Well,I believe this is our 3rd year of drought. Here in Manitou Springs Colorado(alt 6800'),we currently have 1 1/2" of new snow. This mornings news gave the statistic this is the 3rd worse year in 100 years we have had for drought. I live in the foothills next to open forest and worry the scrub oak,pine trees and junipers will die back,what a fire hazard that will be! As of last October 1st "all" outdoor watering has been banned. The mountains are getting "tons" of snow,so the run off will be GREAT! Still,taking a bath and flushing a toilet may cost more in the future,water costs have gone up!!!

Here in Durango, Colo., (6,500 ft) there is snow on the ground (3 inches in the shade / 8 inches total so far this month). Everyone is happy that the drought is broken. BUT IT'S NOT BROKEN! NOT EVEN CLOSE! Don't get me wrong. I am grateful for the snow and pray for more. But we've seen a large influx of people moving here. To them, a drought is "normal." When it snows once or twice, a drought is over. The biggest problem with water issues, in my opinion, is the lack of experience and perspective. No one remember 1976-77 when it snowed only 20 inches all winter. While people remember last summer's tragic forest fires, the tap still runs when the faucet is turned on. (Sorry for the rant... I'll calm down now. )OK... In any case, I checked with the stats. We've had 8 inches of snow in December, yet the water content of that snow is still only 63 percent of historical "normal." Drought-buster my butt! We (meaning us here in the Rocky Mountain West) are in for a long recovery. Hydrologist quoted in the local paper said that is would take three years of above average moisture just to replenish the water normally held in the soil. Our soils are so darn dry (absurdly dry) that moisture will be absorbed without much runoff or movement. The other thing is that temperatures are getting warmer. A lot of winter/spring moisture, particularly in elevations below 5,500 feet, falls as rain instead of snow. No lower-elevation snowpack means a much dryer June/July/August. It's a vicious cycle. I read something in one of my xeriscape books about droughts coinciding with sunspot activity. The book, as I recall, was published seven or eight years ago, and it said sunspot activity would peak in 2002. Imagine that! I'll see if I can find it and post the info here. I agree, Dswan. Bring on the snow, but I'm preparing for another hot and dry one nevertheless.

We were supposed to get 3-6 inches of snow this morning but the storm fell apart and left us with just a dusting. Very disconcerting. When we moved into our house four years ago, we had a nice view of the Great Salt Lake. Now we have a good view of mudflats.

Stupid weather! It happened down here, too. The forecast was for snow on Sunday. Nothing. Even the clouds broke up by mid afternoon. Snow was forecast for NY Day. Now it looks to be partly cloudy. The storms are losing energy as they move to the Rockies. Feast or famine, eh? Hearing of the GSL "mudflats" reminds me of the early summer of 1983. That's when near record snowfalls decided to melt all at once in May. The Great Salt Lake swallowed the restored "Salt-Air" resort. Water was diverted down Main Street from City Creek Canyon. It was a mess. I was working in Missouri and saw Associated Press photos of my former neighbor's kids stacking sandbags in the old neighborhood. It's hard to imagine that 20 years ago, SLC and the West were dealing with floods.

Hard for me to believe as well. I remember well the river flowing down State Street in SLC. In my own home town, the little streams that came out of the Oquirrhs were storming out of the mountains with such force that they were carving deep ravines in the streambeds.

We had a storm today, forcasted for 3-6 inches. We got just under an inch though my DW indicates we got quite a bit of rain prior to the snow. Still, I remember as a child shoveling three feet of snow and we've got home movies to showing the snow almost as high as we were.

Since I don't have any place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

In my part of the state, papers say we're entering our 5th year of drought. It's pretty bad, and balmy weather isn't helping. Its been in the 50s, and bulbs have been coming up for the past 3 weeks. No water restrictions here yet, but today people were watering their lawns like crazy. I'm glad I spent the past three years removing most of ours. Don't think I'll be planting much this year.

