The soutwest and west are finally getting decent amount of rain. Los Angeles currently is being pummeled by monsoons. Unfortunately, LA has no place to store this water so most of it just flows out to sea.
Recent snowfall is building hopes that the drought is easing in the Colorado River Basin, according to this short article from the Denver Post [January 9, 2005, “Snowfall lifts forecasters’ hopes for Colorado River”]. From the article, “Forecasters now predict the river will receive 98 percent of its normal amount of water this year, in part because of a good start to the winter storm season.”
PS to LA. The big thunderstorm that hit Maui last night will probably hit LA in a few days. This is known as the Pineapple Express.