A new storm could drop as much as two feet of snow in the mountains, and possibly pulling more Utah counties out of a drought. Map from the The National Drought Mitigation Center at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
SALT LAKE CITY – Parts of northwest Utah are no longer in a drought, and the snow storm that will pound the state starting on Thursday means more counties could officially get out of their droughts as well.
Places along the Wasatch Front will get 18 inches of snow and possibly up to two feet before the front peters out on Saturday.
National Weather Service hydrologist Brian McInerney says the storm will add to the snow totals the state got in late November.
“That has really taken our snow pack from basically zero up to anywhere from 100 to 120 percent [of normal]. And southern Utah even did better; they’re up around 150 percent [of normal],” McInerney says.
McInerney says the storm will be cold and kick out the inversion layer. Because the storm is coming so quickly after another big front, that could mean a very wet winter could be in Utah’s future.
“Anytime you have an active pattern early on in the winter, that’s a good sign that that active pattern is going to persist,” McInerney says.
The US Drought Monitor is expected to update its map next week.