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Jed Boal reportingHere in Utah, our weather has definitely been strange. If you think spring is long-delayed in the valley, wait until you see the kind of day they had in the mountains.
Most of us know it can snow any month of the year in Utah, but a day like this really is out of whack. Ask anyone who lives in the mountains and awoke to another snow day.
Some search for the summer of perpetual powder. "It's awesome! At least we get to keep snowboarding instead of getting it cut off early," snowboarder Bobby Lewis said.
His group of diehards headed up to board at Snowbird only to find out they'll have to wait. "Maybe not today, but we're planning on Friday, so it's all good," snowboarder Garritt Martinez said.
In some parts of Utah today, it was 25 degrees Fahrenheit with wind gusts of more than 30 miles per hour. "It's Utah weather. It's great! Anything can happen here in Utah," weather watcher Bob Lewis said.
Historically, it's not that strange. But during the last 30 years our springs and summers have been hotter and drier. "Last year we were frying at this time, and this year it looks like winter," Bob Lewis said.
A hydrologist with the National Weather Service says they still measure 60 inches of snow in Little Cottonwood Canyon. That translates into 30 inches of water. At Alta Ski Resort the measure it even deeper.
"The snow is about a month behind in the melt-out. Our mid-mountain stake still shows 108 inches of snow," said Mike Maughan, with Alta Ski Resort.
If this were November, the winter resorts would be thrilled. But, like many of us, they have summer plans.
If you want to ski or board, Snowbird is open again Friday, Saturday and Sunday. "I can't believe we're starting summer operations, but we are, and we're still skiing. It's this crazy, schizophrenic weather we've had all winter," said Dave Fields, with Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort.
Weather watchers know this is an ideal scenario for our thirsty environment. With the slow melt-off we avoided flooding. Most reservoirs are full, the ground water is recharged, and the cool spring let us wait on irrigation.
E-mail: jboal@ksl.com
