Utah remains on pace to have one of its driest summers in at least the past 130 years, and long-range outlooks aren’t looking all too promising either. That has Great Salt Lake advocates concerned as the lake, fueled by the snowpack runoff it does receive, drops back down to troubling levels. … The ski and snow sports forecasting site OpenSnow lists most of Utah as having stronger odds for below-normal precipitation in its preliminary winter preview released this week. … That would be bad news because snowpack accounts for about 95% of the state’s water supply, and the Great Salt Lake only refills when water within its basin isn’t consumed and the state is already dealing with increasing drought.

Other drought impact news around the West: 

• CBS Colorado: Dangerous conditions for trout cause Colorado officials to close 2 rivers to fishing
• Colorado Newsline: Human emissions driving Colorado River ‘megadrought,’ CU Boulder research finds
• The Arizona Republic (Phoenix): Watering weed: Should Arizona grow cannabis during a drought?
• Albuquerque Journal (N.M.): Opinion: Protecting New Mexico’s water supply and farming communities