Storms unable to break county out of drought

Several days of storms and an apparent change from the dry and warm weather pattern were not enough to break San Juan County out of the drought conditions that have gripped the area.

In the end, January was another dryer-than-normal month in San Juan County.

Despite nearly a foot of snow that fell in Blanding in January, the year-to-date precipitation in San Juan County’s largest community is less than 30 percent of normal (the water year begins on October 1).

At the Sno-tel reporting station at Camp Jackson, located in the Abajo Mountains north of Blanding and west of Monticello, there was 5.5 inches of water in the two feet of snow.  That is 75 percent of normal.

Similarly, the La Sal reporting station, located north of La Sal and southeast of Spanish Valley, reports 55 precent of the normal snow pack.

Local residents were pleased to learn that a high-tech weather forecasting operation on Groundhog Day predicted at least six more needed weeks of winter.

San Juan Record

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