00:00Lake Powell has climbed nearly 15 feet in six weeks, but the southwest water shortage runs much deeper.
00:07A soaking October has helped reverse months of falling water levels.
00:11Powell is back near its late February elevation, recovering the height lost through spring and summer.
00:16From Flagstaff to Durango to Las Vegas, rain has brought welcome relief.
00:21Even parts of Southern California have received more than three times their typical October rainfall.
00:25But look downstream. Lake Mead has only gained about a foot.
00:29Why such a difference?
00:31Well, think about pouring water into a really wide pan.
00:34It takes more water to raise the surface an inch.
00:38Mead's broad surface helps explain the smaller rise.
00:41But there's another big factor.
00:42Water entering Powell doesn't immediately reach Lake Mead.
00:46That depends on releases through Glen Canyon Dam, while withdrawals and releases downstream also shape Mead's level.
00:52The biggest seasonal gains typically arrive when mountain snow melts into the Colorado River.
00:57AccuWeather's long-range team expects above-average snowfall in the southern and central Rockies this winter,
01:02with El Nino helping favor a wetter pattern.
01:05Still, one wet stretch cannot erase years of losses.
01:08Agriculture, industry, and growing desert communities depend on a river strained by heavy demand
01:14and a typically dry climate that only provides so much.
01:17For millions of water users, this rebound buys breathing room, but a lasting recovery takes much more.
01:22For millions of water users, this rebound is very much.
01:22For millions of water users, this rebound is very much.
01:22For millions of water users, this rebound is very much.
01:22For millions of water users, this rebound is very much.
