PlainHazard

Utah drought

Every recorded drought record since 1996 · 4 counties with a record

NOAA's Storm Events Database records 1,019 drought records in Utah from 1996 through June 30, 2026, about 48 a year since 2000. Utah ranks 24th of 51 states and territories by count and 37th of 50 per square mile.

Drought in Utah, 1996 to 2026

Drought records per year (NOAA Storm Events); 2026 to June 30, 2026.

  • recorded, no damage figure
  • under $1 million
  • $1 million or more
  • $10 million or more
  • $100 million or more, or 10 deaths
  • $1 billion or more, or 100 deaths
  • a year's colour: its recorded damage or deaths
  • a year with a death
Records
1,0191996 to June 30, 2026
A year since 2000
48average
Deaths
00 injuries
Damage, 2025 dollars
–as filed
Busiest year
200384 records

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; deaths and damage as filed, damage in 2025 dollars. Search the record at NCEI.

Are drought records common in Utah?

Utah averages about 48 drought records a year since 2000, 24th of 51 states and territories by count. The busiest year on record was 2003 (84). Per 10,000 square miles of land, Utah records 123 drought records since 1996, 37th of 50 states and territories by that measure.

  1. 1. Hawaii 2624
  2. 2. New Jersey 1205
  3. 3. Delaware 1062
  4. 4. Oklahoma 971
  5. 5. Georgia 900
  6. 6. Texas 711
  7. 7. New Mexico 528
  8. 8. Alabama 527
  9. 9. Tennessee 477
  10. 10. Iowa 466
  11. 37. Utah 123

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records since 1996, per 10,000 square miles of land area (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer; places under 1,000 square miles not ranked). Damage colours: Storm Events damage, 2025 dollars.

Which counties in Utah have the most drought records?

Per square mile, Daggett County leads Utah: 148 days with a drought record since 1996, 212.5 per 1,000 square miles of land. By raw count, San Juan County has the most drought records (471 since 1996); large counties collect more records simply by covering more ground, so the ranking counts days with a record per unit of area (a storm filed for several forecast zones adds several records but one day).

  1. Daggett County 212.5 (148)
  2. Grand County 43.8 (419)
  3. Uintah County 35.0 (416)
  4. San Juan County 23.3 (471)

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, days with a record in the county since 1996 per 1,000 square miles of land (Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer); in brackets, the count of records.

When is drought season in Utah?

Utah's drought records by month. The busiest month is August (99 records).

The values, month by month

Jan 81 · Feb 75 · Mar 90 · Apr 85 · May 77 · Jun 77 · Jul 87 · Aug 99 · Sep 95 · Oct 86 · Nov 86 · Dec 81 (records).

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records by the month they began, since 1996.

Are drought records becoming more frequent in Utah?

Utah's count per decade against the whole country's, and its share. NOAA recorded every event type only from 1996, so earlier decades are not comparable; the share of the national total is the fairer comparison across decades.

Drought: Utah and the United States by decade (2020s to June 30, 2026)
DecadeUtahUnited StatesUtah's share
1996-9905,6000
2000s49218,5712.6%
2010s30531,4411.0%
2020-2622230,1470.7%

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database.

The most recent drought records in Utah

The 12 most recent records, to June 30, 2026
DateRecordCharacterKilledInjuredDamage
2026-04-01 DroughtSan Juan County · forecast zone Canyonlands / Natural Bridges 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtGrand County and San Juan County · forecast zone La Sal & Abajo Mountains 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtGrand County · forecast zone Grand Flat And Arches 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtGrand County and Uintah County · forecast zone Tavaputs Plateau 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtUintah County · forecast zone Eastern Uinta Basin 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtDaggett County and Uintah County · forecast zone Eastern Uinta Mountains 0 0 –
2026-04-01 DroughtSan Juan County · forecast zone Southeast Utah 0 0 –
2026-03-31 DroughtGrand County · forecast zone Grand Flat And Arches 0 0 –
2026-03-31 DroughtSan Juan County · forecast zone Southeast Utah 0 0 –
2026-03-31 DroughtSan Juan County · forecast zone Canyonlands / Natural Bridges 0 0 –
2026-03-31 DroughtGrand County and San Juan County · forecast zone La Sal & Abajo Mountains 0 0 –
2026-03-24 DroughtGrand County and Uintah County · forecast zone Tavaputs Plateau 0 0 –

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, records through June 30, 2026; the newest months are revised by NCEI as reports arrive. Search the record at NCEI.

Federal disaster declarations for drought records in Utah

FEMA has declared 1 disaster in Utah for drought, counting its incident type and declarations that name the hazard in the title (FEMA files most storm disasters under Severe Storm); 0 were major disasters, the latest on January 20, 1977.

The 12 most recent
DeclaredNumberTitleAreas named
1977-01-20EM-3024Drought27

Source: FEMA OpenFEMA Disaster Declarations Summaries (v2), through October 2, 2026. OpenFEMA dataset page.

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