Last chance for Utah skiers as final ‘significant’ snow expected at resorts this weekend
Is that a raindrop? Or is it a tear shed for the last snowstorm of the 2023-24 ski and snowboard season?
The time of year has come when temperatures in Utah are no longer cold enough to freeze the precipitation falling from the sky. Even in the Cottonwood Canyons, where peaks stretch to 11,000 feet, the sun is winning out.
So, for those diehard snow seekers who haven’t yet cast aside their ski poles for their hiking shoes, this weekend’s storm will likely be their last taste of powder until at least October. For number crunchers, it definitely will be. But for the sake of record keeping, Utah’s ski season officially spans Oct. 15 to April 30. So, resorts have until Tuesday to pad their seasonal snowfall totals.
And this storm will help.
“There will likely be additional storms in May,” Evan Thayer, the Utah forecaster for OpenSnow.com, wrote in a text, “but there is a good chance that this will be the last significant [more than a foot of snow] storm of the season for the high elevations.”
Alta Ski Area could find up to a foot and a half of snow hidden in the dark clouds hanging over the Wasatch Front before the end of April. That’s probably not enough to push 2023-24 into the Top 10 snowiest seasons in the resort’s history — No. 10 is 659.5 inches from 1997-98, and, according to SNOTEL, Alta had 621 inches as of Thursday. Still, even if no more flakes fell, Alta would have more than 100 inches more snow this season than its 10-year rolling average of 518 inches (an average that jumped more than three feet when last year’s record 903 inches were averaged in).
Only backcountry skiers will have a chance to glide through the fresh coat of snow at Alta, which shut down its lifts last week. Nevertheless, five resorts will have their lifts running to help skiers and snowboarders take advantage of the storm.
Snowbasin, which will close the book on the season Sunday, will mostly be missed by this storm. It will see a skiff at most, according to OpenSnow.com’s forecast. Brian Head Resort, meanwhile, will take the brunt of the storm. As much as 17 inches could fall between Friday and Saturday at the southern Utah ski area, which is slated to stay open through May 5.
Meanwhile, Solitude (open to May 12 or later) and Brighton (open to May 19) in Big Cottonwood Canyon may see up to a foot of snow this weekend. Next door in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Snowbird is well situated to get about 15 inches by Saturday.
Snowbird CEO Dave Fields said he keeps counting the flakes until the resort officially closes, which can be as late as June or, on rare occasions, July. His resort reports it received 557 inches this season. Rather than shed a tear for the end of another season, he’s hoping for a few more chances to add to that tally.
“We’ve had some powder skiing in May before, so it can happen” he said. “One of the best powder days we’ve had in the spring was on May 5 — Cinco de Mayo — years ago. So it can happen.”
The moisture will fall as rain in the valley through Saturday. Weather Underground forecasts the Salt Lake City area will see about an inch of precipitation.
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