Agnel Philip

The Republic | azcentral.com

Despite seeing record rainfall on Monday, Arizona is unlikely to see an improvement in drought conditions that are impacting much of the state, officials say.

The deluge, which dumped more than 3 inches of rain in Phoenix and flooded parts of the Valley, provided some short-term benefits to crops and the soil, National Weather Service forecaster Mark O'Malley said.

Even though there was enough rain from the storm to put Phoenix back on track in terms of yearly rainfall totals, the state still needs strong snowfall accumulation during the winter for drought conditions to improve.

Over half of Arizona is facing severe drought conditions or worse, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Arizona relies on snowfall to fill up its reservoirs, but there has not been an adequate amount of precipitation in recent years, O'Malley said.

For example, last winter's snowfall in Flagstaff was 31 percent of what it normally gets, according to data from the National Weather Service.

O'Malley said there was no indication that snowfall this winter would help alleviate the dry conditions.

Phoenix residents are years away from experiencing the effects of the drought, O'Malley said, but added that they should be making efforts to conserve water now.