347
AXUS75 KSLC 272148
DGTSLC
UTC001-003-005-007-011-013-015-017-021-023-025-027-029-031-033-035-
039-041-043-045-049-051-053-055-057-WYC041
DROUGHT INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
245 PM MST MONDAY FEBRUARY 27, 2023
...SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS TO DROUGHT STATUS OVER THE LAST TWO
MONTHS...
.SYNOPSIS:
.DROUGHT INTENSITY AND EXTENT: ACCORDING TO THE FEBRUARY 23, 2023
RELEASE OF THE UNITED STATES DROUGHT MONITOR, ONLY 4% OF THE NWS'S
SALT LAKE CITY WEATHER FORECAST OFFICE REMAINS IN D3 (EXTREME
DROUGHT). 53% OF THE AREA REMAINS IN D2 (SEVERE) OR WORSE DROUGHT.
TO SEE COUNTY SPECIFIC DROUGHT INFORMATION, SEE
HTTPS://DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU
.PRECIPITATION: WELL ABOVE AVERAGE PRECIPITATION CONTINUED ACROSS
THE AREA THROUGH JANUARY, THOUGH MONTHLY PRECIPITATION FOR FEBRUARY
HAS BEEN LARGELY BELOW AVERAGE FOR THE MONTH. THIS SAID, ROBUST
PRECIPITATION DURING THE NOVEMBER THROUGH JANUARY PERIOD HAS RETAINED
ABOVE TO WELL ABOVE NORMAL PRECIPITATION FOR THE 2023 WATER YEAR,
WITH MOST BASINS ACROSS THE AREA YIELDING 110-170% OF AVERAGE
PRECIPITATION OVER THAT TIME.
.SNOWPACK: THE ABOVE MENTIONED WATER YEAR PRECIPITATION COMBINED
WITH MAINTENANCE OF NEAR TO BELOW NORMAL TEMPERATURES HAS FINALLY
YIELDED A ROBUST SNOWPACK AT THE MID AND UPPER ELEVATIONS ACROSS THE
AREA. ALL MAJOR BASINS ACROSS THE AREA ARE CURRENTLY WELL ABOVE
MEDIAN VALUES FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR, WITH VALUES RANGING BETWEEN 135-
207% OF NORMAL ACROSS THE STATE. STATEWIDE AVERAGED SNOWPACK IS 153%
OF MEDIAN, WHICH EQUATES TO THE 83RD PERCENTILE FOR THE PERIOD OF
RECORD. CURRENTLY THE STATEWIDE AVERAGED SNOWPACK IS SITTING AT 117%
OF A TYPICAL MEDIAN PEAK, WITH OVER A MONTH LEFT UNTIL TYPICAL PEAK
VALUES ARE MET.
.HYDROLOGIC CONDITIONS: ON A STATEWIDE LEVEL, ONLY 30% OF OUR AREA
STREAMS AND RIVERS ARE FLOWING AT NORMAL LEVELS, AND JUST 7% HAVE
ABOVE NORMAL FLOWS. THE REMAINDER OF THE USGS GAGE SITES ARE EITHER
BELOW OR WELL BELOW NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR, OR NOT RANKED DUE
TO ICE AFFECTS OR INSUFFICIENT RECORDS.
THE SOUTH ARM OF THE GREAT SALT LAKE (GSL) AVERAGE DAILY SURFACE
ELEVATION IS 4,190.1, UP ABOUT 1.6 FEET FROM ITS RECORD LOW IN
NOVEMBER. THE NORTH ARM OF THE GSL AVERAGE DAILY SURFACE ELEVATION
IS 4,189.1 FEET, UP ABOUT .6 FEET SINCE ITS NOVEMBER RECORD LOW.
SURFACE ELEVATIONS ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE THROUGH THE SPRING AND
INTO THE EARLY SUMMER.
FULL DEPTH MODELED SOIL MOISTURES VALUES (CALIBRATED TO FALL 2022
BASEFLOW CONDITIONS) ARE BELOW TO WELL BELOW AVERAGE FOR ALL OF
UTAH'S MAJOR BASINS, EXCLUDING THE UINTA MOUNTAINS WHERE NEAR TO
SLIGHTLY ABOVE NORMAL SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS EXIST. THESE VALUES
EQUATE TO A 10-25% DECREASE IN SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS VERSUS THIS
TIME LAST YEAR. NEAR SURFACE (DEPTH AVERAGED OF 20", 8", AND 2")
SOIL MOISTURE CONDITIONS HAVE SETTLED IN TO SLIGHTLY ABOVE MEDIAN
VALUES FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.
