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SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- Last month was the wettest June recorded at Salt Lake City International Airport in six years, but that doesn't mean the drought is ending.
"The bottom line is, it doesn't really signal anything," said Randy Julander, snow survey supervisor for the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service in Salt Lake City.
However, he said the rain did help preserve reservoir water, and, "it has been a godsend in that regard," he said.
This June produced 1.70 inches of moisture, compared to the average of 0.77 inch.
People haven't had to water their lawns or gardens as much this year, and Julander expects dry farms to benefit the most. There are also more grasses growing in the mountains, providing more food for grazing animals.
It was wet enough in late May and early June that releases from Bear Lake into the Bear River could be postponed.
Still, Julander says the long-range forecast is for higher-than-normal temperatures and a 50 percent chance of normal precipitation.
(Copyright 2004 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
