Snowpacked: Some areas of Utah could go from drought to flooding this spring
Extremely heavy snowpacks were recorded Jan. 1 in areas where the drought has been most scorching — the Virgin River drainage of southwestern Utah and the Sevier River in the western part of the state.
Some places are "already starting to be of genuine concern," said Randy Julander, snow survey supervisor with the U.S. Natural Resources Conservation Service, based in Salt Lake City.
In Midway Valley above Cedar City, a watershed that drains into Cold Creek, the average peak snowpack on April 1 holds 27 inches of water. "Right now it has 36 inches, and we still have three months of winter to go," Julander said.
"That could send a lot of water down through Cold Creek, which goes through the middle of Cedar City."
He noted it's still early in the water year, and much can happen before the spring runoff begins. But if strong snowstorms keep coming through the mountains above Cedar City, he said, "My goodness, there's going to be a lot of water going down there."
The turnaround from drought conditions affects the entire state. None of the Utah regions tallied in the monthly reports shows less than 112 percent of the average snowpack for April 1, and the statewide average is 145 percent.
Now, if the early trend holds, reservoirs may begin to refill. But that is a big if.
The most important watersheds for northern Utah's water are those of the Bear River, Weber River and Provo River/Utah Lake. They were measured at 112 percent, 136 percent and 134 percent, respectively.
"Those three watersheds are almost exactly the same place they were last year, same time," Julander warned. They look good right now, but in 2004 "we had that marvelous snowpack and basically it just tanked on us."
When that nice-looking snowpack evaporated, northern Utah was stuck with another year of drought.
This year, he said, "We like what we see. But the eventual outcome is pretty much up in the air. It could go any direction at this point."
The same does not seem to be true for other parts of Utah, which have been walloped by several storms. A good runoff seems nearly assured:
• Uintas: The snow courses for the Uinta Mountains are at 177 percent of average. "They have six sites on the south slope that are over 200 percent," Julander said. With so much snow, the Uintas have a 97 percent probability of being at least average when the accumulation season ends about April 1.
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