Exceptional winter snowpack brought temporary, much-needed relief to the parched American West.

Statewide snowpack peaked well above 100% of the historical average, significantly boosting depleted reservoir storage.

Before this wet season, the Colorado River Basin faced its most severe drought period in 1,200 years.

A relentless parade of sequential winter storms funneled massive amounts of Pacific moisture inland.

Because previous rains saturated the ground, melting snow flowed directly into rivers instead of soaking into thirsty earth.

Improved water allocations allowed farmers to sustain crops without the severe emergency cuts seen in previous years.

Climate change is fundamentally replacing predictable weather seasons with violent swings between extreme wet and extreme dry.

A single wet winter cannot erase a decades-long structural deficit. Demand on the river still outpaces the supply.

Western states must continue innovating water conservation and policy, regardless of temporary natural abundance.