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Are the recent rains making a difference in the drought?

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - With all the flooding in Yellowstone and the Island Park area and our recent rain, many are wondering if this will make a difference in the drought.

 The Idaho Drought Committee met Wednesday morning. 

They say they are reducing the drought levels in some areas in western Idaho and into the central mountains.

But even with all this water, it still won't be enough.

"It does to some extent certainly the short term moisture has been replenished in that cell. So we're doing very well in the short term," National Weather Service hydrologist Link Crawford said. "The reservoirs have been very low compared to normal as speaking of the reservoirs along the Snake River, Palisades and in Jackson, like in Wyoming. Those reservoirs have gotten a really good bump, but they're still going to be below normal. So when it comes to long term water supply through the summer, we're still probably going to see some shortages towards the end of the summer."

The jetstream brought lot of storms into the state this past weekend.

So far, June precipitation is one to three inches above normal for the month.

We were already above normal for April and May.

The cooler and wetter spring has delayed snowmelt by up to two weeks in many areas. 

Article Topic Follows: Idaho

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Linda Larsen

Linda is an anchor and reporter for Local News 8.

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