Keep this in mind as you savor the spring sunshine: At this moment, Utah's record-breaking snowpack is melting, pouring runoff into mountain streams and reservoirs.
That's good news, as long as the weather remains dry and mild.Still, the first reports of residential flooding were reported Thursday when a few inches of water spilled into six cabins along the South Fork Ogden River in Weber County.
"There's no threat to human life . . . and we don't think this (episode) will be too expensive," said Weber County Sheriff's Sgt. Quinn Anderson.
Only one cabin, located near Causey Reservoir, is used as a year-round residence.
"Fortunately, that homeowner had taken steps to protect his home," Anderson said.
Other Utah waterways are currently handling the runoff.
"We're seeing significant rises in streams, but the water is well within the confines of the channels," said William Alder of the National Weather Service, Salt Lake International Airport.
The Logan River is an ongoing concern. In recent days, the river has risen from 556 cfps (cubic-feet-per-second) to 806 cfps. The river can handle about 1350 cfps, "but there is still a lot of snow to get down," Alder said.
Salt Lake County's Jordan River, adjusting to increased flows from Utah Lake, is expected to be full through June.
All's well for folks living along the Jordan. But that might change, said Alder, who is keeping his statewide flood "concern-o-meter" at 7.5 on a scale of 1 to 10.
The best for which we can hope is a slow, steady melt, Alder said. Snow is essentially gone on the lower elevations, but significant levels still exist at midlevel and high climes.
Utah loses between 1/2 inch and 11/2 inches of water a day in many snowpack sites, said Ray Wilson of Utah Snow Survey.
That may sound like a lot, but the snowpack in much of northern Utah is still 200 percent of average.
"A lot of areas will have a fairly good snowpack into June," Wilson said.
Flood officials say the weather will prove friend or foe in the coming weeks. Slate-dry, mild conditions will likely allow an easy melt through the weekend, Alder said.
"The worst scenarios would be rain or cold weather that delays the melt," Alder said.