Alta Snowfall Totals & Accumulation Averages
This page pulls together information on when, how much and how often Alta, Utah has snow.
There are data and descriptions here of how many days it snows and the total amount of snowfall that Alta usually gets. There are also monthly and yearly counts of the days that the ski resort normally has heavy snowstorms. Plus there's information on when Alta can expect the first and last snowfalls of the season.
The first set of monthly snow totals are averages for 2010 to 2019. All the other numbers are 30-year averages based on weather data gathered from 1991 to 2020 at the Alta ski area.
How Often it Snows in Alta
The next two tables list monthly and yearly totals for amount of snow and how many days it snows at least 0.1 inches (0.25 centimetres).
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10.9 | January | 66.1 | 167.9 |
| 11.6 | February | 66.5 | 169.0 |
| 11.6 | March | 62.4 | 158.4 |
| 9.7 | April | 61.4 | 155.9 |
| 4.0 | May | 19.6 | 49.9 |
| 0.4 | June | 3.0 | 7.7 |
| 1.0 | September | 4.1 | 10.4 |
| 3.5 | October | 16.5 | 41.8 |
| 8.3 | November | 45.7 | 116.0 |
| 12.0 | December | 67.3 | 171.0 |
| 71.3 | Year | 396.3 | 1006.5 |
| Days | Inches | Centimetres | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 13.6 | January | 74.7 | 189.7 |
| 13.1 | February | 81.2 | 206.2 |
| 12.2 | March | 71.4 | 181.4 |
| 10.0 | April | 50.0 | 127.0 |
| 4.9 | May | 15.9 | 40.4 |
| 1.3 | June | 4.4 | 11.2 |
| 0.8 | September | 2.6 | 6.6 |
| 5.1 | October | 24.4 | 62.0 |
| 9.7 | November | 53.9 | 136.9 |
| 14.0 | December | 79.8 | 202.7 |
| 84.7 | Year | 458.3 | 1164.1 |
These averages don't show how much the snowfall in Alta varies from year to year.
In December, for instance, one in four years totals 91.4 or more inches of snow. Another 25 percent of years receive 65 inchesor less for the month.
Similarly in January, fresh snowfall in the heaviest years amounts to over 95.2 inches, while the lightest years get 44 inches or less.
New snow for February ranges from over 103 inches in heavy snowfall years to 65.5 inches at most in light years.
When Alta Has Its First & Last Snowfalls
The first snowfall of autumn for Alta usually arrives in October, although every few years September gets some snow.
The season's last snowfall typically happens in May. About once every four years June also receives new snow.
Alta normally gets no new snow during July and August.
How Many Snowstorms Alta Gets
Most days of snowfall at Alta result in at least an inch of fresh snow left on the ground. For 56 days a year on average, the amount of new snow totals three inches or more.
Snowstorms of over five inches a day normally occur 37 times annually at the ski area. Typically 15 of these storms are major blizzards that dump ten inches or more in one day. Snow events this severe can descend on Alta anytime except in July and August.
| 1 inch 2.5 cm |
3 inches 7.6 cm |
5 inches 12.7 cm |
10 inches 25.4 cm | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12.7 | 8.9 | January | 6.2 | 2.8 |
| 12.2 | 9.2 | February | 5.9 | 2.3 |
| 11.5 | 7.9 | March | 5.5 | 2.2 |
| 9.7 | 7.0 | April | 4.5 | 2.1 |
| 4.2 | 2.7 | May | 1.6 | 0.5 |
| 1.2 | 0.8 | June | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| 0.7 | 0.5 | September | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| 4.7 | 3.3 | October | 2.4 | 0.9 |
| 9.2 | 6.4 | November | 4.3 | 1.9 |
| 12.9 | 8.9 | December | 6.0 | 2.2 |
| 79.0 | 55.6 | Year | 37.1 | 15.1 |
References
Jay Lawrimore, Ron Ray, Scott Applequist, Bryant Korzeniewski, Matthew Menne. 2016. Global Summary of the Month and Year, Version 1.0. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information.
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). Climate Normals.