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Show OUTDOORS 3 v t,i -- - i :. ' Tv . r' ,r' .kV- pi : . v''" v - CHRISTIAN ANDERSON the fresh snow. Snow descended on the valley this year, unlike last. Students and the Westminster community Sam George, junior walks home from who love winter sports have been embracing the weather pattern El Nino. his morning class in El NiRo brings in CHRISTIAN ANDERSON STAFF REPORTER Last winter held the lowest snowfall on record in Salt Lake City based on Wasatch Snow Forecasts, but thanks to the weather phenomenon El Nino, snow addicts will get the fix they crave this winter. Salt Lake City received 11.2 inches which is the largest of snow Dec. 11-two-weamount since 2010, according to the National Weather Service. WeatherTrends360 compiled an annual snowfall chart for Salt Lake City, which showed there was only 6.8 inches of snowfall last year. This record falls well short of the mean of about 40 inches. When I first started skiing, the snow 25, ek great, said Shivan Lingam, junior business management major. Obviously, that stopped. Utah is known for snow, so this helps keep our status up. For those who arent weathercasters, El Nino is a warm ocean current of variable intensity that develops after late December along the coast of Ecuador and Peru and sometimes causes catastrophic weather conditions, according to Dictionary, was com For Ray Stonecek, junior marketing major, this winter is a nice change of pace. Stonecek is originally from Minnesota but well-neede- d snow after record low year moved to Utah for the snow accessibility. Right now, Minnesota is just cold and flat with no snow, Stonecek said. I was pretty down after last year. But now that its dumping snow, I can go shred. This significant increase in water temperatures affects the weather patterns all over the world. El Nino creates a more southerly storm path, which increases the snowfall in the southern third of the United States. Not only does this increase in snowfall affect the casual skiers, but it also affects people like Robbie Roethler, first-ye- ar student on the snowboard team, who competes and needs the snow. Roethler said Salt Lake City is the place to be, because everyday he can guarantee hes going to have a blast. El Nino helps shape the courses we compete on, making it a better experience, he said. Westminsters campus is less than an hour away from all of the main resorts and mountains that Utah prides itself on. Check the forecast, grab some skis or a snowboard and shred the powder that El Nino has been gracious enough to bring. record snowfall lows, leaving many Westminster students disappointed. |