UTAH (July 12, 2023, Updated July 13) — Compared to last year, Utah is doing pretty well when it comes to drought, but so far it is still the hottest summer on record.
Excessive heat will plague St. George and places along the Colorado River with highs around 115 degrees this weekend.
Less Drought
In the beginning of July of 2022, the state of Utah was in a drought crisis. Most of the state was in extreme drought, with some parts of Piute, Wayne, and Garfield counties even showing numbers for exceptional drought.
The year 2023 is much better. Only in Southern Utah is there a bit of moderate drought, and overall, the state had a much wetter spring.
There are concerns, however, that the high amount of brush that grew during flooding earlier this year could cause increased risk for wildfires, especially if that brush dries out.
For example Ogden is currently under fireworks and open fires restrictions until October. And other parts of the state are starting to see more fires, like the recent fire near mile marker 217 on I-70, which started when a rollover crash easily caught the nearby dry brush to flames.
More Heat
The heat outlook is also not a good sign for fires, which was another concern cited by Ogden’s local fire authorities.
“We are experiencing extremely hot weather,” Ogden Deputy Fire Chief Michael Slater added in an email. “This has caused the moisture in our grasses to decrease and has (increased) the fire risk in certain areas.”
NPR reported June and July being the world’s hottest on record.
“On July 3, the global average temperature was 62.6 degrees Fahrenheit, and 62.9 degrees on July 4,” the article read. “That’s about half a degree Fahrenheit higher than the previous daily record set on August 14, 2016. Then on Thursday, the record was broken again when the global average temperature reached 63 degrees Fahrenheit.”
These temperatures were the hottest on record, going back to 1979. June, on the other hand, was the hottest it’s been, on a record dating back to the late 1800s!
With more heat coming, the National Weather Service issued an excessive heat warning for Saturday until Monday in St. George and places along the Colorado River. In these areas temperatures are expected to reach as high as 115 degrees, with lows in the upper 70s.
– The Byway
Feature image caption: Utah is pretty much out of its drought crisis, but the heat continues to turn up across the world, making record highs this summer.