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SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's drought situation did something this week for the first time since the current water year began in October.
It worsened — even if it was only by a small percentage.
The U.S. Drought Monitor released its weekly report Thursday, finding 33.64% of Utah is now in its "extreme" drought category. That's up from 31.81% last week but also down from 70.7% at the start of the calendar year. All parts of the state remain in at least a moderate drought.
The subtle increase comes as Utah's snowpack collection has hit a wall after the first week of January, which was Utah's driest January in 61 years and third-driest since statewide records were first collected in 1895. Since Utah's snow collection typically ends in early April, Utah natural resource officials say the next two months — 54 days, really — are critical for the state's 2022 water supply.
Snowpack is important to the state because about 95% of the state's water supply comes from snowpack melting in the spring and flowing into streams and reservoirs. Since many reservoirs suffered in 2021, as a result of a drought that began in 2020 and below-average snowpack last snow season. Utah Department of Natural Resources officials say above-average snowstorms are needed to refill the state's reservoirs.
The agency reports Utah's statewide reservoir storage is currently at 53.6% of capacity, compared to 64% this time last year. Thirty-two of Utah's 45 largest reservoirs are below 55% of capacity. All the reservoirs will refill in the spring but the biggest question is how much.
"Dry weather isn't what we want. We need consistent snowstorms. These next two months will really determine what kind of spring runoff we will have," said Brian Steed, the executive director at the Utah Department of Natural Resources, in a statement Thursday.
Utah's snowpack is also starting to recede a bit, falling to 9 inches on Thursday. It had been 9.1 inches since Jan. 22, according to Natural Resources Conservation Service data. As of Thursday, it is 89% of normal for this time in the year and about 57% of it's normal peak, when the snow melts and the water ends up in streams, rivers and reservoirs.
Ninety percent of Utah's current snowpack came from storms that occurred between Dec. 8 and Jan. 9. The state closed off the 2021 calendar with its seventh-wettest December on record, a result of an atmospheric river that came from the Pacific. But it only collected 0.1 inches after Jan. 9, which has now reportedly melted.
The good news is that soil moisture levels are still above-average, which wasn't the case this time last year. Utah Department of Natural Resources officials say this statistic is also important for spring runoff efficiency. There's also hope that storms are on the horizon based on new National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center outlooks.
With much more snowpack needed this snow collection season, anything over the next two months would help.
