Not to poke at semifresh wounds, but Utah’s snowfall for winter 2022 was one to remember. The state was pummeled with 700 inches of snow, and many are wondering: Is it going to happen again this winter?
Winter has already made an appearance as it encroached on fall leaves as the highest mountain peaks are already dusted with snow — Storyful News and Weather shared a video of the stunning view on its YouTube channel.
This winter’s weather predictions are a bit mixed, but so far, it looks like it could be another snowy winter in Utah.
What does the winter of 2023 and 2024 look like?
For the first time in three years, an El Niño weather pattern is well underway and has been gaining strength since June. The record snowfall Utah had last year was from a La Niña pattern.
Do you get more snow with El Niño?
El Niño weather patterns typically make conditions wetter in the southern part of the United States, including southern Nevada, Texas, Alabama, Tennessee and Virginia. Since California is on the coast, it usually receives more precipitation too, per The Weather Channel.
This has been the case with previous El Niño patterns, especially from 1950 to 2009, as shown on a graph from Climate.gov by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
This is close to the same effect that El Niño has in Europe — wetter conditions in the south and milder conditions in the north, per Euro News.
Is Utah supposed to get a lot of snow this winter?
Even with the early snow that Utah got this week in the mountains, there’s little chance it’ll happen again this weekend, per the National Weather Service.
However, nothing is certain, as weather patterns are fickle and could change the status quo of past El Niños.
Utah’s forecast for the 2023 to 2024 Winter season is a “white out,” predicts The Old Farmer’s Almanac.
“Expect a white Christmas,” the almanac wrote, with the heaviest snowfalls in middle to late November, early and late January, and the final winter burst in mid-February.
As far as temperatures go, it’s forecasted to be 4 degrees colder than average in the almanac’s Intermountain Region in both December and January.
When can you start skiing in Utah?
Ski resorts in Utah have anticipated open dates as soon as mid-November. Brian Head and others are opening in early December, per Ski Utah.
- Brian Head: Friday, Nov. 10, 2023.
- Alta: Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
- Park City Mountain: Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
- Solitude: Friday, Nov. 17, 2023.
- Deer Valley: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2023.
- Nordic Valley: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2023.
- Sundance: Tuesday, Dec. 2, 2023.
- Eagle Point: Friday, Dec. 15, 2023.