The Utah Snow Survey, using data from previous years, predicted the maximum snow water equivalent will reach roughly 22 inches – which is around 155% of normal – by early April. “We’re roughly 80 days ahead of schedule,” he said. And it’s still possible that our peak snowpack won’t be as high, but as of today, we are beating 2011,” Clayton said. This is notable because 2011 was an outstanding winter. “We’re nowhere near the end of winter, but for this particular date, we haven’t seen snow water equivalent totals this high, from a statewide perspective, since 2005. The snowfall has aided in Utah’s recovery from the drought, helping to eliminate exceptional drought conditions throughout the state, and is expected to provide much-needed relief to reservoirs this spring. There are historic and record-breaking snowpack conditions across the state, which have contributed to making this season one of the best winters in nearly 20 years, according to Jordan Clayton, a supervisor with the Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Utah Snow Survey. UTAH - Commuters traveling through Parleys Canyons, skiers taking advantage of fresh powder at area resorts and officials working at the state level are all in agreement: Utah is having an exceptional winter. The Provo-Utah Lake-Jordan basin reported record-high snow water equivalent conditions on Wednesday. Utah Transit Authority also lifted all its snow routes that had been put in place Friday morning.Snowmobiles travel near the Provo River, along Mirror Lake Highway east of Samak. Drivers were also warned of long delays on I-15 after a crash early Friday briefly shut down the freeway southbound at Draper. The Utah Highway Patrol confirmed it responded to over 250 crashes between Thursday and Friday. If you have to travel, please use caution and slow down," the department tweeted in the morning. Please consider delaying travel for 2-3 hours until the snow moves out. "Heavy lake effect snow is causing issues on many highways in Salt Lake County. The department urged drivers to delay their travel earlier in the day due to weather conditions, as the storm lingered in the state. Approved traction devices are still required at Big Cottonwood Canyon, as of 4 p.m. Most traction laws have been lifted by the Utah Department of Transportation. Meanwhile, other aspects of the storm are clearing up. Friday, according to the Natural Resources Conservation Service. However, it jumped from 31% of normal on Monday to 57% of normal as of 4 p.m. The statewide snowpack total is still well below normal for close to mid-December. Pine Creek in the Central Mountains, for example, received 3 inches of precipitation. Not all of the weather service sites indicated snow totals some instead provided precipitation totals. What's more, the storm carried plenty of water - an important distinction for snowpack, which is calculated by the amount of water within the fallen snow. The BYU campus in Provo received 3 inches of snow, as did Salt Lake City, at 5,088 feet elevation. In lower elevation areas, communities like Woodland Hills in Utah County received over a foot of snow, while the Bountiful Bench in Davis County received close to a foot of snow. Brighton Crest in Salt Lake County station received 24 inches of snow, while Silver Lake by Brighton received 19.5 inches. Eagle Point Resort in Beaver County led all reporting sites with 26 inches of snow, according to weather service data. Heavy snow totals were reported across the state, especially in the mountains. The weather service lifted all remaining winter weather advisories and winter storm warnings Friday afternoon, as the storm moves eastward. A storm that slammed Utah Thursday and lingered into Friday dumped over 2 feet of snow in some of the state's mountains, according to the National Weather Service.
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