Virtually the entire state of Utah — all but 0.06% — is now in either extreme or exceptional drought.
As of Tuesday, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor, 69.69% of the state is in the most serious category (exceptional); 30.25% is in the second-worst category (extreme); and 0.06% is in the severe drought category, the third-worst.
A year ago, none of Utah was in exceptional drought; 1.21% was in extreme drought; and 55.74% was in severe drought.
According to the report, 72% of Utah’s rangeland and pastures were rated poor to very poor, as of July 18.
The U.S. Drought Monitor is jointly produced by the National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the United States Department of Agriculture, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
