#Utah snow storm totals full

“I’m a big time skier, so it’s fantastic,” Cotter said. Many skiers, like Tom Cotter, don’t mind straining their backs to clear their driveways if it means more days of fresh powder. So I hope the snow helps a lot,” he said. “I used to go to Lake Powell every year, and it’s been so low - it’s terrible. “With our precipitation levels over the past couple of years, I love it,” college student Spencer McDougal said after snowblowing his neighbor’s front walkway. “We hope to do so through mid-April.”ĭespite slow commutes and power outages, many Utahns are grateful for some relief from the drought. “So we’re really, really taking advantage of the active pattern and the cold, active pattern to continue building that snowpack,” he said. Perhaps people have been spoiled because last February was bone dry, but Wessler said if this active pattern keeps up, it’s a good thing. Wessler said the storm’s not over, with a smattering of snow expected into Thursday and a continued unsettled weather pattern. Some noteworthy totals just reported but not yet included: 26' SW Tooele, 21' West Jordan. Clayton said it’s possible in one winter but it would have to be one monster of a season.Latest snow & water totals as well as peak wind gusts as of 10:30 AM for the entirety of the event starting 12AM Tuesday. That likely means Utah would need two or more above normal winters in order to really catch up. Meaning that we would, on top of what we normally get in a year, we would need to get about 13 inches of extra precipitation to bring us out of the drought as a state,” Clayton said. “I can tell you for the state that that number is around 13 inches. While Utah saw more snow in November than in the last two years, Clayton said there is still a long way to go before Utah pulls out of this drought. In April of this year, Utah Governor Spencer Cox, declared a state of emergency due to the drought. Utah has been in a drought eight of the last 10 years.

#Utah snow storm totals full

NRCS uses the data to make water supply forecasts which predict how full Utah’s streams will be April through July, for example, based on how much snowpack there is at the beginning of April. “Each one of these sites has what's called a 'snow pillow,'” Clayton said “They're essentially like large water beds that are filled with a biodegradable antifreeze solution and they feel the weight of the snowpack and we convert that weight to a liquid water equivalent.”

Clayton said SNOTEL is what sets NRCS apart from other weather networks. SNOTEL is an automated system of snowpack and related climate sensors that are located only in the mountains. The NRCS doesn’t have a crystal ball but it does have SNOTEL. The question is whether the storms will keep coming. And that's great news because we've got about three and a half months left in our typical snowpack season.” “So what that means is we're about a third of the way to what we would typically receive in a normal snowpack year. “The current snow water equivalent in the Weber is about 35% of the annual peak,” Clayton said. A watershed is a land area that channels rainfall and snowmelt to creeks, streams and rivers, and eventually outflow points like reservoirs.Īccording to Jordan Clayton, a snow survey data collection officer with NRCS, the Weber watershed is about 142% of normal and Provo is 166% of normal. Park City is right on the divide between the Provo watershed and the Weber watershed. The Natural Resources Conservation Service reports how much water is actually in Utah’s snowpack.Īccording to NRCS’s most recent report, all but four of Utah’s 16 major watersheds had above normal mountain precipitation last month. About 95% of Utah’s water for agriculture, municipal uses and drinking water comes from snow.