Near-record low snowfall totals in Salt Lake City in January

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Salt Lake City residents enjoyed a white Christmas, but snow has been nearly nonexistent ever since.

National Weather Service meteorologist Christine Kruse said Monday that the snowfall total at the Salt Lake City International Airport for January was the fourth-lowest since 1885.

She says only 0.3 inches of snow fell. That's far less than the 30-year-average of 12.5 inches.

In some parts of the mountains east of Salt Lake City, snowfall levels were also below normal. At a station near the Alta Ski Area, 28.5 inches of snow were recorded. The average for that station is 71 inches.

Kruse says high pressure systems over the West kept temperatures above normal and prevented precipitation from becoming snow.