Utah now the only US state with unwanted drought situation

SALT LAKE CITY — Virtually all of Utah is in a drought for the first time in nearly three years.

Technically, 99.99% of the state is listed in moderate or severe drought in the latest U.S. Drought Monitor report, but it was enough for the National Integrated Drought Information System to point out Thursday that the Beehive State is now the only U.S. state entirely in drought at the moment.

Dry conditions and above-normal temperatures pushed the remaining parts of central and northern Utah that were still considered "abnormally dry" into moderate drought, Curtis Riganti, a climatologist for the National Drought Mitigation Center, wrote in the report.

It marks the first time that all parts of the Beehive State have been in drought since Oct. 25, 2022, before a record snowpack carried the state out of extreme and exceptional drought that had impacted the state since 2020.

Thursday's update isn't much of a surprise. It comes after the Utah Division of Water Resources reported earlier this week that outflows from the state's reservoirs are outpacing inflows earlier than usual, which is something that typically happens later in the summer. Utah's statewide reservoir system is now 79% full, which is above the July median average of 73% but far below last year's average of 91%.

Gov. Spencer Cox also called on Utahns of all faiths to pray for rain and take steps to conserve water amid the state's dry conditions last week.

"Small actions, taken together, can make a big difference for our stats," he said.

Utah is no stranger to drought or drought cycles, which have many impacts. Drought can deplete the state's water supply and availability, which can impact the agricultural, outdoor recreation and energy industries, the Utah Department of Natural Resources noted in a video posted to social media this week. It can also increase wildfire threats and harm fish and wildlife habitats.

The North American monsoon is often the best tool to help Utah recover from drought during the summer. Monsoonal storms rarely contribute to reservoir storage, but they can also reduce evaporation and wildfire risk, while improving soil moisture levels.

And while Utah has slid into drought, the state experienced its first taste of the summer monsoon this week. Torrey, Wayne County, received as much as 0.63 inches of precipitation on Wednesday, resulting in some flash flooding in and around Capitol Reef National Park. Even parts of the Wasatch Front, like Lehi, got 0.34 inches from isolated thunderstorms.

More isolated storms are in the forecast for Thursday and potentially on the Fourth of July, as a pair of small or decaying low-pressure systems pass through the state over the next few days, said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson. Hot and dry conditions are forecast for the rest of the holiday weekend and early next week.

Those conditions could linger into mid-July, but the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center also lists the state as having "equal chances" for wetter, drier or normal precipitation collections this month.

Outlooks also "favor above-normal monsoonal precipitation for the southwestern U.S." this month, National Integrated Drought Information System officials reported this week. This could improve drought conditions for the region, but the agency warns that doesn't mean Southwest is out of the woods just yet.

"Precipitation in the first half of July is not a predictor of precipitation during the rest of the monsoon season," officials added. "Tracking conditions and outlooks as summer progresses will be especially important."

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