DENVER -- Experts believe Colorado needs 80 inches of snow over the next two months, or 1.3 inches per day, just to have an average snowpack.

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The state has had six straight below-average winters, and a dry January didn't help.

Two-thirds of the way through snow season, the state has 70 percent of the average snowpack for this time of year, according to the monthly snow survey by the Natural Resources Conservation Service released Tuesday.

At the beginning of January, accumulations were at 85 percent of average.

Still, the state has 21 percent more snow this year than last. Every day without snow knocks the average more than 1 percent off its mark.

The snowpack percentage is measured against a 30-year average.

Snowpack is crucial because melting snow provides about 80 percent of the water in the state's rivers, lakes and reservoirs.

Colorado receives the bulk of its snowfall before April 1.

Drought has gripped the West, and much of this year's snowpack may be absorbed to aquifers or parched soil and foliage before it reaches reservoirs and ditches, experts said.

Water officials have warned residents that watering restrictions last year likely will be in place again this year.