Dry winter weather means uncertainty and minimal runoff for area reservoirs

Another dry winter leaves San Juan County in a familiar situation: how to face water shortages and drought conditions.
The remarkable monsoon season during the summer months of 2021 alleviated soil water concerns and set the stage for optimism for dry land farmers.
However, water storage is dependent on winter snow pack and it failed to materialize
The pattern for recent years has been of dry winters and lower than normal snowpack. After a storm in late December, the spigot seemed to turn off.
Monticello received just 0.03 inches of precipitation in the month of January.
The snow pack at the Camp Jackson Sno-tel station in the Abajo Mountains peaked at 80 percent of the median peak.
In the La Sal Mountains, the snowpack peaked at 109 percent of the median.
Area reservoirs, already at very low levels, are unlikely to receive large runoff as the weather continues to warm.
Loyds Lake, west of Monticello, is at 54.5 percent of capacity, while Recapture Reservoir, north of Blanding, is at 24.1 percent of capacity, and massive Lake Powell is less than 24 percent capacity.