Drought-stricken West holds out for more than just dry snow

BERNALILLO, N.M. (AP) - It’s a picture-perfect scene — the snow-dusted Sandia Mountains providing a backdrop to the dormant willow and cottonwood trees lining the Rio Grande. While the recent snow has provided a psychological salve to the pains of a persistent drought, it won’t go far in easing the exceptional conditions that have taken hold of New Mexico over the past year.Every square mile of the arid state is dealing with some level of dryness, with more than half locked in