(Francisco Kjolseth | The Salt Lake Tribune) Limited snowfall has led to a diminished snowpack as low accumulations can be seen at the top of Big Cottonwood Canyon where south facing slopes are showing bare spots. Already in the grip of a stubborn drought, Utah is facing a bleak water year with snow accumulations in Big Cottonwood Canyon and across the state far below normal. A hydrological monitoring station at Brighton measured just five inches of water in the snowpack, nearly half what would normally be there at the start of the new year.