Drought

Near normal

Utah drought

Share of state area in drought (D1-D4) or worse, week over week

Data through Oct 13, 2026 · source last checked Oct 17, 2026 · page revised Oct 16, 2026

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About this data
Source
US Drought Monitor (National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA, NOAA)
Series
Share of area in moderate drought (D1) or worse
Geography
Utah
Unit
%
Calculation
Conditions as of the prior Tuesday
Last observation
Oct 13, 2026
Update frequency
Weekly, released Thursdays

Drought held steady week over week (now 100%).

Utah drought coverage stands at 100%, unchanged week over week. Coverage is up 2 pts year over year and sits +2 pts versus the 5-year median.

The numbers
PeriodCurrentPriorChange
Week over week100%100%+0 pts
Month over month100%100%+0 pts
Year over year100%98%+2 pts
vs 5-yr median100%98%+2 pts
Drought categories on the Oct 13, 2026 map
CategoryShare of area in this categoryAt this level or worse
D0 abnormally dry0%100%
D1 moderate drought28.6%100%
D2 severe drought48.9%71.4%
D3 extreme drought22.5%22.5%
D4 exceptional drought0%0%

Previous weeks

Week of Oct 6, 2026

Drought coverage in Utah held at 100%, with the entire state in moderate drought or worse as of 2026-10-06. The reading remained unchanged week over week, month over month and versus the five-year median.

Week of Sep 29, 2026

Drought held steady at 100% of state area in drought (D1 or worse), unchanged week over week and versus the 5-year median.

Week of Sep 22, 2026

Utah's drought coverage held steady at 100% of the state's area.

Week of Sep 8, 2026

Drought held steady at 100% through 2026-09-08, with the entire state in moderate drought or worse across all comparisons.

Utah drought conditions

Utah has 100% of its area in drought (D1 or worse) on the US Drought Monitor map dated Oct 13, 2026, and 100% at least abnormally dry (D0 or worse). The most severe category present is D3, extreme drought, covering 22.5% of the state.

Over the last 52 weekly maps the share in drought ranged from 92.8% (Jan 13, 2026) to 100% (Mar 31, 2026), and every one of them showed at least some drought.

This site tracks two reservoirs in Utah: Lake Powell's water level stood at 3,519.79 feet above sea level on Oct 15, 2026, with 5.25 million acre-feet in storage (22% of capacity); and Flaming Gorge Reservoir's water level stood at 6,005.97 feet above sea level on Oct 15, 2026, with 2.46 million acre-feet in storage (67% of capacity). The drought map scores conditions on the land week by week, while a large reservoir carries water over from earlier years, so the two can tell different stories for a season or longer.

The Monitor sorts land into five categories, from D0, abnormally dry and not yet drought, to D4, exceptional drought, and this page counts D1 through D4 as drought. The guide to what D0 to D4 mean explains each class, who draws the weekly map and why it lags a fast-moving storm.