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ALTA — Forget the 700 club, some of Utah's resorts have now entered the 800-inch club this season.
Alta Ski Area has received more than 2½ feet of snow since Thursday morning, pushing its seasonal total to over 800 inches early Friday morning. As of noon, 809 inches of snow, or more than 67 feet, of snow have fallen in the area since October. The resort's previous record — since at least 1980 — was 748 inches, which was broken last week.
"This endless winter continues to produce staggering snow totals," resort officials wrote on social media and on its website. "Alta has received some of the highest snowfall totals on the planet."
However, skiers looking to take advantage of the fresh powder will have to wait a bit for it. The area is closed on Friday as a result of avalanche mitigation efforts happening in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
Brighton Resort, which was the first to 700 inches less than two weeks ago, is also expected to reach 800 inches as early as Friday afternoon.
Several other Utah resorts have also broken all-time snowfall records this season, many adding to those records with 2 to 3 feet of snow over the past two days, especially along the Wasatch Mountains.
Utah snowpack nears 1952 record
Utah's snowpack, which broke the modern record of 26 inches last week, is now going after the state's estimated all-time record, too. The statewide figure reached 27.9 inches of snow water equivalent Friday afternoon, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service.
Modern records date back to when the automated system began around 1980. Snowpack data was collected for decades before that using a manual process conducted about once a month, which is why the current process is considered more reliable, and 2023 is considered the record-holder.
But the 1952 water year stands out from the data collected between the 1930s and the 1970s. Agency officials estimate that the snowpack reached 28.8 inches that season, the highest ever since snowpack was first collected. This season is now within an inch of that record and it appears that it's going to surpass it soon.
Some experts are now sounding the alarm, hoping the water hose will stop soon. Jim Steenburgh, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Utah, wrote in a blog post Friday that the "onslaught of storms" needs to end so the snowpack can begin to melt into streams and reservoirs.
"Mother Nature has added over 10 (inches) of water to the snowpack since March 15 ... Talk about load and stress," he wrote, later adding that he hopes Utah sees "a shift to something resembling spring with some longer breaks between storms."
It's not likely going to end next week. Another storm is forecast to arrive Monday. Steenburgh wrote that it could add more inches to the snowpack.
Relief could be in sight after that. The National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center issued a long-range forecast for April 7 through April 13 that calls for below-normal precipitation during that span. That doesn't mean there won't be additional precipitation but the odds are that any snow or rain totals will be below the normal for the second week of April.
The outlook after that calls for "equal chances" across the state, so April could be filled with more storms or it could be the month where the record-breaking season ends. Only time will tell.
