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

Thursday, December 24, 2015 5A Snow From 1A Powder Mountain, which relies entirely on natural snow, said it plans to open the entire mountain three weeks ahead of last year. They're reporting a 44-inch base and 12 inches of new in the past 24 hours. Nordic Valley, which had a depressing less-than- 60-day season last year, an- nounced plans to open its full mountain this morning. They're reporting 6 inches in the past 24 hours and a 31-inch base. It wasn't just the ski season that took a hit last winter. It had water managers worried, too. Utahns living in the Weber River Basin rely on snowpack to fill reservoirs each spring. Last January, a high-pressure system settled over the region and didir^udge^^locked^^ any substantial snow for the rest of the winter. "There were pretty much no storms up until April, and our snowpack was maxed out," Brosten said. "It typically maxes out around April 1, but last year we stared losing snow around March 1." Late spring and above- average summertime showers provided much- needed relief. Rainstorms watered lawns, reduced de- mand and helped to fill res- ervoirs. "We're not out of the woods yet by a long shot," Brosten said. "We've had four years in a row of drought-like conditions. It's hard to say if that trend is going to continue or not. We just don't know." El Nino will power winter storms for the rest of the season. In the West, forecasters predict wet conditions in the southern regions and dry conditions to the north. But northern Utah sits in a climatic transition zone where anything could happen. ~ ^___^ "We could have a wet ~~ south Utah and a dry north Utah, but that transition could wander upward and all of Utah could do well," Brosten said. "That's what we're hoping for." Contact reporter Leia Larsen at 801^25-4289 or llarsen@standard.net. Follow her on Facebdok.com/ leiaoutside or on Twi\ter @LeiaLarsen.