PHOENIX (AP) — Recent flooding across the U.S. Southwest is providing rare relief to thirsty reservoirs that had fallen to record lows amid a yearslong megadrought.
Storms in late October and early November sent torrents of water through normally small or dry creeks that overflowed their banks and flooded local communities.
Hundreds of people were told to evacuate, and the flooding cut off access to some areas. Yet most of that water will end up feeding depleted lakes and underground aquifers, said Martin Hoerling, a climate scientist and hydrologist at the University of Colorado, Boulder.
“That’s somewhat of an unexpected boost from Mother Nature,” Hoerling said.
Last winter's lackluster snowfall did little to recharge water bodies when it melted in the spring and summer, when they typically get their biggest bump of the year.
Then came the chaotic climate phenomenon, El Niño, that has intensified heavy rain and floods. Experts say its impacts will last several more months, potentially further boosting water supplies across the West where water primarily is stored in lakes, aquifers and snowpack.
Lake Powell, the second-largest reservoir in the U.S., rose more than 20 feet (6.1 meters) from its mid-September low — dwarfing its gains from this year's snowmelt, Hoerling said. Still, the lake remained just over a quarter full, and 15 of its 17 boat launches remained unusable as of Friday.
The floodwaters and additional rain could raise the lake along the Arizona-Utah border further, for a total of over 1.2 million acre-feet — enough to support around 4 million average families for a year, Hoerling estimated.
Cities in the region reported some of their wettest weather in decades.
Before storms began dumping about 7 inches (17.78 centimeters) of rain around Pagosa Springs, Colorado, in October, more than 10,000 people in the town and surrounding communities were under water restrictions. Restaurants were encouraged to serve water only on request, town manager David Harris said. Those restrictions are now lifted.
“While the storm was destructive, I think there is a silver lining,” Harris said. “You’re getting a good start to the winter snowpack in the higher elevations.”
Upper Lake Mary, which captures spring snowmelt in Northern Arizona and supplies Flagstaff, Arizona, with up to 40% of its water, received more than 3 billion gallons of water since early October, said Flagstaff water production manager Brian Huntzinger.
Storms last weekend dumped the equivalent of more than two years of water into the town's surface water supply and provided a buffer for an operation that depends heavily on underground aquifers, Huntzinger said.
“It’s just a great, great thing to see,” Huntzinger said. “We might be overflowing at this rate before we see any snow fly.”
In central Arizona, heavy floodwaters that trapped people in their homes gushed into streams that feed the Verde River. That prompted water officials to release water from two nearly full dams into the Verde's normally dry stretch in metro Phoenix, said Bo Svoma, the principal meteorologist at the Salt River Project that manages reservoirs on the Salt and Verde rivers.
The region remains in drought despite the intense rains.
And decisions already have been made to divvy up water in the Colorado River basin. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, which manages reservoirs in the West, is unlikely to change its water releases from Lake Powell or other areas until it knows when snowpack has peaked, typically around April, said Jack Schmidt, a Utah State University professor who studies the Colorado River.
Reclamation spokesperson Mary Carlson acknowledged conditions have improved but added ”considerable uncertainty remains.”
Under the federal plan for managing the Colorado River's Lower Basin, California, Nevada and Arizona will collectively reduce water use by 1.25 million acre-feet (about 1.54 billion cubic meters) annually in the next two years. That is enough to fill over 600,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools, with the possibility of larger cuts depending on conditions.
Nevada and Arizona are challenging the plan in court.
Some Arizona cities have agreed to fund preliminary work to reduce reliance on the Colorado River by expanding an existing dam on the Verde River to capture runoff from storms, Svoma said.
“We need to figure out how to be resilient in a drier future. And we’re not quite there yet,” Hoerling said.
This photo provided by the National Park Service shows the Stateline Auxiliary Launch ramp floating on Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreational Area on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, near Page, Ariz. (M. Prachthauser/National Park Service via AP)
This photo provided by the National Park Service shows the Wahweap Marina floating on Lake Powell inside the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area on Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, near Page, Ariz. (M. Prachthauser/National Park Service via AP)
KRAKOW, Poland (AP) — Poland began two days of national mourning on Sunday, after a 24-year-old man with far-right views drove into a busy central square in Krakow and opened fire, killing six people and wounding 15 others before police shot and wounded him.
The attack, which Poland’s defense minister described as an “act of terror,” happened on Saturday in Main Square, in the heart of Krakow’s Old Town. It is a major tourist hub in the country’s second-largest city.
By Saturday evening, mourners had left candles in memory of the victims. The square remained partially closed on Sunday morning as authorities continued their investigation.
St. Mary’s Trumpet Call, a traditional five-note melody played every hour from the highest tower of St. Mary’s Basilica on the Main Square, was paused overnight in tribute to the victims. It was the first time the call had been missed since World War II.
Authorities also found the bodies of the assailant’s sister, mother and father at the man’s family home in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski, a city about 150 kilometers (93 miles) northeast of Krakow. They likely died from gunshot wounds.
