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SALT LAKE CITY — After a bad start for snowpack in the state of Utah, heavy storms in the summer have hydrologists optimistic about the upcoming season.
Rainfall and snowpack are monitored by hydrologists during a time frame spanning from Oct. 1 to Sept. 30, meaning last year's results have just recently been tabulated. Utah's reservoirs finished the water year at 52 percent capacity, down just a hair from 55 percent last year, hydrologists said.
Much of the general positive result was due to heavy rains in May along with above average storms in July and August, experts said. The state's snowpack was actually far below typical standards — it was at just 41 percent of the normal level on April 1, per reports, the time at which snowpack should be the deepest.
After surviving a down year on the snow front due to heavy rain, hydrologists are seeing encouraging signs for the upcoming year. Early storms like Friday's could signal early snow, though unlike last year, it would need to keep falling to sustain a more positive year.
"The real snowpack comes into play after January 1st," said hydrologist Troy Brosten. "January, February, March and into April, that's where we get our snowpack. That's what really counts."
Contributing: Ben Dowsett
