Utah's drought may be over, climatologist says

It may be time to say goodbye to the drought, thanks to the wettest Utah spring in 19 years.

"I believe we are done with the drought, except with the southeastern part of the state," said Esmaiel Malek, interim director of the Utah Climate Center.

Recent snowmelt and spring rainstorms have filled many reservoirs and made Utah seem more like Seattle than the arid West.

"This first week in June continues to be more like spring than summer," said Eugene Van Cor, forecaster for the National Weather Service.

Van Cor reported that the Salt Lake City International Airport has already recorded about an inch of precipitation for June. The average for the first week of the usually dry month is .29 inch.

Mark Eubank , meteorologist for KSL-TV and radio, says he figures Salt Lake is about 400 percent above normal for the week.

These totals add to the 8.5 inches Utah logged for the spring, 2.5 inches above normal and almost as much as 2003 and 2004 combined.

"Statistically, it's been a very wet spring," Van Cor said.

This spring was so wet that it forced cities from Logan to St. George to sandbag rivers and roads. Dry Creek became soggy and wet, and then flooded Lehi Elementary's parking lot. Snowbird Ski Resort added so much snow that it announced that it would stay open until Independence Day.

In fact, Eubank said this is the wettest spring in 19 years. The meteorological spring includes March, April, and May, but it seems that Utah weather wants spring to continue right on through June.

"This first week in June is much like early spring. Quite a few places picked up a little bit of snow," Van Cor said of a storm on Tuesday that brought snow to Tooele, Logan and higher elevations along the Wasatch Front.

With a few more inches of rain, Melek believes the southeastern part of the state could clear itself of the drought situation as well.

The U.S. drought monitor currently shows northern Utah as neutral — out of any drought situation — and only parts of southern Utah as abnormally dry. For the past five years, the monitor has painted Utah red and orange, even in the winter months, meaning that it was severely and extremely dry.

"We are happy, despite having floods in some part of states," Malek said.

However, Brent Bourgeous, KSL weather producer, wants to see groundwater and lakes, especially the Great Salt Lake, replenished before he declares Utah out of a drought situation.

Ironically, this week's water brings relief from flooding dangers. The cold temperatures have been keeping the snow on the mountain, and small amounts of rain in short periods of time don't challenge the rivers.