.UTAH RESERVOIR STATUS: OVERALL STATEWIDE STORAGE IS 51% OF
CAPACITY, EXCLUDING UTAH'S TWO LARGEST RESERVOIRS (LAKE POWELL AND
FLAMING GORGE). RESERVOIR STORAGE IS GRADUALLY INCREASING AT NORMAL
TRENDS FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR. LAKE POWELL, AT 22% CAPACITY, REMAINS
AT ITS LOWEST LEVELS SINCE BEING FILLED IN 1969.
.WATER SUPPLY FORECAST: THE OFFICIAL FEBRUARY WATER SUPPLY FORECASTS
ISSUED BY THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN RIVER FORECAST CENTER (CBRFC)
RANGE FROM 120-155% OF AVERAGE APRIL THROUGH JULY STREAMFLOW VOLUMES.
.DROUGHT MITIGATION ACTIONS:
ON NOVEMBER 3, 2022 GOVERNOR SPENCER COX ISSUED A PROCLAMATION
CLOSING THE GREAT SALT LAKE (GSL) BASIN TO NEW WATER RIGHT
APPROPRIATIONS IN AN EFFORT TO ADDRESS DECLINING WATER LAKE LEVELS.
THE STATE ENGINEER WILL EVALUATE THE SUSPENSION AND PROVIDE AN
UPDATE TO THE GOVERNOR BY NOVEMBER 1, 2023 TO DETERMINE IF IT SHOULD
REMAIN IN EFFECT.
.LOCAL DROUGHT OUTLOOK:
D3 (EXTREME) DROUGHT CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TO PERSIST INTO AND
POSSIBLY THROUGH THIS SPRING, WITH DIRECT TIES TO THE CONTINUED
EVOLUTION OF OF THIS WINTER'S SNOWPACK AND SUBSEQUENT SNOWMELT
RUNOFF. THIS SAID, THE ABUNDANT 2023 WATER YEAR PRECIPITATION AND
RESULTANT SNOWPACK ACROSS THE AREA HAS SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED OUR
LOCAL STATUS. MOVING FORWARD, THE CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC)
TILTS THE ODDS TOWARDS A WARMER AND DRIER THAN NORMAL MARCH-MAY
PERIOD ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN UTAH, BUT NO STRONG SIGNALS EXIST
FOR TEMPERATURES/PRECIPITATION FOR NORTHERN PORTIONS OF THE STATE.
.NEXT ISSUANCE DATE:
THIS PRODUCT WILL BE UPDATED BY APRIL 1, 2023 IF D3 (EXTREME)
DROUGHT STATUS REMAINS FOR ANY PORTION OF OUR AREA.
.RELATED WEBSITES:
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON CURRENT DROUGHT CONDITIONS MAY BE FOUND AT
THE FOLLOWING WEB ADDRESSES:
U.S. DROUGHT MONITOR: HTTPS://WWW.DROUGHTMONITOR.UNL.EDU/ US DROUGHT
PORTAL: HTTPS://DROUGHT.GOV/ CLIMATE PREDICTION CENTER (CPC):
HTTPS://WWW.CPC.NCEP.NOAA.GOV/ UTAH STATE CLIMATE CENTER:
HTTPS://CLIMATE.USU.EDU/ USDA NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE
(NRCS) UTAH: HTTPS://WWW.NRCS.USDA.GOV/WPS/PORTAL/NRCS/SITE/UT/HOME/
USDA NRCS WYOMING: HTTPS://WWW.NRCS.USDA.GOV/WPS/PORTAL/NRCS/SITE/WY/
ADDITIONAL WATER AND RIVER INFORMATION: CBRFC:
HTTPS://WWW.CBRFC.NOAA.GOV/ NWS: HTTPS://WATER.WEATHER.GOV/ USDA
NRCS UTAH:
HTTPS://WWW.NRCS.USDA.GOV/WPS/PORTAL/NRCS/DETAIL/UT/SNOW/?CID=NRCS141
P2_034248
.ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
THE UNITED STATES DROUGHT MONITOR IS A MULTIAGENCY EFFORT INVOLVING
NOAA’S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND NATIONAL CENTERS FOR
ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION, THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF
AGRICULTURE, STATE AND REGIONAL CLIMATOLOGISTS, AND THE NATIONAL
DROUGHT MITIGATION CENTER. INFORMATION FOR THIS STATEMENT WAS
GATHERED FROM OBSERVATION SITES, REGIONAL CLIMATE CENTERS, STATE
COOPERATIVE EXTENSION SERVICES, GREAT BASIN COORDINATION CENTER,
NATIONAL INTERAGENCY FIRE CENTER, AND NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION
SERVICE.
.CONTACT INFORMATION:
SHOULD YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS ABOUT THIS DROUGHT
STATEMENT, PLEASE CONTACT: NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WEATHER FORECAST
OFFICE SALT LAKE CITY, UT. PHONE: 801-524-5133 EMAIL:
NWS.SALTLAKECITY@NOAA.GOV.
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