I couldn't find this with a Google search when preparing the previous post about Brian McKenna, but if you are interested in donating to help with his medical expenses, there is a fundraiser at gofundme that you can access here.
An upper-level trough is moving through Utah today (Thursday) and tomorrow, bringing with it some convective storms and eventually cooler temperatures. Snow from the last storm is now almost gone. The Mount Baldy webcam at Alta this morning shows the snow line has tretreated to nearly 10,000 feet with substantial losses even at upper elevations. Although the Mt. Baldy summit is obscured, considerable rock and dirt is exposed in the Ballroom at center right of the photo. Source: Alta. Photo from about 7:45 AM 22 October 2026 Se, we are essentially starting over from here. The situation for today and tomorrow is a bit of a crap shoot. Today, snow levels will be too high for much in the way of accumulations. Perhaps if we get a thunderstorm or thunderstorm complex today it can lower the snow levels down onto our highest peaks, but the RRFS ensemble shows the wet-bulb 0.5 level sitting over 11,000 feet until later this evening....
October is a great month in Utah and this weekend has been a beauty. Fall and winter seasons were in evidence this morning in Big Cottonwood Canyon. Although past peak, golden aspens were still in abundance. Then there's the snow on the high north aspects. I'm curious to see how much of that snow can survive this week. Under clear skies, it can be hard to melt snow this time of year on shady north aspects, but the models are advertising a late-monsoon moisture surge later in the week with mild 700-mb temperatures, cloud cover, and snow levels that could be above 10,000 feet on Thursday. That's a recipe for rain on snow to at least 10,000 feet so maybe we will lose some of that high north snowpack before the trough swings through and temperatures fall. We shall see...
For the second year in a row, October has given us above average precipitation, but limited snowpack. Below are the numbers for accumulated precipitation in the Great Salt Basin based on SNOTEL stations. Median for October (Green line) is 2.5". Last year we got 4.2". This year, through yesterday (October 24, black line), we are at 4.1". We'll probably add a bit to that before the month is over. Sadly, in both months, nearly all of this precipitation ended up in the soil rather than the snowpack, with little snowpack water equivalent at the end of last October and little presently this October. That isn't to say there isn't any snow. There are upper-elevation sites with a few hints of snow, but nobody is over an inch of snowpack water equivalent. If you are wondering, Snowbird is at 0.5". We're basically near zero in Collins Gulch. Source: Alta. Downloaded 1205 MDT 25 Oct 2026 On the positive side, the so...
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