stefan
10-03-2007, 06:51 AM
Utah's Super Hot Summer Likely Bad New for Ski Season
Sep 28, 2007 by Julie Rose
(KCPW News) Record-breaking heat this summer and a global warming trend are bad signs for the coming ski season, says hydrologist Brian McInerney of the National Weather Service:
"A lot of things are inferred from that," says McInerney. "Storms will become more intense, but maybe our snow-pack due to the warming climate will become less. We'll see more of a rain-driven hydrology rather than snow, which doesn't bode well for the ski resorts."
McInerney says two-thousand temperature records have been broken in the U.S. this year, including the all-time hottest summer for Utah. Salt Lake City had both the hottest July and hottest month ever recorded. And McInerney says it was clear back in January that water levels would be low for 2007:
"As a result, the guys who manage the reservoirs took that to heart and basically stored as much water as they could all the way through the Winter and Spring," says McInerney. "That's why we came through the summer looking pretty good."
As a rule of thumb, McInerney says snowfall in November and December signal spring run-off. If very little white stuff falls in December, McInerney says that's reason to worry.
Sep 28, 2007 by Julie Rose
(KCPW News) Record-breaking heat this summer and a global warming trend are bad signs for the coming ski season, says hydrologist Brian McInerney of the National Weather Service:
"A lot of things are inferred from that," says McInerney. "Storms will become more intense, but maybe our snow-pack due to the warming climate will become less. We'll see more of a rain-driven hydrology rather than snow, which doesn't bode well for the ski resorts."
McInerney says two-thousand temperature records have been broken in the U.S. this year, including the all-time hottest summer for Utah. Salt Lake City had both the hottest July and hottest month ever recorded. And McInerney says it was clear back in January that water levels would be low for 2007:
"As a result, the guys who manage the reservoirs took that to heart and basically stored as much water as they could all the way through the Winter and Spring," says McInerney. "That's why we came through the summer looking pretty good."
As a rule of thumb, McInerney says snowfall in November and December signal spring run-off. If very little white stuff falls in December, McInerney says that's reason to worry.