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Most of Utah remains under extreme drought despite recent snowfall

Utah Drought Report 12-16.jpg
Posted at 12:54 PM, Dec 16, 2021
and last updated 2021-12-16 14:54:44-05

SALT LAKE CITY — Officials say recent snowfalls have done good for Utah's current drought condition, but a dry November is keeping the state from where it needs to be.

WATCH: Report warns of long-term drought, air quality issues

The latest drought report released Thursday from the Utah Division of Water Resources showed most of the state remains under an extreme drought, and needing a lot more snow to get back to average.

“This past week the snow water equivalent – or how much water is in the snow – was lower than any time in the past 30 years, but this last storm system brought us closer to average,” said Brian Steed, executive director of the Department of Natural Resources. “We still have a long way to go and need many snowstorms to reach an average, or preferably above-average, snowpack.”

The report measured data up until Tuesday, hours before a strong storm system dumped feet of snow onto most of northern Utah.

In the video below, Jordan Clayton joins FOX 13 to talk about how this week's snowfall will impact Utah's drought

In-depth: How much impact will this snowstorm have on Utah's drought?

According to the report, the state's snow water equivalent currently stands at 2.8 inches, just 74% of median for this time of year and 18% of median peak, which usually occurs around the first of April.

Reservoirs in the state are at 50% storage capacity, well below the 62% mark at the same time last year. Currently, 39 of Utah's 45 largest reservoirs are below 55% available capacity.

Reservoir Fill Numbers
This map shows the current fill percentages at Utah reservoirs