October storm brings snow and rain across Utah
Oct 19, 2021, 9:04 AM
FILE -- Jeremy Ranch seen on October 15, 2021. (Dave Lucero)
(Dave Lucero)
SALT LAKE CITY — Another cold October storm settled in across Utah on Tuesday. It brought with it plenty of rain in the valleys and snow at higher elevations.
With this latest storm, KSL Meteorologist Grant Weyman said most of the precipitation will stick around through the earlier parts of the morning before tapering off and clearing out this afternoon.
Expect the rain – heavy at times this morning- tapers afternoon pic.twitter.com/I7vZnbs7m3
— Grant Weyman (@KSLweyman) October 19, 2021
As the wet weather set in overnight, it left its mark in Utah’s higher elevations. Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons had traction laws in effect as areas in both canyons saw up to 10 inches of snow.
Wow! What a storm across northern Utah!
❄️10″ Snowbasin
❄️8″ Canyons
❄️8″ Snowbird
❄️6.4″ Alta
❄️2″ Summit Park#utwx https://t.co/5agO05U6rk— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) October 19, 2021
But that moisture didn’t stay just in the higher elevations, the Ogden Airport recorded a staggering 0.98″ of rain accumulation.
Cottonwood Canyons getting into the action now. #utwx pic.twitter.com/ox97q6Ihfd
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) October 19, 2021
All of this wet weather is a good start to Utah’s new water year as well. Before this latest storm, the precipitation totals in Salt Lake City were at 1.22″ and the monthly average was just .04″ higher.
Local hydrologists say this weather is a glimmer of hope and starting to lay good foundations for next year’s runoff.
“We really need it this year,” Jordan Clayton, the Utah Snow Survey Supervisor with Natural Resources Conservation Service told KSL TV.
“The benefit of having these above-average soil moisture conditions is going to be lost if we don’t get a good snowpack.”
