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Welcome Rain Falls In Drought-Stricken Southwest
Parts of the Southwest have seen above-average rainfall this week. The extra moisture is welcome after three years of severe drought.
Rancher Mike Corn lives in ones of the driest corners of Eastern New Mexico. He has three ranches outside of Roswell. In the last week he's seen more rain than in the past two years.
"We're so much better now than we were in the last couple of years," Corn said. "It's been a long time since we've had some rain."
In the last year Corn sold off two-thirds of his livestock. With dry land and little grass he couldn't afford to feed them. But in the past few days, three inches of rain fell on one of his ranches. Other parts of Eastern New Mexico received as much as six inches in the past month.
Meteorologist Val McBlain of the National Weather Service says this year's monsoon season has been good to New Mexico and West Texas.
"In this area we've had quite a bit of rain, certainly more than usual," he said.
In Arizona, the region southeast of Tucson saw the heaviest rainfall, as much as eight inches. That's almost twice the monthly average for July. Meanwhile, areas outside Flagstaff have experienced flood damage. Overall the added moisture is enough to help revive some grassland, but not enough to refill dwindling reservoirs.