Utah drought eased by abundant summer rain


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SALT LAKE CITY — Bountiful August rain has drenched various parts of Utah over the last four years, helping the state weather the impacts of limited snowpack and dismal spring runoff.

Northern Utah rain totals for August were particularly ample this year, with the Provo-Jordan River basin recording a staggering 153 percent of average and the Weber-Ogden basin lagging not far behind at 144 percent of average.

"It's been great for agriculture," said Randy Julander, the supervisor of the Utah Snow Survey with the Natural Resources Conservation Service. "The remarkable thing is given the low snowpack and low runoff, we are heading into the end of the water year with about the same reservoir storage we had last year."

The monthly Utah Water and Climate Report prepared by Julander's office and released Tuesday shows that healthy rainfall saturated much of northern Utah but left southwest Utah wanting, where totals only reached 74 percent of average.


The remarkable thing is given the low snowpack and low runoff, we are heading into the end of the water year with about the same reservoir storage we had last year.

–Randy Julander, Natural Resources Conservation Service


"By and large we had a really good summer," he said. "The bottom line is we have been able to conserve a whole lot of water in reservoir storage and if not for May, July and August rain, we'd be down about 10 percentage points lower on that storage."

Statewide reservoir storage sits at 55 percent, down 5 percent from last month and about where the state was sitting last year, at 57 percent.

"We are fortunate to be where we are in terms of reservoir storage," he said.

Deseret News Graphic
Deseret News Graphic

Utah's current water year ends Oct. 1, which then marks the beginning of the snow accumulation season.

Julander said the good news is that southern Utah, which has taken a beating over the last several years with low rainfall and little snow in the mountains, is on tap to be the beneficiary of El Nino, which some forecasters say could be one of the strongest on record.

The weather phenomenon is characterized by unusually warm temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, leading to active and wet weather patterns, particularly for that part of the state.

Julander said it is anyone's guess what will happen this coming fall and winter for the rest of the state.

"It really is a flip of the coin," he said. "We'll keep our fingers crossed that it goes big up here as well."

Contributing: Alex Cabrero

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