Marie-Ange Collaer wrote on Facebook that she and her family survived the shooting during a trip to Krakow from Brussels.
“We literally ran for our lives and managed to hide from the bullets flying around,” she wrote. “Lying on the floor in a shop like in a bad police movie whilst you hear bullets everywhere.”
U.K. resident Neil Thaxton and his wife also lived through the attack.
“We had just walked through the main square and heard the gunshots,” Thaxton wrote on Facebook. “We thought it was fireworks then people started running, we went into a gift shop and the staff took us in the back of the shop and locked the doors and turned the lights off.”
Alexandros Maronitis, a tourist from Greece, told The Associated Press that he couldn't get back to his lodgings for five hours after the tragedy.
“We saw the shooter when they picked him up with the ambulance," Maronitis said. “So, we’re a bit afraid. It’s our first time in Poland. We heard it’s a safe country.”
American tourist Marylin Green mourned the losses in the “beautiful city" during her first trip to Poland that also included the capital.
“I’m Polish, my parents were from here,” she said. "I loved Warsaw. So I was really looking forward to coming here, too.”
Witness Andy Hill told the BBC that he'd felt like he was in a movie scene.
"It doesn’t feel real,” the British tourist said. “And the trouble is, you have such an instantaneous moment to make a decision: Run. Stand still. There’s an element of shock. But I just thought the easiest thing to do is dive through a doorway and just take refuge behind the windows.”
Prosecutors said Sunday they opened an investigation into the murder and attempted murder of numerous people, including police officers, with the act “constituting a terrorist offense.”
Four women and two men were killed in the Main Square shooting. Three of the women and one of the men were Polish, Krzysztof Jan Klęczar, the Malopolska regional governor, said on Sunday. A man from the U.K. and a woman from an unidentified foreign country were also among the dead.
A video posted on social media showed a police officer repeatedly shooting the attacker, who was lying on the street. The officer later slowly collapsed to the ground.
The two police officers who stopped the gunman, in actions authorities hailed as heroic, remain in the hospital. They were both conscious by Sunday afternoon.
“If it weren’t for the efficient and selfless intervention of these two young men, the number of victims could have been significantly higher,” Klęczar said.
Michał Pędziwiatr and Mateusz Wierdak, two local surgeons who were having a bite to eat nearby, also stepped in.
Wierdak "took care of the officer who subdued the attacker because he truly needed urgent help,” Pędziwiatr told Polish news website onet. “Without protection, without gloves, he simply focused on the officer, stopping the bleeding in his chest. This probably saved his life.”
Five foreigners are among the wounded. They come from the U.K., Portugal, Russia, Germany and Austria.
The suspect is also in critical condition after undergoing multiple surgeries. There was confusion on Saturday about his age, with authorities first saying 24 and later 25. On Sunday they confirmed that he is 24.
Interior Minister Marcin Kierwiński said the suspect holds “very radical” and “ultranationalistic” views.
“Everything indicates that he was fascinated by far-right ideologies,” Kierwiński said at a news conference.
Local officials in Ostrowiec Świętokrzyski said they seized seven weapons from the family home, bringing the total number recovered to 11, including four found on the suspect or in his car in Krakow. Both father and son had gun permits, they said.
Around 411,000 people hold gun permits in Poland, which has a population of 37 million, and interest in gun ownership has been rising.
The Swit shooting club in Starachowice, where the suspect is believed to have trained, issued a statement on Sunday saying it offered only “static shooting,” which involves firing from a fixed position at a stationary target. The club added that the suspect “was never trained in our club in the areas of dynamic, tactical or combat shooting.”
Mass shootings are uncommon in Poland. However, in mid-October three attacks at schools in the central province of Mazovia took place within four days, leaving one person dead and many wounded, including children. The young attackers used knives or other sharp objects. Officials blamed the school attacks on online “glorification of violence,” and said that some of the attackers were active in the far-right environment.
The Krakow shooter’s military gear, guns and overall look were similar to those of other “extreme right lone actors” committing attacks around Europe, said Kacper Rekawek, a senior researcher at the International Center for Counterterrorism in The Hague.
“We have had attempts before, but now we can say that these kinds of attacks have become successful in Poland,” he said.
Ciobanu reported from Warsaw, Poland. Associated Press writer Stefanie Dazio in Berlin contributed to this report.
Candles and flowers are placed near the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Armed police officers secure a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Police privacy screens are installed in a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Police officers stand at the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
A woman lights a candle near the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
The flag of Poland flies at half-mast at the town hall in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Candles stand near the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
A back flag hangs at a house near the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
A police barrier tape is fixed at a broken storefront window near the market square in Krakow, Poland, Sunday, Nov. 8, 2026, where several people were shot the day before. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
Forensic investigators work next to police privacy screens in a cordoned off area after a shooter opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
A forensic investigator takes photos next to the vehicle allegedly used by a shooter who opened fire in a market square in Krakow, Poland, Saturday, Nov. 7, 2026, leaving people dead and injured, according to authorities. (AP Photo/Beata Zawrzel)
