It's no secret that the 2023-2024 winter season was another great one for the state of Utah. This came after a record winter snowpack during the 2022-2023 season in which Alta Ski Area saw over 900 inches of snow yes, that is 75 FEET!
This year, Alta is about to touch 600 inches on the season, which marks the first time the ski area saw consecutive 600-inch-plus seasons in more than a decade. Brighton, Snowbird, and Solitude all received more than 500 inches. In fact, Utah holds four of the top five snowiest ski resorts in the U.S. this season.
The central and southern mountains are doing great too. For the entire Beehive State, the snowpack currently sits at 132 percent of normal for April 1. Typically, Utah sees its peak snowpack around April 3, but as of April 1, we are sitting at 117 percent of normal, meaning we will end the season above normal even if no additional snow falls.
The current SWE, or snow water equivalent, is 18.7 inches. This means that if we melted all the snow down into water, it would equate to just under 19 inches of liquid water. The normal SWE is 16 inches for a season.
These high numbers, especially after last season's snow and wet year, have raised some questions about flooding with the spring runoff as the snow melts. Reservoirs are near or at capacity — Utah's reservoirs combined are sitting at over 80 percent full.
Water experts say they are not overly concerned about spring flooding exclusively from snowmelt runoff despite the soil moisture content currently sitting higher than this time last year. While the soil moisture content is higher, the soils are not saturated, and the water content to date is much lower than at this same time last year.
Last year at this time, SWE was around 28 inches compared to just over 18 inches right now. These variables will help mitigate the flood potential but may not completely eliminate the risk for flooding in flood-prone areas.
We are also dependent upon Mother Nature. Ideally, we see a gradual warm-up with highs getting mild in the afternoon and overnight lows falling back to freezing in the mountains. This allows for a slow trickle effect of runoff into the rivers, creeks and streams, and eventually the reservoirs.
If a faster-than-ideal warm-up occurs, it could increase the flood concern for localized areas. Another factor that could increase the flood potential is if heavy rain falls on top of snow, leading to a rapid runoff and increasing the flood risk, but that is not something that can be predicted this far out.
