October has been kind to Utah with precipitation, officials said. Will this continue? – Deseret News

Soil moisture levels in Utah are extremely low, which can cause a lot of foreboding when it comes to the effectiveness of spring runoff and how much moisture the ground absorbs.

Still, the state’s mountain regions have reason to cheer, according to a new report from the Natural Resources Conservation Service that tracks water supply prospects during the snow accumulation season.

Jordan Clayton, director of snow research for Utah, said the 2025 water year is off to a pretty good start, even for Utah’s valleys.

“Precipitation in October was 125% of normal, helped by impressive rainfall in the Uinta Basin and southeastern Utah,” he said.

The moisture has “dramatically” increased soil saturation levels in the Uinta Basin.

Utah’s mountains received more snow than their valleys.

“Some of this precipitation was snow, and while we always look forward to snow season (the mountains look great!), we decided not to include snow percentage of normal in this report because normals are so minimal for this time of year. “Clayton said, adding that they skew the percentages and are therefore not normal.

Clayton warned how inconsistent snow is in Utah.

“We also want to caution Utahns to remember that last winter’s snowpack started slow but ended above normal, and many other recent years started strong but then stopped in January due to the presence of blocking high-pressure systems.” – he wrote. “In short: We welcome the snow, but we’ll wait until he gets too excited about it until much later in the season.”

Utah’s reservoir storage is 71% full, down 3% from last year as of Nov. 1, but that remaining capacity will make room for the approaching snowpack (fingers crossed) and potentially ease any concerns about flooding.

In terms of what the agency calls “water availability indices,” which include reservoir conditions in basins and observed stream flows, there are signs of encouragement, as those indicators are in the top 20th percentile for three of Utah’s 18-Ogden basins. Price and Joe Dolin.

They are well below normal for the Blacks Fork-Smiths Fork and Lower Sevier and Virgin River watersheds.

In southeastern Utah, which has been hit hard by drought, an average of 1.5 inches fell across the region. While that may not seem like much, Clayton said October rainfall is 250% of average.

Conversely, the St. George region struggles early in the season, with only 80% of the median occurring in October.

But as Clayton emphasized, there are still many, many months left before the snow hits, and many, many more months to worry or be alternately excited.

Although it’s cold outside, it looks like another storm possibility will emerge as early as Wednesday.