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SALT LAKE CITY — After previously calling for Utahns of all faiths to pray for rain amid one of the state's worst droughts on record, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox is calling for Utahns to pray again, but this time to give thanks for all the precipitation that has fallen on Utah this water year.
The governor on Thursday declared Sunday to be a "day of prayer and thanksgiving" over Utah's record-breaking snowpack and "ideal" snowmelt runoff, which is all but complete now.
"I believe prayer can be a powerful tool. There is real power in people of all different faiths and backgrounds uniting together and pleading for help from a higher authority than our own," the governor said in a statement. "I also believe that people who pray for water will conserve water, and we need to continue to conserve."
Cox first called on Utahns of all faiths to pray for rain in June 2021, as at least 90% of the state had fallen into "extreme" drought status amid growing drought conditions and low snowpack. The U.S. Drought Monitor even listed about two-thirds of the state in "exceptional" drought at the time, the worst possible drought conditions.
Because of a robust monsoon season last summer, Utah's drought situation wasn't as bad as in June 2021 at the start of the 2023 water year, but it still wasn't great, either. Severe drought conditions continued to plague a little more than half of Utah on Oct. 1, 2022. The U.S. Drought Monitor listed almost another 40% of the state in severe drought at the time.
Utah's reservoir system had also fallen to about 43% at the start of the water year.
However, that's also about when Utah's fortunes began to change. A series of low-pressure troughs began to slam Utah by the end of the month and, aside from a few lulls here and there, didn't let up until April.
Utah's 30-inch statewide snowpack during the snow collection season was the most snow water equivalent ever recorded since data was first tracked in the 1930s. Some resorts even collected more than 900 inches of snowfall throughout the season for the first time on record.
Utah ended May with an average of 12.44 inches of precipitation statewide, which puts it on pace to have its 13th-wettest water year on record, according to National Centers for Environmental Information data. The agency's records date back to 1895.
Over the past years we asked Utahns to join us in praying for water. It worked. Utah saw a record-breaking winter and our reservoirs are filling up! We're asking Utahns, regardless of religious affiliation, to join us on Sunday, July 2, 2023, for a day of prayer and thanksgiving.… pic.twitter.com/b4EgwraiME
— Utah Gov. Spencer J. Cox (@GovCox) June 29, 2023
Then, a different weather pattern that brought warm but not terribly hot conditions and cloud cover led to a very efficient snowmelt, helping Utah's reservoir system reach 86% capacity, as of Thursday. The U.S. Drought Monitor now lists 10.4% of Utah in moderate drought and another 37.5% as "abnormally dry," but more than half of the state has no drought designation.
That's why Cox is calling on Utahns to pray again — this time giving thanks for the precipitation.
"We believe there is real power in people of all different faiths and backgrounds uniting together and pleading for help from a higher authority," the declaration reads, in part. "We want to express our gratitude and appreciation for the water our state has received."
