Utah’s snowpack this week broke another long-held record, this time marking the 2022-2023 winter as the snowiest one ever measured.
The statewide snow water equivalent, or the amount of water there would be if the snow melted, surpassed 30 inches on Tuesday, beating the 29-inch record set in April of 1952. Utah manually evaluated the state’s snow water equivalent using “snow courses” around 1930 and transitioned to SNOTEL weather stations in 1980. The snowpack also broke the 1983 record of 26 inches on March 24.
“Our statewide SWE has broken all previous snowpack records,” Snow Survey Supervisor Jordan Clayton said in a statement. “This has truly been a memorable snow season.”
Snow water equivalent was measured at around 200% of normal on April 1 compared to 75% of normal this time last year, according to the Utah Water Supply Outlook Report. Historic conditions in January helped ensure the snowpack would remain above normal until it typically peaks in April.
The majority of Utah’s 138 SNOTEL sites have reported recording breaking snow depth. Forty-five of the sites have more than 100 inches of snow with seven of those reporting depths of more than 150 inches, the report said.
As of Tuesday, half of Utah’s major basins reported record-high snow water equivalent, including the Weber-Ogden River Basin which was 208% of normal. Every major basin, except for the Raft River Basin, reported being above 160% of normal. All of the state’s major watersheds are also above 130% of normal.
Heavy precipitation, particularly last month, helped boost the water-year-to-date precipitation to 158% of normal, according to the report. March precipitation specifically was 254% of normal.
Soil moisture is slightly below normal saturation at 58% compared to 68% this time last year. This factor is critical for effective spring runoff, but water officials said the difference is likely because temperatures haven’t started to warm up yet.
And when they do, officials anticipate the snowmelt will also break records. April forecasts were high with 200% of median flow expected at more than half of the measured streams, according to the report. Spring flooding preparations are already underway across Summit County as concerns rise across the state.
The April 4 map created by the U.S. Drought Monitor indicated 93% of the state is still classified as in a drought, but no part of the state is in the third- and fourth-worst categories of severe and extreme drought. Around 20% of Utah was reported to be in a severe drought.
But still, officials said it “will likely take another above-normal precipitation year to climb out of the hole from the last few seasons.”
Reservoir storage was around 54% capacity in early April, which is 2% lower than last year. Spring runoff is expected to help fill small and medium-sized reservoirs, but larger bodies of water, such as Bear Lake, probably won’t get as much help. The Great Salt Lake and Lake Powell are also forecasted to remain critically low; prompting officials to once again ask Utahns to help conserve water.
“While our climate has unquestionably warmed, our state’s precipitation has varied tremendously over the last decade or more,” Clayton said. “Winters like this one, while perhaps less likely than they used to be (that turns out to be a challenging research question), are still possible anytime. We can all be thankful for the tremendous amount of water Mother Nature has delivered to our state this snowpack season. And we can hope for another above-normal snowpack next year.”
Snow is still in the forecast, with flurries expected late next week.