Northern Utah Rivers Peak Low And One Month Early - SL Tribune

[hatrack]

Abundant April showers helped sprout a boatload of May flowers, but the rains did little to relieve Utah's drought. Six winters of below-normal snowfall already had taken their toll and continue to draw down rivers and reservoirs around the state.

"It's not so hot as far as water supply is concerned," said Brian McInerney, hydrologist for the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City. Most of the state's midsize reservoirs will not fill this year, and the larger lakes and reservoirs are well below normal.

EDIT

The Weber River at the town of Oakley, for example, normally begins peaking during the first week in June, running at a flow rate of 890 cubic feet per second (cfs) for two weeks. This year, it peaked the first week in May at about 700 cfs for just five days, McInerney said.

At the Utah-Wyoming line, the Bear River's peak usually starts about June 1 and lasts for three weeks at about 800 cfs. This year, it peaked at 780 cfs the first week in May and began dropping off after six days."

EDIT

http://www.sltrib.com/2004/May/05192004/utah/167894.asp

[northzax]

1. it's not a drought

it's reality. the 20th century was freakishly wet by historical standards in the Mountain West and the South West. This is normal.