Snow record broken after 40 years, and it’s still coming
Mar 30, 2023 08:30AM ● By Alisha Copfer
The Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) Network average for Utah currently shows 27 inches for snow water equivalent. The black line represents the current snow year. Courtesy image/Natural Resources Conservation Service
According to records from the Utah Snow Survey, the state has reached an all time high for snowpack. On Friday, March 24, the Snow Telemetry (SNOTEL) Network average for Utah was at 26.0 inches of snow water equivalent. This is now the largest since 1952. As of March 28, the SWE reached 27.0.
Statewide average snow water equivalent (SWE) is the amount of moisture in the snowpack. After the snowpack hit 26.1 inches on Friday night, it passed a decades-long record to make the 2023 winter one of the wettest in Utah’s recorded history, according to Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) data. The statewide records date back to modern data collection beginning in 1980.
NRCS Agency officials tweeted that it's apparently also the largest statewide snowpack since 1952, though snowpack records are not as reliable as before this modern practice. The last time Utah hit that milestone of 26 inches was in 1983.
Utah reportedly hasn't seen a snow pack of 700 inches this early in the season since the 1940s when the state started these measurements. And, the 2023 snowpack hasn't only broken records, it's more than the past two years of snowpack seasons combined.
The record comes as many northern Utah mountain areas hit more than 700 inches of snow. Statewide snow totals currently sit at 192% of normal, and all of the watersheds are getting buried. In typical years, Utah’s snow pack reaches its peak in April. However, expect the state record to keep rising as Utah still has more snow in the forecast.
