Mild, dry weather brings mixed reviews less than a week before Christmas
Dec 19, 2024, 10:20 PM | Updated: 10:28 pm
SALT LAKE CITY — Thursday marked six days until Christmas, and yet it arguably felt barely wintery at all.
With sunny skies, temperatures close to 50, and barely any snow from the valley floor to the lower foothills, it was hard to distinguish between Dec. 19 and Oct. 19.
Still, the unseasonably mild conditions brought mixed reviews from those only lukewarm about snow and those who yearned for a healthy helping of powder.
“I like it because I just don’t like the cold,” said Samantha Butterfield as she took the evening’s golden hour at Dimple Dell Regional Park.
Samantha Butterfield out on Thursday at Dimple Dell Regional Park. (KSL TV)
The professional photographer said business had been considerably better this year as opposed to last year, thanks to more temperate conditions.
“For sure, the weather has helped business a lot,” she said. “Last year business was a lot slower just because I (photograph) a lot of younger families, and so they don’t want to bring their little kids out here because they’re going to last five minutes.”
Pam Dibblee, who was out walking her dog, said it was nice to get out and above the haze but also lamented the lack of snow.
“I just look at the mountains and I’m sad,” Dibblee said. “There’s just no snow.”
Ski resorts remained relatively optimistic about the season, though snow at higher elevations was still far from ideal.
At Solitude Mountain Resort, communication and PR manager Andria Huskinson said the resort currently had a 28-inch base, when it is used to something closer to 50 inches the week before Christmas.
“The upper mountain, we haven’t been able to open any of that up yet,” Huskinson said.
Skiers and snowboarders at Solitude Mountain Resort enjoying the snow in the mountains. (KSL TV)
Huskinson said three of the resort’s eight lifts were open so far, with a fourth, Eagle Express, set to open Friday.
“We haven’t gotten the snow we are accustomed to but everyone’s been up here having a good time,” she said.
She said business should pick up next week, regardless, for the holidays, and she was hopeful for the weeks to come.
“I always say Mother Nature is the one who makes all the decisions,” Huskinson said. “You never know what Mother Nature is going to deliver to you.”
