The winter waited a while to arrive, but Park City leaders welcomed it anyway on Thursday.
Mayor Andy Beerman and the Park City Council, during a fortuitously timed meeting, read a resolution addressing the return of winter. The meeting was held amid the first significant snowfall of the season in the Park City area and after a spell of especially warm, dry weather that hindered the start of the ski season.
“Mother Nature got a jumpstart on us with this, so I think that it’s more of an affirmation at this point,” Beerman said just before the City Council approved the resolution as he noted the weather on Thursday.
The resolution also provided a chance for officials to honor the work of many in Park City who are at their busiest in the winter. Park City Manager Matt Dias said the winter is a “collaborative effort” between resorts, small businesses and frontline workers like ticket checkers, ski instructors and snow-removal crews. Some of the municipal workers were in the City Council chambers at the Marsac Building for the resolution, which was approved to applause.
“We’re hoping it’s a long winter with lots of snow,” the mayor said.
The resolution highlights Park City as the location of two top-tier mountain resorts. The “world-class resorts have talented and committed ski patrollers, instructors, groomers, and service industry professionals dedicated to providing a safe, quality experience,” the resolution says.
It also mentions the Winter Olympic history in Park City, saying the “Olympic spirit is embodied in the presence of Olympic legacy facilities that provide world-class amenities for athletes of all ages and abilities to pursue their highest aspirations.” The Park City area hosted upward of 50% of the competitions during the 2002 Winter Olympics and is a key to the efforts to host a second Games, possibility those of 2030.
The resolution describes a “resilient and creative business community” and says municipal parks, streets and public safety staffers “are at their best when Mother Nature is most fierce, working around the clock to keep roads clear so residents and guests can access Park City’s world-class slopes, dining, and lodging.”
Although the resolution itself is a cheerful statement from leaders, the warm, dry start to the winter became problematic as Park City Mountain Resort was forced to delay the opening of the ski season. There was not enough natural snow and the temperatures were too warm for snowmaking efforts as the scheduled opening approached. The temperatures later dipped enough to allow an opening. Deer Valley Resort opened as scheduled.
There was little snow at the lower elevations of the area until the storm of this week. A National Weather Service hydrologist who tracks storms and snow pack in November explained a high-pressure system in late October and in November settled in over the region. The system moved the track of storms to the north of Utah and kept temperatures above normal, the hydrologist, Glen Merrill, explained at the time. Much of the snow that collected prior to the high-pressure system melted, leaving elevations below 9,000 feet essentially dry, he said.
The National Weather Service forecast for Park City, as of Friday morning, indicated the next chance of snow is on Monday, followed by the possibility of snow through Thursday.
Much of the attention during the warm, dry weather centered on preparations for the start of the ski season, but there would be wider impacts should it turn out to be a weak winter. Water managers closely watch the snowfall numbers as they prepare for the spring runoff and then the summer watering season, while emergency officials monitor the winter’s impacts on the following wildfire season.