SALT LAKE CITY — Utah's statewide average for snowpack is now 201% of normal, according to the Department of Natural Resources.

The latest round of storms pushed the statewide average over the 200% threshold. It's a boost to a state that has suffered through years of drought and a shrinking Great Salt Lake.

"That does make me feel good," Laura Haskell, the drought coordinator for Utah's Division of Water Resources, told FOX 13 News on Monday. "We were hoping for a good year but no one anticipated this sort of a year...to have the whole state doing well, it’s great."

The Great Salt Lake has already risen three feet in southern arm as a result of the good snow and no part of the state is listed in exceptional drought, Haskell said. But it does not mean that the drought is over. Last year, Utah relied heavily on reservoirs in the drought. The spring runoff will help recharge those and help to boost the Great Salt Lake.

Conservation will still be important, Haskell said, to ensure an adequate water supply for the state. While flooding from the spring runoff is being anticipated, it will be nowhere near the catastrophic floods of 1983 in Utah. That is because of significant infrastructure changes since then.

Fox 13 Reporter
Ben Winslow is FOX 13's reporter on Capitol Hill covering a wide variety of topics including politics, polygamy, vice and courts. He has been in the news business in Utah for more than 20 years now, working in radio, newspaper, television and digital news. Winslow has received numerous honors for his reporting, including a national Edward R. Murrow award; the Religion Newswriters Association Local TV News Report of the Year; the Utah Broadcaster's Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. Readers of Salt Lake City Weekly and Q Salt Lake have named him their "Best TV news reporter" for many years now. He co-hosts "Utah Booze News: An Alcohol Policy Podcast," covering the state's often confusing and quirky liquor laws. Winslow is also known for his very active Twitter account keeping Utahns up-to-date on important news.
 

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