ST. GEORGE — As a new water year approaches, nearly 80% of Utah is listed as drought-free, which is a dramatic change from where it’s been in recent years. As may be expected, water officials are giving much of the state’s drought-free condition to this year’s historic winter.
Additional rainfall from the monsoon season has added to the state’s overall saturation, with the St. George area seeing more rainfall than previously recorded at 15.79 inches of precipitation.
“Conditions could not be better for our part of the state,” said Zach Renstrom, general manager of the Washington County Water Conservancy District.
This also makes for a great start to the new water year, he added.
The water year runs from Oct. 1 through Sept. 30 and measures 12 months of precipitation totals.
Around 77% of Utah is listed as being free of drought conditions as of last week (the week of Sept. 19), according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Parts of southeastern Utah reaching into the central part of the state, along with patches in Washington and Kane counties are marked as “abnormally dry” or in “moderate drought.”
A year ago, varying drought conditions covered 100% of the state, with the majority of that being in a state of severe drought.
Washington County is currently 83% free of drought conditions with the remainder listed as abnormally dry.
So far, conditions in Southern Utah have worked out just right, Renstrom said.
Snowpack run-off from the mountains didn’t cause any major flooding as had been feared, soil-moisture content remains high and temperatures have been rather mild, he said.
“Moving into this next water year we’re in the better condition we could ask for,” Renstrom said.
With the soil remaining saturated, whatever snow falls in the winter won’t be sucked into the soil and provide a good runoff in the spring. Whatever runoff comes will also top off the county’s reservoirs, the majority of which are over 90% full.
Provided positive conditions hold up through the winter, Renstrom said he expects to see an encore of the overflow falls at Gunlock Reservoir again next year.
As for predictions of what may be in store for the winter, it was announced earlier this year that the El Niño weather pattern was in full swing and likely to last into the next year.
El Nino winters generally bring warmer, drier winters in the northern parts of the United States, with colder, wetter winters happening in the southern portion, according to CNN.
In Utah, the National Weather Service is predicting a normal, or “equal chances” winter for temperatures and precipitation for the majority of the state. The Old Farmer’s Almanac is predicting a “winter wonderland.”
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