Utah has significantly benefited from this week’s series of storms.

Alta, Brighton, Snowbird and Solitude resorts in the Cottonwood canyons all received over 2 feet of snow between Sunday and Tuesday, while several other resorts across the state’s northern half gained close to or even over a foot to 1½ feet of fresh powder.

What turned into the biggest storm of the season so far was great for winter recreation and for the state’s water supply. Alta gained nearly 4 inches of water through the storm, which helped Little Cottonwood Canyon’s snowpack jump from 58% of its median average on New Year’s Day to 110% of its median average for this point in the year.

The state’s average snowpack jumped from 57% of its median to 74% in just one week.

“(It) was some wet, water-logged snow,” said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson, adding that many communities north of Salt Lake City were big winners, as Kaysville, the Ogden bench and Logan all ended up with over 0.75 inches of precipitation.

There’s at least one more storm before things begin to settle down, which this time includes more valley snow.

The National Weather Service issued winter weather advisories across the state’s mountains, which could receive another foot of snow or more by the end of Thursday. It also issued its first advisory of the season for the Wasatch Front and other valley communities, which could end up with a few inches of snow.

Storm timing

A pair of low-pressure systems — one off the California coast and another off the Alaska coast on Tuesday — are projected to collide over the Four Corners in the coming days, which factors into the forecast.

Some scattered snow showers ahead of the low are possible in northern Utah on Wednesday afternoon, before a mix of rain and snow arrives in more parts of the state later in the day, Johnson said. The rain is expected to transition into snow from Logan to central Utah by Thursday morning, possibly causing a slick commute.

Additional showers could linger into the afternoon, with the Great Salt Lake playing a “wild card” role in potentially aiding snow totals on Thursday and potentially again on Friday morning, before drier conditions return by the weekend.

Potential accumulations

Another 6 to 12 inches of snow is generally expected across the mountains in Utah’s northern half, while 4 to 8 inches are possible in the central and southern mountains by the end of Thursday, according to the weather service’s advisories. “Locally higher” totals are possible in the upper Cottonwood canyons and Bear River range.

Lower elevations, including the Wasatch Back and valleys scattered across Utah’s northern half, could receive 1 to 4 inches of snow by late Thursday, with lake-effect snow potentially enhancing totals southeast of the Great Salt Lake.

Salt Lake City has collected only 0.1 inches of snow so far this season, but one weather service model lists Utah’s capital city as having over a 70% chance of collecting 2 inches of snow.

“Slow down and use caution while traveling,” the agency wrote in its alert.

Rain is more likely closer to St. George, but Johnson said there’s a chance of some flurries. The weather service projects that the city could wind up with about a tenth of an inch of precipitation.

A cool and dry weekend

Cooler and drier conditions are expected this weekend, as the system clears out. High temperatures may only top out in the mid-to-upper 30s across the Wasatch Front and northern Utah this weekend, with overnight lows in the teens closer to Logan and in the low 20s elsewhere.

Hazy conditions may also return across the Wasatch Front by the end of the weekend, as another lull in storm activity moves into the forecast, Johnson said.

High temperatures will dip into the 40s across southern Utah, but are forecast to return to the 50s by the end of the weekend. Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online at the KSL Weather Center.

TUKWILA, Wash. – After floodwaters inundated western Washington in December, social media is still filled with disbelief, with many people saying they had never seen flooding like it before.

But local history shows the region has experienced catastrophic flooding, just not within most people’s lifetimes.

A valley under water

What may look like submerged farmland in Skagit or Snohomish counties is actually an aerial view of Tukwila from more than a century ago. Before Boeing, business parks and suburban development, the Kent Valley was a wide floodplain.

In November 1906, much of the valley was underwater, according to city records. In some places, floodwaters reached up to 10 feet, inundating homesteads and entire communities.

“Roads were destroyed, river paths were readjusted,” said Chris Staudinger of Pretty Gritty Tours. “So much of what had been built in these areas got washed away.”

Staudinger has been sharing historical images and records online, drawing comparisons between the December flooding and events from the late 1800s and early 1900s.

“It reminded me so much of what’s happening right now,” he said, adding that the loss then, as now, was largely a loss of property and control rather than life.

When farmers used dynamite

Records show flooding was not the only force reshaping the region’s rivers. In the late 1800s, farmers repeatedly used dynamite in attempts to redirect waterways.

“The White River in particular has always been contentious,” explained Staudinger. “For farmers in that area, multiple different times starting in the 1890s, groups of farmers would get together and blow-up parts of the river to divert its course either up to King County or down to Pierce County.”

Staudinger says at times they used too much dynamite and accidentally sent logs lobbing through the air like missiles.

In one instance, King County farmers destroyed a bluff, permanently diverting the White River into Pierce County. The river no longer flowed toward Elliott Bay, instead emptying into Commencement Bay.

Outraged by this, Pierce County farmers took their grievances to the Washington State Supreme Court. The court ruled the change could not be undone.

When flooding returned, state officials intervened to stop further explosions.

“To prevent anyone from going out and blowing up the naturally occurred log jam, the armed guards were dispatched by the state guard,” said Staudinger. “Everything was already underwater.”

Rivers reengineered — and erased

Over the next century, rivers across the region were dredged, dammed and diverted. Entire waterways changed or disappeared.

“So right where the Renton Airport is now used to be this raging waterway called the Black River,” explained Staudinger. “Connected into the Duwamish. It was a major salmon run. It was a navigable waterway.”

Today, that river has been reduced to what Staudinger described as “the little dry trickle.”

Between 1906 and 1916, the most dramatic changes occurred that played a role in its shrinking. When the Ballard Locks were completed, Lake Washington dropped by nine feet, permanently cutting off its southern flow.

A lesson from December

Despite modern levees and flood-control engineering, December’s storms showed how vulnerable the region remains.

“For me, that’s the takeaway,” remarked Staudinger. “You could do all of this to try and remain in control, but the river’s going to do whatever it wants.”

He warned that history suggests the risk is ongoing.

“You’re always one big storm from it rediscovering its old path,” said Staudinger.

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