Storms deepen mountain snowpack, cause historic closures

SALT LAKE CITY — The latest round of winter weather closed schools in Iron and Beaver counties Monday — a rare event in that portion of the state.

The Spectrum newspaper in St. George reported the Iron County School District's cancellations marked the first time in six decades that the district has invoked a snow day. Southern Utah University in Cedar City was also closed for the day.

The little farming community of Enterprise in Washington County was climbing out of 26 inches of new snow Monday morning, with the high school students helping people dig out.

"We've had the plows out several times, and with our small staff, it has been pretty difficult," said Adam Bowler, Enterprise city manager. "They've been going pretty much the last 24 hours."

Most people stayed in, he added, and neighbors helped neighbors dig out.

"Being a farming community, people here are grateful for the moisture. It is inconvenient, but they still count it as a blessing," he said. "We need the water, so it is hard to say no to it."

That sentiment is especially strong in neighboring Washington County, where the lack of snow accumulation over the last four years hit near crisis levels, leading to curtailment of junior water rights on Virgin River tributaries.

So far this water year, southwestern Utah has received well above average levels of precipitation — it is sitting at 123 percent as of Monday — and the amount of water in that snowpack pushes the number even higher: 162 percent.

"We are really pleased with what we have seen this year," said Corey Cram, the associate general manager over water for the Washington County Water Conservancy District. "It seems rather typical with us that we have four or five tough drought years in a row and then we get a year like this to help us refill our reservoirs so we can survive the next tough years. "

Randy Julander, Utah Snow Survey supervisor for the USDA's Natural Resources Conservation Service, said the weekend storms pumped up southern Utah snowpack by as much as 30 percent and also increased snowpack in the central and northern portion of the state by 10 percent.

"This is one of those storm systems where you just sit back and say, 'Keep it coming. Keep it coming.' This is one that, by golly, puts a smile on your face," he said.

There are at least two months to go, however, before the full story of the snow accumulation season for 2015-16 can be told.

Brian McInerney, hydrologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, said it may feel like the snowstorms are pesky visitors that won't go away, but that is only because Utah has been left parched the past few years.

"It feels like we are getting hammered, but this is what we expect. I think we are so used to the dry conditions, this feels like a lot," he said.

McInerney said the 8 inches of new snow in Provo Canyon or the 5 inches of fresh powder in Morgan may seem like a lot and temperatures are lower than average, but he urged people to remember that last year, the state experienced record-breaking heat during the winter.

"We couldn't build a snowpack."

Since the fall of 2011, a high pressure ridge has shunted any would-be Utah storms up to Alaska, and El Nino has broken up that ridge, pushing it away and making it smaller.

He added that this year's El Nino, characterized by very warm temperatures in the equatorial Pacific, is not just any El Nino but a record-breaking or near record-breaking phenomenon.

"It's really opened up the door for more increased storms … and chronologically, the effects are felt more in the second half of the winter during February and March," McInerney said.

Julander said northern Utah snowpack, sitting at about average, needs more storms to fill reservoirs and irrigate farmers' fields.

"We still have all of February and all of March in the accumulation season so we have a ways to go," he said.

In addition to providing the state with some good snowpack, the storms caused wreaked havoc on Monday morning's commute.

Between midnight and 11 a.m., Utah Highway Patrol troopers responded to 43 vehicle crashes in Salt Lake County, three of which involved minor injuries. In Utah County, troopers responded to 53 vehicle crashes, with eight of those accidents involving minor injuries.

Multiple slide-offs were reported all along the Wasatch Front.

Contributing: Associated Press, Shara Park, Peter Samore

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