With Utah facing a drier year, Gov. Spencer Cox issued an executive order (Thursday) declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties due to drought conditions. … The governor’s executive order comes after the Drought Response Committee recently recommended he act due to drought conditions. … Cox’s emergency declaration also comes after he told reporters last week he was working on issuing one due to worsening drought conditions in southern Utah, which has seen a weak snowpack this winter. Though the governor said last week it’s been a “pretty normal year for most of the state,” there are some areas that are worse off than others. Currently, severe drought covers 42% of the state, and 4% is in extreme drought, according to the state’s website. This year, Utah’s snowpack peaked at 14.3 inches on March 23, which is equal to the state’s typical annual peak, according to state officials. However, southwestern Utah’s snowpack was only about 44% of normal.

Related articles:

• The Salt Lake Tribune (Utah): Gov. Spencer Cox declares a state of emergency due to drought in over half of Utah’s counties
• Utah Division of Water Resources: News release: Gov. Cox issues drought executive order
• KSL (Salt Lake City, Utah): Gov. Cox issues drought declaration for 17 counties, urges Utahns to be ‘mindful’ of water
• FOX13 (Salt Lake City, Utah): State of Emergency declared for 17 Utah counties due to drought conditions