SALT LAKE CITY — To the surprise of almost no one who has been in the Beehive State this Winter, Utah is experiencing record-low levels of snowpack.
A special report published by the Natural Resources Conservation Service highlighted the record-breaking impact of the lack of snow in Utah. According to the service, as of January 3, Utah's statewide snow water equivalent (SWE) was an average of 5.1 inches.
Those measurements are taken from SNOTEL weather stations across the state. You can find more on the stations here.
The previous record for SWE on January 31 was a minimum observed value of 5.2 inches. Officials with the NRCS say Utah's SWE has continued to set new record minimums for all observations going back to 1980.
As of Monday, 31 of Utah's 140 SNOTEL sites were reporting record low amounts of SWE. An additional 12 sites are at their second-lowest in history.
Combined, experts say that only 31% of Utah's SNOTEL network is either at its worst or second-worst amount of snowpack.
The results mean low chances for water for Utah's major basins. Currently, four basins have record low snow water equivalent (Weber-Ogden, Provo-Utah Lake-Jordan, Tooele Valley-Vernon Creek, and Lower Sevier).
Six other basins are very close to setting new record lows, according to the survey. Those basins include the Northeastern Uintas, San Pitch, Price-San Rafael, Dirty Devil, Upper Sevier, and Southeastern Utah.
Experts say that the current snow water equivalent in Utah is only about one-third of the typical annual peak SWE. This is with only two months to go in the typical snow accumulation season.
