The satellite image shows us socked in under rain clouds today. This rain is a good thing. Sure, it's gray and gloomy. And dank. And lots of us would rather have a good 10-inch snowstorm to remind us that this is winter in Maryland.

But while some would welcome snow, it comes at a cost in salt and manpower. And we all really, really need this rain, which is free. And in fact, we could use a lot more of it. The few tenths of an inch we're due today, and the dusting of snow we could get after the cold front passes through late today, will not get us far.

So far this winter BWI has recorded 9.21 inches of melted precipitation. That sounds like plenty, but in fact it is not quite keeping up with the norms for the December-through-February period. We are actually more than a quarter-inch short of the long-term average.

The real problem is that we entered this winter with a serious moisture deficit across much of the state - six, eight inches in many spots, and even more on the Eastern Shore. Baltimore's reservoirs had dipped to less than two-thirds of capacity by mid-December. That was no cause for alarm, perhaps, but it was a deficit that we nevertheless hoped to erase before the weather warmed up, evaporation increased, vegetation began to draw on soil moisture again and the heavy water-use season began.

That hasn't happened. Kurt Kocher, down at the city's Department of Public Works, says that while the reservoirs have done some recharging this winter - climbing to 78 percent of capacity by last week - they remain below par for the end of February.

"We would usually be higher than this," he said. "I know from experience you would be up around 90 percent, and in many cases pushing 100 percent this time of year ... We should be a lot further along. And we're not. We didn't have the tropical  (storm) season last fall. We just didn't get any of that." Nor have we gotten even normal rain or snow, much less a surplus.

The city continues to pump water from the Susquehanna River in a bid to conserve supplies in the reservoirs for this coming summer. It is currently running one pump, at a cost of $10,000 a day, pulling about 44 million gallons a day down the long pipe from the river. At times this winter the city was running two pumps, and moving about 90 million gallons a day. That's water that would otherwise have come from Loch Raven Reservoir, and Prettyboy above it. Instead, it will be available there in the reservoirs this summer, when demand peaks and water quality in the Susquehanna declines.

"I think we're doing okay," Kocher said. "If people continue to take steps to use water wisely, and do some basic conservation measures, that will be good for making sure everybody has an adequate water supply come spring. And also, you'll save money. So keep your fingers crossed."

While the northern tier of counties in Maryland is seeing normal soil moisture conditions, and groundwater is recharging, it remains low for this time of year. And much of Southern Maryland and the Lower Eastern Shore continues in drought.

So let's not hear any complaints about the drippy skies.