History of Marriott-Slaterville City Volume XVI January 1, 2015 - December 31, 2015

STANDARD EXAMINER Serving Northern Utah Since 1888 THURSDAY 12.24.2015 75< The snow is deep, but will it keep? Ski areas ecstatic while Utah water managers cautiously optimistic storm pattern will continue By LEIA LARSEN Standard-Examiner staff Utahns might see their snow dances paying off and ushering in a white Christmas, but it's not time to celebrate just yet. The week's past few storms brought nearly every basin in the state to normal or above-normal snowpack levels. That's great news, according to Troy Brosten, a hydrologist with the National Resource Conservation Service's Snow Survey. But winter's only just begun. Anything can happen. "Last year in December, we were pretty closejo-aormal,-too," he said. "Then, once January came around, the faucet turned off and we didn't have any storms." Ben Lomond Peak, for example, had 34 inches of snow on Dec. 22,2014, according to NRCS snow telemetry (SNOTEL) data. As of Wednesday, SNOTEL reported 36 inches on the mountain. The Weber Basin is currently at 110 percent of its normal snowpack, Brosten said. At this time last year, it was at 104 percent. But by January 2015, the amount of snow on Ben Lomond had dwindled to less than 14 inches. By February, the Weber Basin snowpack was at a meager 38 percent of normal. What 2016 holds for the Wasatch is anyone's guess. "We still need to keep our fingers crossed," Brosten said. "It looks like we still have some storms coming in this week, but there's not much in the forecast after that." For now, Ogden Valley ski resorts are reveling in recent snowfall. Last year, Snowbasin recorded 52 inches and a 34- inch base on Dec. 22. Yesterday, the resort reported 84 inches and a 48-inch base. See SNOW, Page 5A BENJAMIN ZACK/SlaraJara-Exaniin The first rays of morning light hit Ben Lomond peak on Dec. 17 after fresh snow covered the Ogden area the night before. Weather forecasters expect more snow to fall today.