SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (ABC 4 News) - The calendar says January 14th, but the mountains and valleys are telling a different story. According to hydrologists, so far Utah is running at about 50 to 60 percent of normal in terms of winter precipitation.
Utah is known for having "the greatest snow on Earth," but after record low snow levels in December, Utahns are concerned about a possible snow drought. December of 2011 was the driest on record, with .03 inches of water. That's compared to December, 2010, which was the fifth wettest on record. "Last year we got into a stable wet regime, with one storm after another. This year is opposite. We had high pressure that's pushed the storm track north and east into places like Colorado," says National Weather Service Meteorologist Mike Seamen.
Meteorologists say going from one extreme to another is common in a dry state like Utah. "This is a desert, so little snowfall is not totally out of the question," says Seamen.
But the question on most people's minds is whether or not this season's snowpack will provide enough water for the summer months. With state resevoirs like Jordanelle and Pine View still at 80 to 90 percent full, meteorologists say we can withstand one dry winter, but two or three dry years in a row could be a problem. "We had so much water the last two years, that even if we stay dry this winter, we'll still fill the resevoirs," says Seamen.
While most resorts are getting by on making snow, a lot of the ski runs are still barren with dirt, rocks and grass peaking through the powder. Local skier Johanna Jamison is not impressed with the 20111-2012 ski season so far. "For locals it's a disappointing year. A lot of us live here for the snow and we're not able to enjoy that this year."
Forecasters are not expecting a repeat performance of last year's record flooding, though. If anything, they say mother nature will have to play catch up over the next few months to even come close to normal snow averages. "Even if we can get back to 70 or 80 percent we should be in good shape, but it will have to be a really wet spring to do that," says Seamen.
With a cold front coming through on Monday, forecasters are expecting snow durnig the coming week. They say thanks to more moisture from the Pacific, we can expect a series of several storms.
