SALT LAKE CITY — Governor Spencer Cox says this is just the beginning of a flooding season that could last months across Utah.
So far, floods have caused residents to leave their homes in both Salt Lake City and Kaysville, with fast-moving water in Ogden a concern for people in the area.
Over 1.5 million sandbags have been sent to places that need them to handle flooding, while Cox reminded state employees that they can use time at work to help fill those sandbags.
The state is monitoring all areas and supporting local agencies, the governor said. Other state officials add that it's important to be safe around flood water because it's not known what debris is flowing in it.
But Cox said the warm-ups and cool-downs in temperatures are the weather patterns Utah needs right now.
“If we can do that, keep it in the 60s, maybe hit 70 once in a while, but bounce back down, we’re going to be okay for the next few months. Unlike 1983 when we had record snowfall into late May and then we had three days in the upper 80s, and that’s when you have a river running down state street," said Cox.
State agencies also don't expect a repeat of the '83 flooding because there wasn't a record water year prior like in 1982. Also, there have been improvements to infrastructure and the addition of more reservoirs.
