On the value of seasonal forecasts:

Gensler knows full well about the seasonal forecast. Odds are, the snowpack that provides the district’s water supply will be on the light side this winter. But he also knows there’s no point in worrying about that now.
His job in planning for next year’s irrigation season is made easier by the fact that El Vado Reservoir, which holds water used by the district to cope with dry years, is close to full. But more important, Gensler knows there’s not much he can do at this point but wait.
“There is no such thing as ‘normal’ on the Rio Grande,” he told me. “We go into every fall not having the faintest idea what we’re going to have in the spring.”