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Utah drought persists as temperatures rise this week

The Jordanelle is at 50% capacity, according to the Utah State Parks Office.
Ben Lasseter
/
KPCW
The Jordanelle reservoir is at 50% capacity, according to the Utah State Parks Office.

Temperatures will be rising throughout the Wasatch Back this week - a lot.

Summer weather is coming on strong this week in Utah as several parts of the state will be experiencing high temperatures nearing the 100-degree mark over the weekend.

Park City’s highs could crest the 80-degree mark this weekend, and Heber could see temperatures as high as 96 degrees. Salt Lake City will see the heat as well, with an expected high of 99 degrees on Saturday.

ABC 4 meteorologist Bob Bedore said the high temps will last for the better part of a week.

“We are looking at sunny skies for the next five days as a high-pressure system sits over all of Utah and is going to give us a lot of sunny skies and a lot of warm weather,” he said.

This week’s high temperatures don’t bode well for the state's drought outlook, either. According to the Utah Division of Water Resources, 99% of the state is in the severe or extreme drought categories. That means fire danger is increased, native vegetation is stressed, and air quality takes a hit thanks to excessive dust blowing around.

The Division of Water Resources says Utah is now entering its “drying out” period as the snowpack dwindles. The division says the state’s soil moisture levels are decreasing faster than usual this year.

Native plants aren’t the only things affected by a lack of water; Utah’s wildlife is also suffering. Land animals could be driven to more populated areas as they search for water and food, and the state’s fish population is also under stress when water levels drop and temperatures rise.

The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources says anglers should not fish in such conditions. Oxygen levels in water decrease as the temperature increases. That’s dangerous for native trout species that thrive in the cold, clean water in Utah’s rivers, lakes, and reservoirs.

Bedore said relief could come this weekend.

“A low-pressure starts to come in late Saturday night, early Sunday, and then we have a slight chance of some rain coming in," said Bedore. "We’re hoping that we’re going to get some because we desperately need it here in the state. Still going to be mostly sunny, though, on Sunday, but the temperature is going to drop down a little bit.” 

Find the latest weather reports for the Wasatch Back here, or by listening to KPCW’s Local News Hour Monday-Friday starting at 8am.

Sean Higgins covers all things Park City and is the Saturday Weekend Edition host at KPCW. Sean spent the first five years of his journalism career covering World Cup skiing for Ski Racing Media here in Utah and served as Senior Editor until January 2020. As Senior Editor, he managed the day-to-day news section of skiracing.com, as well as produced and hosted Ski Racing’s weekly podcast. During his tenure with Ski Racing Media, he was also a field reporter for NBC Sports, covering events in Europe.