Utah lawmakers~, set aside millions of dollars on Wednesday to prepare for potentially historic flooding when the winter’s record snowpack melts and pours down from the Rockies. According to federal data, the state is one of many in the American West dealing with the effects of the rainy winter, with many locations completing the season with more snow-water equivalent readings than double the 30-year median.
State and local officials from eastern California to western Colorado predict that runoff would flood agricultural areas, destroy infrastructure, overflow rivers and reservoirs, and spill through city streets in the upcoming months. The gradual melting of the snow over the spring has prevented the majority of danger and harm. However, runoff has caused flooding in many Salt Lake City neighborhoods, creating mudslides in residential streets and opening up sinkholes. The Ogden River in northern Utah has seen some residents evacuated, a roadway in the Spanish Fork Canyon area has been temporarily closed due to flooding, and hay that was sown along the Bear River’s low plains has become underwater.
Although rain may cause damage, the flooding is a welcome break for Utah officials who are more accustomed to managing the worst drought the region has had in at least 1,200 years. Gov. Spencer Cox sees it as a response to public supplications and requests for divine intervention. Republican Rep. Mike Schultz said of the unusually wet winter, “If this has taught us anything, it’s that the climate in Utah is truly unpredictable.” According to drought indexes based on long-term yearly averages, a significant portion of the western United States is still experiencing a drought that won’t end with a single year of rain. The short-term variability of weather patterns has risen due to climate change, according to scientists.
The state’s emergency declaration for floods in Utah was extended after a special session was called on Wednesday, and lawmakers have now set aside $40 million to help mitigate flood damage. The funds came from a variety of places, including the state’s general revenue, the transportation fund, and money set aside for fighting wildfires. Stuart Adams, the Republican Senate president, said he wasn’t sure if the entire lump sum would be required but had budgeted conservatively in light of the flooding that swept through Salt Lake City in 1983. In order to combat flooding, other governments, notably California, are also making changes to their budgets.
Republican senator from northern Utah Scott Sandall expressed concern about places like Snowbird in Little Cottonwood Canyon, where snow still accumulates and cannot be managed by reservoirs or dams at lower elevations. We’ve been concerned about a few flooded locations, runoff, and saturated soils, the man stated. “A 2-inch rain event throughout the majority of the state would instantly alter our outlook. Mother Nature will decide how quickly it falls.
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