Labor Day may have been scorching hot across much of the United States, but conditions were entirely different high in the mountains of Utah.
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Alta ski area, and the mountain resorts Snowbird and Solitude, all received their first snowfall of the season on Monday. Snow also covered State Route 150 near Bald Mountain Pass in the western Uinta Mountains, according to KSL Salt Lake City.
“Remain calm: It’s happening,” Snowbird wrote on X. “The first snow has arrived at Hidden Peak.”
Meanwhile, the National Weather Service also posted a precaution about the event.
“The Labor Day snow continues,” the National Weather Service wrote on X. “In all seriousness, if you are venturing into the higher terrain, particularly above 10,000 feet, be prepared for winter-like conditions.”
It should be noted though that snow in the Utah mountains isn’t unusual at this time of year.
Indeed, the first snowfall of the season last year occurred on September 16, 2022, KSL meteorologist Matthew Johnson explained. That snow was also near the same area of Bald Mountain Pass.
“It was September 16 last year and September 4 this year, but I have seen snow as early as late August, so it’s not out of the norm,” Johnson continued. “It’s definitely something we expect this time of year.”
Location, Location, Location
People in those ski areas of Utah are used to plenty of snow. Consider, for instance, that the community of Alta reported 903 inches of snow last season, which was more than any other resort area in North America. What’s more, five other Utah mountain resorts reported record-breaking snowfall last season.
Those snow levels aren’t freak occurrences.
The community of Snowbird, in Little Cottonwood Canyon in the Wasatch Range of the Rocky Mountains, typically averages more than 500 inches of snow each year.
For perspective, while Snowbird resort is in the mountains, it is also located 29 miles from Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC).
The town of Alta, located at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon, was originally founded in 1871 near an area known for silver mining. Alta Ski Area, which opened in 1939, is located 32 miles, or about 45 minutes, from SLC.
Approximately 546 inches of snow falls there each season.
Know Before You Go
It may have snowed in the mountains of Utah, but that doesn’t mean the snow will stick around.
Indeed, the weather forecast calls for temperatures in the upper 60s all week in the Wasatch Mountains.
“It’s really not until usually late October and early November that we start to see more consistency” in snowfall, Johnson said.
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