Looking back at Utah’s record snowfall years

Photo: Alta // Chloe Jimenez

PARK CITY, Utah — As Park City skiers dust off their gear and count down to opening day, many are wondering if Utah will experience another record-setting winter. The last few seasons suggest the Wasatch may indeed be on an historic roll.

The 2022-23 winter brought an unprecedented 903 inches of snow to Alta Ski Area, the highest total ever recorded in Utah. Yes, you read that right – the highest ever. The Natural Resources Conservation Service confirmed this as the state’s largest snowpack in over 70 years. Alta’s total shattered the previous record of 748 inches, set in the 1981-82 season, by 155 inches. The resort’s Collins Study Plot, which has tracked snowfall for 43 years, recorded its first snowfall on October 22 and averaged 4.7 inches of snow per day through April 30.

Deer Valley surpassed 600 inches that season after a storm on April 20 pushed the season’s total depth to 606 inches – more than 50 feet – surpassing the previous record of 484 inches recorded during the 16/17 winter season. Park City Mountain Resort also experienced a record-breaking 2022-2023 snow season, with totals exceeding 480 inches, making it the snowiest year in the resort’s 49-year history of record-keeping. 

Statewide, Utah’s average snow water equivalent—a measure of the moisture content in the snowpack—peaked at 26 inches in March 2023, breaking a SNOTEL record that had been in place since 1980, according to the Deseret News.

“It’s truly amazing,” said Jordan Clayton, supervisor of the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Utah Snow Survey. “It’s very cool to be able to witness this.”

Clayton noted that the 2022-23 winter was Utah’s snowiest since 1952, with only one winter in the 1930s recording higher moisture levels. Unlike many years with early peaks, the snow in 2022-23 continued to accumulate throughout spring, providing a consistent supply of powder at higher elevations—a delightful scenario for skiers who chased fresh snow well into April.

The following winter maintained this trend. With totals from the 2023-24 season combined, Alta recorded its snowiest two-season stretch in history—an exciting period for Utah skiers who closely monitor powder days as well as lift lines.

Typically, Alta averages 548 inches of snow annually. Before the 2022-23 season, it had surpassed 700 inches only four times in its eight-decade history and had never exceeded 800 inches.

Salt Lake City’s official snowfall records, which date back to 1928, indicate that the city’s single-day snowfall record remains 15.3 inches, set on March 13, 1944, according to the National Weather Service. Measurements have been taken at Salt Lake City International Airport since 1948.

Forecasts for the upcoming season remain uncertain—as they always do in Utah—but skiers from Park City to Little Cottonwood Canyon are eagerly watching the mountains, hoping history will repeat itself.