Utah governor calls for more prayers about rain
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox speaks in 2017. Photo: Chad Hurst/Getty Images
Two years after he urged Utahns to pray for rain amid a megadrought, Gov. Spencer Cox issued a declaration calling for "a day of prayer and thanksgiving" for the winter's record snows on Sunday.
What he's saying: "By praying collaboratively and collectively and asking our higher powers for more snow and rain, Utah received record-breaking snowfall this winter season and ideal spring runoff circumstances," Cox proclaimed Thursday.
Catch up quick: Cox called for a statewide "weekend of prayer" for rain in 2021, saying Utah needed "divine intervention" to resolve its depleting water supply, save ranchers and wildlife and reduce wildfire risk.
- It rained .01 inch that week in Salt Lake City and the July-to-July "water year" that followed brought lower-than-normal precipitation, per National Weather Service data.
- The drought worsened in 2022 until relief came with record snowpack as storms pummeled Utah all winter.
The intrigue: Cox's declaration Thursday asserts that Utahns "have done their part statewide, conserving billions of gallons of water in whatever ways they were able."
- That could eventually read as something of a "mission accomplished" banner as climate change threatens further drought and Utah's population continues to grow.
- Even with the record snowmelt, Utah's reservoir levels remain about 18% below their median depth for this time of year.
- Scientists say one wet winter is not enough to recover from decades of drought, and the state still needs to conserve more water.
Threat level: Long-term drought has caused the Great Salt Lake to recede, exposing a salt crust that is eroding and could exposing arsenic-laced soil to winds that could one day create dangerous dust clouds in Salt Lake City.
The other side: As in 2021, Cox on Thursday and Friday came under fire on social media for what critics called a deflection from scientific and policy-driven solutions to drought.
- Others criticized Cox for invoking his state office to urge religious activity in what is already one of the nation's most devout states.
- In 2021, Cox chastised the "vitriol" in the responses to his call for prayer.