions in much of the southwestern United States have improved due to surges of moisture over the last few months, but national forecasters and climate experts are warning that it hasn't been enough to alleviate concerns about long-term water supplies around the region.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Climate Prediction Center and others held a briefing Thursday on the conditions in Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.

While Arizona is greening up and Colorado and Utah are enjoying near average or better snowpack, northern New Mexico is still home to the two driest spots in the nation.

Climatologist Nancy Selover says for those areas where soil moisture levels are already low, it will be harder for the snowpack to replenish streams, rivers and reservoirs this spring.

Copyright 2019 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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