LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — A new drought monitoring map shows positive signs for Nevada.
Only a small percentage of Clark County remains in drought conditions. Last winter's storms and the recent rain are the reason for the improvements.
I talked to the author of the drought map, who explains what this all means.
"We want to go ahead and put more drought-tolerant plants in here," said Leo Leavitt, homeowner.
The drought is something every homeowner knows about. Leavitt and his partner are doing their part.
"We went ahead and took out a massive weeping willow tree," he said. "Which actually consumes a lot of water."
Like many Southern Nevadans, they are trying to save water.
"We put in more drought-tolerant plants here that need less water," he said.
Nevada and much of the southwest were in extreme drought for nearly four years. A healthy winter and recent storms changed that.
Much of California and Nevada are out of drought conditions.
"Pretty much all of Nevada received above normal precipitation," said David Simeral, a climatologist with Desert Research Institute.
Simeral helps put the map together. He says only three percent of the state remains in a drought — eastern Clark County. Experts say western Clark County, including the Spring Mountains and Mt. Charleston, is no longer in a drought due to so much snow the past winter.
"In addition to these tropical storm remnants, that was another area, the Spring Mountains received a lot of precipitation," he said. "There were areas receiving over eight inches."
Data like rain totals and snowpack drive the analysis. Simeral says the snowpack in the Rockies, which feeds into Lake Mead, proved good too.
"In Western Colorado, the amount that ran off into Lake Powell and ended up in Lake Powell and Lake Mead was higher than the initial forecast," he said.
The last few years of drought are proof things can change quickly, and conservation needs to continue.
"Living in a desert and knowing what is going on at Lake Mead," Leavitt said. "We want to ensure we have water for the future."
