For a La Nina year, this is certainly shaping up to be a wet one. According to last year's weather projections, the southwest was projected to have a wetter that usual month in December, which certainly fell within the predictions. However, the forecast for January through March was "drier than normal."

The latest statistics show 1.09 inches of rain fell in December 2007 in Phoenix. According to the National Weather Service, the normal rainfall amount for Miami, AZ for December is 2.00 inches of rainfall. The amount actually observed was 5.54 inches. The normal December rainfall at the Roosevelt 1 WNW station is 1.76 inches, while the observed amount for December was 6.57 inches.

On the recreation front, there's great news for fishing enthusiasts. "When Roosevelt [Lake] fills, it will inundate around 500 surface acres of habitat that has never before been under water." At last check, Roosevelt Lake was 85% full and still rising.

The small community of Roosevelt also expects to get inundated this spring and summer and visitors flock to the area for hiking, fishing, boating and other lake-related activities. This is a huge shot-in-the-arm for the local economy. I remember when we laughingly joked that 3 vehicles traveling on the Estates Road was busy. Oh, the relativeness of it all.

Speaking of recreation, Jakes Corner, the movie, is slated to hit theaters sometime this year. The film, which was shot on location last year at Jake's Corner, has been accepted to the Sedona International Film Festival. Look for a follow up to this exciting news in our next edition.

All in all, it looks like 2008 is shaping up to be an outstanding year for this fabulous recreation area. Enjoy!!

Until next issue . . . take care   back...