Utah's First Big Storm, With More On The Way

words by Evan Thayer of OpenSnow.com

It is snowing again in Utah!
I repeat.
IT. IS. SNOWING. IN. UTAH.

There is no need to remind you of the details, but the world has been a bit more chaotic than normal this year. On top of that, we have had a long, hot, dry summer. But snow in Utah, somehow that just feels normal. Right now, normal feels good.

November is typically the month where winter really starts to rev its engines. This year is no exception as we are coming off our first big snowfall of the season. On Sunday, we awoke to a blanket of white throughout the mountains of Utah and it just kept snowing. I spent all of Sunday morning refreshing webcams and watching the fluff accumulate. By Sunday afternoon, I couldn’t stand it anymore. I left my 8-week-old son in the capable hands of my wife and zoomed up the canyon to experience snow for myself.

I was not disappointed.

Video filmed on Sunday, November 8 at Alta Ski Area, Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude Mountain Resort


Over TWO feet of Utah’s finest blower powder fell in Little Cottonwood Canyon. Almost all resorts in the state saw significant snowfall. Perhaps the best news, however, is that this is just the first in a series of storms that will impact Utah over the next two weeks.

After what seemed like months of high-pressure ridging overhead, we now see that the high pressure has moved far out into the Pacific Ocean:

The location of the high-pressure ridge to our west opens the door for cold air and storms to drop down from Alaska. This is a very favorable pattern for snow in Utah, and it is going to stick around for the foreseeable future.

We will see chances for snow showers continuing this week along with cold temperatures that will allow for snowmaking at resorts capable of making snow. By this weekend (November 14-15), we will have another strong system push into the state. Significant mountain snowfall is once again possible.

As we head into the second half of the month, there are indications that the storms will continue. This will help us build a substantial early season base which will be critical in getting terrain open. Utah is known for having some of the best early season conditions in the world, and this season does not look to be any different.

As a forecaster, it is always nice to be able to share good news, especially at a time when the world needs good news. I hope to have a lot more of it to share this season!

Utah's opening dates can be found here and for the daily snow forecast, check the Utah Daily Snow at opensnow.com.