This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

While June grilled much of Utah with record-breaking heat, southern parts of the state were saturated.

Population centers along the Wasatch Front logged precipitation in the range of 44-54 percent of average, causing water accumulation in the Provo-Utah-Jordan basin and the Weber-Ogden basin to drop after May's extraordinary rains.

But in the southern half of the state, the rainy trend continued. Moab and the surrounding southeastern water basin, for example, recorded more than 300 percent of normal rainfall for the month of June, according to a report from the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

"It's a pretty mixed story right now," said Cary Son, a disaster program specialist with the Utah division of the Farm Service Agency. "It all depends on which side of the thunderstorm you're on."

Reservoir levels across the state continue to hold steady after May's rain, which Son said may have generated enough precipitation to get most Utah reservoirs through the summer. Smaller reservoirs, he said, could become stressed if the rest of the summer brings more dry, hot weather.

Though Son said ranchers are concerned about the availability of water for livestock, drought conditions in Utah have improved. Over the past month, the U.S. Drought Monitor lifted drought status declarations where June's rains were most concentrated — including most of San Juan County and parts of Garfield and Wayne counties.

Salt Lake continues to struggle with moderate drought conditions, while Weber, Davis and Utah counties are split between moderate and severe drought conditions, according to the monitor.

More than a third of the state is in severe drought conditions, with the most intense water shortage concentrated in northwestern counties, including Box Elder, Tooele and Juab counties. Continued dry weather in those areas has raised concerns that recently improved water conditions may revert, Son said.

But statewide water supplies could continue to improve if the current long-term forecasts hold. The National Weather Service projects above-normal precipitation, as well as above-normal temperatures, to continue into September.

@emapen