Spring has barely begun, but water is thundering out of the Wasatch Mountains’ reservoirs as dam operators clear room to receive the liquid assets stored in a snowpack that is up to twice its normal size.
In coming weeks, that snow will turn to water and pour down canyons, bringing both the promise of increased supplies and the peril of flooding.
Water managers like to see the snow stay in the mountains as long as possible, but that can lead to floods if the weather quickly warms. Utah’s big snowpacks will continue growing at the upper elevations under a weather pattern that is expected to bring more snow and cooler temperatures through the end of April, according to speakers at Tuesday’s monthly water supply meeting hosted by the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.