While April was rainier than usual, it fell to mostly bare ground, and so the story of this winter and spring hasn’t significantly changed, according to the latest Water Supply Outlook Report of the Utah Snow Survey. Utah’s snowpack as of May 1, 2026. Credit: Utah Snow Survey This is Utah ’s worst winter for snowpack going back to at least 1930, and the implications for the state’s surface water supplies this summer are “very concerning,” the report said. As of May 1, Utah’s snowpack was outside of the Utah Snow Survey’s range of previous observations at 21% of normal snow water equivalent. Statewide snow water equivalent set records the entire month of April after the rapid deterioration of mountain snowpack during March. All of the state’s major basins were below 40% of normal snow water equivalent as of May 1; most were below 20%, and several had already completely dried-out at SNOTEL sites where it’s measured. Utah’s slightly above-normal statewide precipitation in April brought water-year-to-date precipitation up to 90% of median. Mountain soil moisture levels are at 71% of saturation and appear to have already peaked from the annual influx of snow water. The report anticipated that mountain soils will experience a longer-than-normal dry summer period, which may elevate fire risk. Utah’s current reservoir storage is currently at 70% of capacity (not counting Lake Powell or Flaming Gorge Reservoir), which is down 13% from this time last year. While the Sevier watershed has seen significant reductions in storage compared to last year at this time, southwestern Utah has actually seen a slight improvement. Surface water supply indices for Utah basins combine current reservoir levels with the additional volume of water anticipated for each watershed based on May 1 streamflow forecasts. All areas of the state except for the Western Uintas and the Bear, Ogden, Provo, Price watersheds are projected to have exceptionally low water supply conditions, meaning that surface water supplies are likely to be in the bottom fifth percentile. Moreover, for the basins listed above, only the Bear is expected to have close to normal water supply; other regions are projected to be below normal (but not as exceptionally low as the rest of the state). The snowpack and water supply picture for the Great Salt Lake basin continues to echo the statewide story. Snow water equivalent in the Great Salt Lake basin is near record low at 24% of median. April precipitation was 103% of normal, bringing the water-year-to-date value to 94% of median. Great Salt Lake mountain soil moisture is starting to decrease after an early influx of snow water. The basin’s reservoir storage is at 74% of capacity, down 14% from last year. The Great Salt Lake inflow forecast for April through July flow based on the 70th exceedance probability prediction has decreased from the projection issued on April 1; the updated value is 175 thousand acre-feet, which would be 24% of average. For context, the full range of predictions for Great Salt Lake inflow spans from 141 thousand-acre-feet, 90th exceedance value, to 438 thousand-acre-feet, 10th exceedance value. Moreover, the Great Salt Lake has likely already peaked this year at 4192.3 ft elevation, which is consistent with the April 1 estimate for lake level rise. WSOR_May_2026_reducedDownload The post April rain made little change to state’s drought appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less