Record Snow pack, floods next?

[Greg]

Utah's mountain snowpack reaches milestone. How close is it to the record?

This winter marks the 14th year that Utah's snowpack has reached 20 inches or more since 1980. It may even crack the top 10 all-time list this week.

www.ksl.com

(Article is a bit old)

Anyone taking bets on how bad the flooding will be in UT soon? I believe there is now more snowpack in the mountains than the Winter of '82-83, which resulted in massive flooding.

Who lives in a flood zone? Buy your sand bags yet?

 

[Hickey]

Utah's mountain snowpack reaches milestone. How close is it to the record?

This winter marks the 14th year that Utah's snowpack has reached 20 inches or more since 1980. It may even crack the top 10 all-time list this week.

www.ksl.com

(Article is a bit old)

Anyone taking bets on how bad the flooding will be in UT soon? I believe there is now more snowpack in the mountains than the Winter of '82-83, which resulted in massive flooding.

Who lives in a flood zone? Order your sand bags yet?

It really just depends on how quickly it melts. They’ve also made huge changes in the storm drain codes since the 80’s, too.

 

[glockman]

I'm not religious, but I believe God is telling all the Californian's to go back!!

 

[johngottfredson]

In ‘83 they had a really late snowpack/cold spring, with a sudden change to 80* weather. ‘82 was also almost as big of a winter, so soil saturation was maxed out. It was the perfect combo, so the flooding was epic. You see the preparations happening with many reservoirs preemptively draining down so they have surge capacity, which I don’t believe was in place in ‘83.

That said, there could be some water in some houses really easy. The governor said pray for snow, he should have told folks to be more specific in their requests. I feel like this is on him.

 

[Hickey]

That stupid Cox…

 

[Hickey]

The road below my property today:

 

[N-Smooth]

I live on a hill. Let the peasants be flooded. Mwahaha

 

[Jeepj667]

The snow stick down the road from my cabin. That little nub sticking out is 6ft.

 

[Stephen]

In ‘83 they had a really late snowpack/cold spring, with a sudden change to 80* weather. ‘82 was also almost as big of a winter, so soil saturation was maxed out. It was the perfect combo, so the flooding was epic. You see the preparations happening with many reservoirs preemptively draining down so they have surge capacity, which I don’t believe was in place in ‘83.

That said, there could be some water in some houses really easy. The governor said pray for snow, he should have told folks to be more specific in their requests. I feel like this is on him.

They've also built several reservoirs since then. Jordanelle and Little Dell in the Wasatch range. And Little Dell is specifically there for flood mitigation.

 

[johngottfredson]

I live on a hill. Let the peasants be flooded. Mwahaha

It’s funny…but my last house was at the bottom of a hill and flooded from time to time. Current house is on a hill for that very reason 😎

 

[jeeper]

Draper mountain before the last 2 storms

 

[Vonski]

Who lives in a flood zone? Buy your sand bags yet?

My place isn’t considered a flood zone, but this year’s runoff may prove otherwise. 🤷‍♂️ I’ve got a creek that runs through the property and here are pics of the lowest and highest levels (spring of ‘18 and ‘19) since I’ve lived here. I’ve got a pallet of bags in the shop and hauling in a couple loads of sand this next week, just in case.

 

[Herzog]

We're up higher in the valley that we are in, but I'm told there are quite a few springs in the ground nearby that like to party when there's this much snow that's about to melt. We've got a sump pump below the concrete and I've got an water alarm and a camera watching it... should be interesting.

 

[jeeper]

I was out in Farr West last week, and there were multiple farmers fields with pumps getting out feet of standing water. I saw them pumping to the curb drains, so I assume it all ends up in the GSL 🤷🏼‍♂️

 

[Kevin B.]

We have extra reservoir space, but we've also done a ton of building in low spots since '83. If it's a fast melt, some folks is gonna get wet.

 

[Cody]

They've also built several reservoirs since then. Jordanelle and Little Dell in the Wasatch range. And Little Dell is specifically there for flood mitigation.

But mountain dell is empty due to dam repairs.

Best we can hope for is a gradual runoff I guess. I've got paddle boards to use if I need to get to work

 

[Stephen]

But mountain dell is empty due to dam repairs.

Best we can hope for is a gradual runoff I guess. I've got paddle boards to use if I need to get to work

Ooooo, that's right. Hmmm... could get wild then! I survived '83, so bring it on!

 

[nnnnnate]

We have a sunken patio that is about 2'below grade. It drains to a buried pipe and gravel ditch across the yard. It's only ever been an issue when it rains hard and the drain has crap covering it. This winter the ground is so saturated that water has pooled several times and I have been concerned about it getting into the basement door. Luckily it hasn't gotten that high and since the snow has melted off, except what came today, it shouldn't be an issue.

I can't help but think all those folks who built in Murray at the river bottoms north of 215 are screwed. We'll see though.

 

[Mouse]

We drove to Antelope island on Saturday, the lake water is definitely up. News reported that it is 2 feet higher since November. We also drove around the surrounding area looking specifically at water. There is going to be some water in a lot of the new homes that were built in the lower areas. We moved into our house the summer of '18. That winter and next spring was fairly wet and there were ponds and standing water in several areas that now have townhomes and houses.

 

[Hickey]

The lake is definitely filling quickly. We have a really great view of the lake from our training course at work and we can see the daily differences with each storm runoff.