ENVIRONMENT

Utah hasn’t had this much snowfall since 2011, according to NWS

Feb 6, 2023, 6:30 PM

Water flows through Mill Creek as snow blankets Millcreek Canyon on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Utah has...

Water flows through Mill Creek as snow blankets Millcreek Canyon on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2023. Utah hasn't seen this much snow fall since 2011, according to the National Weather Service. Photo credit. Kristin Murphy/Deseret News

SALT LAKE CITY — Utah is currently in the middle of a 10-year high in snowfall. You have to go back more than 10 years to find a year in which the state has had this much snowfall.

“Well, we really haven’t seen a snowpack this deep and expansive really since 2011,” said a spokesperson for the National Weather Service. “And we are actually slightly ahead of 2011.”

According to the NWS, the snowpack in the state is currently at 167% of median for Utah. And considering it is only early February, that’s an encouraging sign about the drought. Roughly 90% of Utah’s water comes from snow melt. 

“This is exactly the type of winter that we need to really turn the corner in the drought that we have been experiencing,” the spokesperson said.

There are still 57 days to add to the Utah snowfall before it peaks in April.

Mark Jones contributed to this article.

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Utah hasn’t had this much snowfall since 2011, according to NWS