How Utah Drought Was Impacted By Recent Flooding

Drought conditions in Utah have significantly changed after the state was hit by severe flooding.

A drought map released on April 13 by the U.S. Drought Monitor shows that Utah is now alleviated from its extreme drought status.

In comparison, a drought map from January 10, just three months ago, showed that most of the state was in either a severe or extreme drought. Other areas were in a moderate drought, while small parts were just abnormally dry.

Now, 30 percent of the state has no drought at all. Around 70 percent of the state is abnormally dry, with nearly 35 percent in a moderate drought. Just 7 percent is in a severe drought, and there seems to be no part of the state in an extreme drought.

Floods in the state have been caused by a particularly wet few months. A historic amount of rain and snow descended on much of the southwest over the winter and early spring period.

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Utah, along with most of the southwest, has been in the grips of a megadrought for decades. This is mostly being put down to human-caused climate change.

The drought has greatly affected the Great Salt Lake, the largest saltwater lake in the country, which reached historic lows in December.

However, the recent wet weather has meant that above-average snowpack accumulated in the surrounding mountains. This meant the lake's water levels have risen.

However, when a lot of rain and snow falls on an area that has been drought-stricken for so long, it can cause flooding. This is because the ground becomes so parched that water can not saturate. This subsequently causes flooding.

While flooding caused severe disruption, it has clearly meant good things for Utah's drought status.

The same happened in California, which has also seen a gigantic influx of rainfall over the past few months.

A drought map from February 28—after heavy rain and snow swept across the state—showed that most of the state was alleviated of its severe drought status.

A California drought monitor map from October 2022 showed large portions of California to be in an extreme or exceptional drought. The rest of the state was in a severe drought, with small portions in a moderate drought or just abnormally dry.

However, a map from February 28 showed that most of the state was just abnormally dry, while 16.7 percent of the state was not in a drought at all. Some small portions are in a moderate-to-severe drought.

While this may seem like very good news, experts have warned that the easing in drought status will probably not last.

As the southwest has been in a drought for so long, it will take years of above-average rainfall to completely counteract its effects.

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