Storms bring badly needed precipitation to drought areas in Western states

DENVER (AP) _ Skiers and farmers in drought-stricken Western states were rejoicing after a wave of storms dumped much-needed precipitation. <br><br>Some areas in California and Colorado got more than 4

Sunday, November 10th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

DENVER (AP) _ Skiers and farmers in drought-stricken Western states were rejoicing after a wave of storms dumped much-needed precipitation.

Some areas in California and Colorado got more than 4 feet of snow last week, and more was falling Sunday. Other areas that had seen little rain for months reported up to 6 inches.

California farmers and ranchers said the rain would provide new grass for cattle and improve harvests of oranges and Christmas trees.

Three ski resorts opened in California and five opened in Colorado. Last year, most didn't open until nearly Thanksgiving because of balmy weather.

The drought is severe to extreme in 80 percent of the West, and the worst since the Dust Bowl of the mid-1930s.

``When all is said and done this storm will probably dump as much snow in most of Colorado's mountains as it (normally) gets in the whole of November. And it will mean three months in a row with above-average precipitation,'' said Klaus Wolter, an atmospheric scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

With the El Nino weather pattern apparently reasserting itself, weather experts say Western states can expect even more precipitation.

In addition to last week's storms, Colorado ski resorts got three feet of snow or more at the end of October.

``The lines are really bad because there has been such a drought that everybody came out when the snow fell. Some runs are knee-deep,'' said skier John Meyung, who took advantage of the early snow at Keystone Resort about 50 miles west of Denver.

The storms also wreaked havoc. In California they triggered flash floods, cut power to thousands of homes and killed two people Friday when a tree fell across a trans-Sierra highway. On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard called off searches for two people _ including a 4-year-old boy _ who had been swept out to sea by giant waves off the California coast.