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Utah ski areas have some of the most snow in the nation, but they are far from the top

More snow on the way Thursday, then a dry spell is on the horizon.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) The Sundown Ski Lift at Powder Mountain Ski Resort, on Friday, December 8, 2023.

  | Jan. 25, 2024, 1:00 p.m.
| Updated: 5:25 p.m.

It may feel like a lackluster ski and snowboard season so far, but Utah’s resorts are once again dominating the nation when it comes to snow totals.

Of the top five snowiest ski areas in the United States right now, four of them are in the Beehive State, according to the forecasting website OntheSnow.com.

Alta Ski Area is reporting 291 inches of snowfall so far in 2023-24. That’s not quite the 436 inches it had at this time last year, when it was on its way to setting the bar for the entire country with a state-record 903 total inches for the season. Still, it’s the second most of any resort in the U.S. so far.

Chris Tomer | OntheSnow Season snow totals for most Utah resorts as of Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2024.

Snowbird, just a bit farther down Little Cottonwood Canyon, is reporting the third-most snowfall with 260 inches. Brighton Resort, which received the bounty from last weekend’s storm, is right behind that with 251 inches. Its Big Cottonwood Canyon neighbor, Solitude Mountain Resort, meanwhile is reporting 237 inches. That’s good for fifth best in the country.

(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Alta Ski Area general manager Mike Maughan walks around employee facilities, Wednesday, Nov. 9, 2022.

On the Wasatch back, Park City Mountain is reporting 189 inches on the season and Deer Valley Resort is reporting 165. Sundance has seen 139 inches. Near Ogden, Snowbasin claims 177 inches, with 155 inches at Powder Mountain and 86 at Nordic Valley. Near Logan, Beaver Mountain reported 151 inches on the season and Cherry Peak boasts 126 year to date.

When it comes to the top spot, though, this year it might just be out of reach.

Alaska’s Alyeska resort so far is reporting 428 inches this season. About four feet of powder has fallen on the ski and snowboard area near Girdwood, located about an hour south of Anchorage, since New Year’s Day.

But Utah’s resorts don’t plan to throw in the goggle wipes quite yet. Chris Tomer, a forecaster for OntheSnow.com, said more snow is on the way Thursday. Most ski areas in the state can expect to see 3-8 inches, Tomer said. In particular, the storm looks likely to favor the state’s southernmost ski areas, such as Brian Head Resort (96 inches reported this season) near Cedar City and Eagle Point (112) above Beaver.

After that, it’ll likely be a warm, dry spell until the end of the month.

Tomer said in a text that the “Pattern might turn more active the first week of February.”