Recent storms improve Utah’s early snowpack totals after a slow start

SALT LAKE CITY—  The storms that have hit the Beehive State over the last several days have paid huge dividends for Utah’s early snowpack totals.

It was a rough start to the winter season. On Dec. 23, Utah’s snow water equivalent, which reflects the amount of water nestled in the snowpack, was about 31% below where it normally sits.

Following several days of wet weather, Utah’s SWE was only about 5% below normal levels on Monday morning. 

“Sometimes we get a little nervous headed into late fall and early winter,” said KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson. “However, we’ve seen how fast the tide can turn just within the last seven days.”

There’s time to bolster our snowpack totals

Johnson said a big reason why numbers changed so quickly is because of how early in the water year we still are. He said our snowiest month, historically-speaking, is March, and that most of the snow we get comes in January, February and March.

“It’s good to know we have that ahead of us … [there’s] still some time to work [with] here,” Johnson said.

According to Johnson a La Nina winter is starting to set up, meaning we will likely see storms form in the Pacific Northwest. Whether they reach Utah is a toss up, since Utah is at the mercy of the jet stream these storms move through. 

Johnson said there’s an equal chance Utah sees a feast or famine with snowfall. On a hopeful note, Johnson said Utah benefitted from a La Nina setup for part of it’s record-breaking winter in late 2022 and early 2023, but there’s no guarantee we’ll see a repeat performance from Mother Nature this time around.

Southwestern Utah still dry

While snowpack totals are in good shape around northern Utah, parts of southern Utah are not seeing the same results.

As of Monday morning, the snowpack in the Southwestern Utah region was 64% below average. This means the area has only received about one-third of the snow water it normally does by this time of year.

Johnson said he’s concerned the La Nina setup could make it harder for that part of the state to catch up. Storms from the north have to travel even further to reach southern Utah. However, it is still possible the southern part of the state could thrive with that setup, and it’s still possible to see other storms form off the California coast. Those storms reach southern Utah more easily.

Johnson said the good news is this situation in southwestern Utah is, “nothing we haven’t seen,” and there are still three full months where things can turn around.

Adam Small is a reporter for KSL NewsRadio. He primarily reports on the Great Salt Lake and Natural Resources. Follow him on Facebook and X.  

Related: UHP reminding drivers how to be safe on wet roads this winter

Follow @AdamSmallKSL