There was real refreshment in a 2-inch rainfall that bathed the Triangle on Wednesday and Thursday, and there was a glimmer of hope in a forecast for another 1 to 3 inches by tonight.

No, it wasn't enough rain to rescue the region from its water supply crisis. Not even close.

Local officials urged residents to maintain their conservation vigilance. "We're so dry that these first couple of inches are soaking into the ground, and we're not getting that much runoff," said Dale Crisp, Raleigh utilities director.

Some of the rain did begin to trickle into streams and lakes.

The level of Raleigh's Falls Lake rose about 3 inches in 24 hours, the first real improvement in five weeks. Durham's Little River Reservoir fell by a tiny fraction, while its Lake Michie rose by 2.4 inches. In southern Orange County, Cane Creek Reservoir was unchanged, but University Lake rose 1.5 inches.

All the lakes remained several feet below their normal levels.

The rain made Emery Milliken's North Raleigh yard soft enough to dig again after a hard, dry summer. During a midday break in the rain Thursday, she shopped at the Logan Trading Co. garden center in downtown Raleigh for pansies, cabbage and kale.

"I'm going to be optimistic and see if I can put them in the ground," Milliken said. "And hopefully we'll have enough rain each couple of weeks to keep them alive."

Darin Figursky, a National Weather Service meteorologist, said the week's total rainfall across the Triangle could reach 3 to 5 inches through tonight. Dry weather is expected to return this weekend and linger next week.

"This rain is welcome, no doubt about it, but the key is still conservation," Figursky said. "We still need a higher frequency of rainfall, and probably on the order of 15 to 20 inches over the next three months, to bring us substantial, long-term relief."

That would mean an unusually wet winter for the Triangle; instead, forecasters are expecting less rain than normal.

Vicki Westbrook, deputy water management director for the city of Durham, called the rain "a nice little relief." She recalled the downpours of October 2002, when Tropical Storm Kyle ended a drought and refilled Durham's reservoirs in 48 hours.

"Of course, I never wish tropical storms on anybody," Westbrook added. "We still need a sustained response from our customers, changing their water use. Whether it's taking shorter showers or collecting shower water and using that for flushing toilets, or whatever they can do."

Crisp said the rain probably would cut demand for outdoor water use, and Milliken agreed.

The drought has claimed some of her lawn and a lot of liriope she had planted in her yard. After Raleigh banned lawn sprinklers, Milliken began watering some of her young shrubs by hand to keep them alive -- two days a week, as permitted by current regulations.

"With this kind of rain, I ought to be able to get through a week without having to do that," Milliken said. "So I think that's a big benefit, cutting down on consumption. Even though it's not really making a huge dent in the drought."