Why the warmer winter?
The talk of the town in Logan, Utah is often the weather. This year, the conversation is different. For multiple weeks, the temperature has been around 50 degrees rather than the usual 20 degrees from past winters.
Robert Gillies, a state climatologist and Utah State University professor, said the speculations of this winter being warmer than last are correct. He said temperatures have been 20 to 30 degrees above average for this time of year.
Gillies said the relatively warm weather is due to a high pressure ridge that has prevented storms from coming in like they would normally. The ridge has a circulating factor that has been bringing in more tropical air, hence the warmer temperatures.
Precipitation in autumn comes in the form of rain rather than snow because low pressure systems are warmer. Depending on the position of the ridge, it can bring in warm air and boost the temperature. The cold air comes with the storm.
Gillies said the ridge was broken down by the low fronts last year, causing more storms, more snowfall and more snowpack late in the season.
“This year, we are still building up some snowpack,” Gillies said. “I suspect to see some flooding because we did get a fair bit this last storm, and there are more storms coming.”
Something to take into account with changing temperatures is street parking. Logan City’s website states tickets will be issued to cars parked on the street between midnight and 6:00 a.m. from November 15 to March 15, so the city can remove snow efficiently.
Logan City planner Amber Polan said that even with the warmer temperatures, parking is still being enforced, and officers enforce different neighborhoods on different evenings.
@bjr24601