It may surprise some in the Triangle to hear that the region remains in an "extreme drought," given the much-improved water supplies and the decisions by several area utilities to relax water restrictions.

But Mike Moneypenny, a National Weather Service hydrologist in Raleigh, said state officials are wary of telling people too soon that the drought is over.

Though local reservoirs are in good shape, Moneypenny said, the streams flowing into them have not returned to normal.

"We're one short step away from seeing problems again," he said.

Drought classifications are updated weekly by the state's Drought Management Advisory Council, which, in addition to rainfall, considers stream flow, soil moisture and vegetation.

"There's some subjectivity involved," Moneypenny said.

The Triangle still is running a rainfall deficit of 8 to 10 inches dating to the beginning of 2007. That deficit has kept moisture from seeping deep into the soil, which is why area streams have quickly gone down after recent rainfalls.

The Triangle will need normal amounts of rain over the next few months to saturate the deeper soil. Moneypenny said it is impossible to forecast when the drought might end.