Two years ago, in 1999, we had our share of extremes in precipitation. First there was drought that summer, and then Floyd brought flooding rains in September. Since then, we've had some dry and some wet periods, but precipitation has, in general, been fairly reliable.

Precipitation-wise, let's see where we stand now with respect to average. Here's the situation over the last 30 days. The numbers represent the percent above or below average, so zero means average precipitation. Given how wet it's been lately, these above-average numbers aren't any big surprise. If we now look back a little farther by considering the year so far, we still see most places above average, though not by much. And if we go back a full year, just about everyone is within a few percent of average precipitation - some a little above, some a little below.

The conclusion: as far as the water supply goes, we're in pretty good shape. Without some dramatic and long-lasting change in the overall weather pattern, you shouldn't hear any talk about drought anytime soon, but any heavy rain will have to be watched carefully for the potential of flooding.