Snowpack Update

A rather unscientific polling of locals on a relatively small number of chairlift rides yesterday suggests that this year is off to a slow start.  Is that really the case?

Yes.

First we can look at the snowpack water equivalent.  Three of the SNOTEL sites with long-term records in the central Wasatch, Snowbird, Brighton, and Thaynes Canyon sit at their lowest or 2nd lowest water equivalents on record.  

Source: NRCS

The Snowbird site is near the Gad Restaurant, which is currently under construction.  Site notes indicate that the pillow was moved about a hundred feet on 20 December, and indeed there is a discontinuity in the record around that time with a drop in water equivalent from 4.2", which was near the lowest on record (since 1990), to 3.2 inches, which would be the lowest on record.  

How much faith to put into the representativeness of the Snowbird measurements is unclear, but they don't paint a rosy picture.  

Brighton is the 2nd lowest on record (since 1987), although for all intents and purposes, it's pretty much at the lowest.

And of course Thaynes, which is below the prior minimum

So as not to be accused of cherry picking, the "rosiest" central Wasatch SNOTEL with long-term records is Mill D North, which actually sits a shade below median.  

Is there any silver lining in this story?

No.

But of course, there's always more to talk about.  

The sites above only have records back to at best the late 1980s.  The gold standard for central Wasatch drought remains the winter of 76/77.  In November and December of 1976, Alta-Guard recorded only 30.5" of snow and 2.04" of water.  I don't have access to Alta Guard data yet, but so far this year Alta has recorded 107" of snow and 8.6" of water at Alta Collins.  That site is higher than Alta Guard, but even with adjustments, we are still well ahead of the dreaded 76/77 drought year.  

And if misery loves company, there are any number of years in the recent past that haven't been that far ahead of this year as the holidays approached.  The current snowpack water equivalent at Brighton, for example, is very close to that observed during the 2018, 2021, and 2022 water years.  

Let's hope the snow season picks up momentum during the holidays.