Utah gets nice snow storm Friday, adds a little struggling snowpack
Jan 5, 2024, 8:14 AM | Updated: 9:22 am
SALT LAKE CITY — It’s officially January in Utah, after a snow storm started Friday morning. You can expect it will stick around for a good chunk of the day.
KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson told Utah’s Morning News the storm will start to pick up after the Friday morning commute, closer to midday, before tapering off Friday night.
A swift-moving system will bring a burst of 1-2″ of snow today between 11am-1pm, then snow showers to follow. #utwx pic.twitter.com/lLIvCDZZfu
— Matthew Johnson (@KSL_Matt) January 5, 2024
It’s been a few very dry weeks in Northern Utah.
“There is a chance we see a little bit of lake enhancement, but, generally speaking, after the lunch hour it becomes a lot more showery,” Johnson said.
KSL meteorologists predict around 1 to 2 inches in the Northern Utah valleys and 5 to 10 inches in the mountains after this snow storm, but that’s just on Friday.
Weekend snow storms possible for Utah
Come Saturday, Johnson said it will be dry most of the day before another system rolls through Saturday night potentially into Monday morning.
SATURDAY NIGHT STORM: A colder and more dynamic storm moves in late Saturday into Sunday morning. Looking at hi-res data this morning, I think we need to up the totals for the Saturday night storm to 2-6″. #utwx pic.twitter.com/phNgJ4ts03
— Matthew Johnson (@KSL_Matt) January 5, 2024
By Monday, National Weather Service Meteorologist Mike Seaman said the valleys could have 5 to 10 inches of snow. Utah’s northern mountains could have 2 to 3 feet of fresh powder.
Just keep in mind, that the valleys probably won’t have 5 to 10 inches of snow in a nice pile by Monday. Saturday’s dry forecast will likely melt off some of what falls Friday.
Seaman also said the forecast calls for more storms again for the middle and end of next week.
The impact on the snowpack
As of Friday morning, Utah’s snowpack had 4.1 inches of water in it. The problem is, that’s roughly 32% short of the typical six inches of water it has by January 5.
A normal year for snowpack is 100%. Friday’s measurement was about 68%. Keep in mind, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources, Utah gets roughly 95% of its water supply from snowpack.
A long dry spell in December took a statewide snowpack off to a great start and turned it into a dire need for more snow.
Seaman said these storms will have a huge impact.
“Hopefully by the end of this next week we’ll be getting back to roughly where we should be,” Seaman said. “That’s a tall order, but this pattern looks active enough that it should certainly put a dent into that deficit.”