We live about 50 miles SE of Denver, and I can tell you, that as of now things look even worse than they did at this point last year..... granted we've had "some" snow, but the soil is so dry it's amazing. In the middle of Jan. you can easily dig down 3+ feet - unheard of around here at this time of year. There's just no moisture in the ground to freeze! Where we normally see clay, it's so dried out it's like beach sand now. Never thought I'd feel this way - but we actually want our clay back :)

This appears to be the worse drought year of the five we're having. The latest storm didn't even make the pavement wet. It's comfortably warm outside.

I went for a hike in the foothills above my house in an area that should require snowshoes or cross-country skis. I didn't even need boots. The heaviest snow I got into was about an inch.

There may be a deity after all. We received 1.5 feet of snow this morning and how welcome it was. Thick wet stuff. Ten more of these and we might be able to water our lawns this summer.

I awoke to 10" of the white stuff!!!! Yeah!!!! After yesterdays 60 degree temps. I figured that this storm would be a disappointment like so many others have been this year. This was a great suprise. I had to go out and knock the snow off some of the trees in the yard so the branches wouldn't break. I'm hoping we get a couple more just like this before spring. Phil (the groundhog) seems to think that there'll be 6 more weeks that mother nature can work on it.

I live in the Ogden area and there is something that really bugs me about this drought. Its the 'water people'. I heard one say on the news the other night that it would take one inch per day for 14 days to break the drought. That is absurd. I think the drought in northern Utah has been greatly exagerated. Yes, we have been drier than normal for several years and conservation is in order. But I don't think things are as bad as they like us to believe. Last spring the flood gates had to be opened for pineview because is was so full. I don't call that a drought.
I also heard a water person say that this rain and cool weather we have had in the last few weeks has made no dent in the drought. I disagree with that too. Of course it made a dent.
That's my opinion on this drought situation. Some agree with me, some don't.

dereks, I live over in Tooele and the drought is quite real to us. Though this rain has filled our reservoir, the snowpack is so slight we won't have hardly anything draining into the reservoir by July.

The rain has helped, but because our acquifers are so low, we will be on water rations all growing season having only two days to water.

The people who really get me ticked off are those who are already watering their lawns despite this rain (my neighbor comes to mind). I was pulling weeds and had to shake the mud off of the roots and I heard my dorky neighbor turn the water on her lawn.

Also, I drive by the Great Salt Lake every day going to work. Normally during the winter, the lake will rise due to the lack of evaporation. This winter, the lake has continued to recede. This summer, you might see most of the eastern arm completely dry up like it did during the early 60's.

As for pine view, I went waterskiing there labor day weekend. That was about as low as I've seen that reservoir. It was quite a hike to get down to the water.

I do agree that our water conditions aren't the greatest. I measure the severity (sp) of the drought by looking at pineview dam. I know there are other lakes along the wasatch front but pineview is what I know the most as far as water levels. To me, the dam is not that terribly low. It is supposed to be low this time of year. If it was the middle of June and still this low then I would worry. So as of right now I'm not going to worry, but at the same time I'll hope for more rain.
I agree with you about the people that water during or right after rainfall. I have neighbors like that too. They water every morning and night during the summer months. Last year our secondary water was shut off for two days. Within 18 hours their lawn was buring up. People are so unwise with their watering habits. Water is a precious resource and we need to take care of it.
So, your'e a water skier, huh. I've been water skiing only once in my life. It was so fun and I did pretty darn good.
Well, here's hoping for more storms. Nice talking with you.

I had the opportunity of flying over a good portion of the Great Salt Lake a couple of weeks ago, right after the peak of the run-off had subsided. Antelope Island is now a peninsula and there are dry areas appearing in many areas of the lake. By the end of the summer, the lake will surely shrink some more.

If we have another dry winter, I think the lake could reach historic lows. I'm glad to hear that most of the country is not longer in a drought, but in Utah, it continues in full force.