April storms help, but Utah's snowpack remains below average

SALT LAKE CITY — The powerful storms of April blanketed much of the Wasatch mountain range with a fifth of its average annual snowfall, but northern Utah's snowpack remains well below average.

The late storms transformed a largely dry winter into something closer to normal. Alta topped 500 inches of snowfall and its historic average on Tuesday, leaving a base nearly 12 feet deep.

Neighboring Snowbird was an inch short of 500.

Both resorts just east of Salt Lake City remain open. Alta will shut down April 25. Snowbird plans to run lifts for skiers through Memorial Day.

Solitude, Brighton, Park City and Brian Head ski areas plan to close Sunday. Six other Utah resorts are shut down for the season.

With warmer weather arriving, chances are slim that northern Utah can catch up to normal snowpack this spring. Snowmelt will soon begin to eclipse what new snow may fall.

The southern half of Utah stands way above average, however.

The Virgin River water basin has the most snowpack, at an estimated 159 percent of average. Southeastern Utah is also high, at 145 percent, while the Dirty Devil River drainage is only 95 percent of normal. Price-San Rafael is only 78 percent of normal.

The Provo-Utah Lake-Jordan River drainage is 87 percent of normal, as is the Tooele Valley-Vernon Creek. However, the Weber-Ogden River basin is at 82 percent of normal, and the Bear River is the lowest in the state at just 71 percent of normal.

The Salt Lake City International Airport's water situation has improved in recent months. For April, the airport has received 1.36 inches of moisture, or 76.5 percent of normal, and the month is just half over.

March was almost average in moisture received at the airport, with 99 percent of normal in the 1.90 inches of precipitation there. That is much better than January, when the airport was just 28 percent of normal, with only .30 inch of moisture.

According to the Salt Lake office of the National Weather Service, the next chance for moisture in town is next Tuesday through Thursday, when a slight chance of rain is possible. Otherwise, temperatures could climb to 76 degrees on both Sunday and Monday, the possible hottest days of the year to date.

Contributing: Associated Press

e-mail: lynn@desnews.com