SALT LAKE CITY, Utah — Recent heavy rainfall and flooding over the past few weeks has provided a silver lining in the drought situation across the state. With the new Drought Monitor Map being released for this week, very positive trends can be seen.
Coming out of the summer, most of the state was under Extreme Drought conditions. Even through the middle of October, several spots across the state were dealing with moderate to extreme conditions.
The new map shows trend in the right direction for southern, central and eastern Utah. All areas have seen improvements, and few isolated spots through northeastern Utah are no longer under drought conditions.
Michael Sanchez from Utah Division of Water Resources explains that it's been several months since we've seen some parts of Utah under no drought concerns.
"The last time we saw zero drought in parts of the state was in June 2025, and 3% of the state was in zero," Sanchez said.
He also cautions the state to not let up on conservation efforts. Even though high water use is sustained through the summer months, our indoor water use can be minimized by taking shorter baths and showers and implement more water efficient appliances.