Winter weather advisories issued for many areas in Utah; more valley snow also possible

SALT LAKE CITY — A storm that passed through Utah's northern half earlier this week proved to be beneficial for the drought-stricken region.

It dumped nearly a half-inch of rain in Provo, 0.83 inches in Salt Lake City and over an inch across many communities north of Utah's capital, including over 2 inches in North Ogden. Beaver Mountain and Cherry Peak resorts each collected a foot of snow, as well.

And there's more headed Utah's way. An incoming storm is expected to impact more regions over the next few days, even potentially bringing some snow to the valley floors.

The National Weather Service issued a series of winter weather advisories that blanket the state's mountains and high-elevation communities, which could receive another foot of snow or more by the end of the workweek.

"It's not a huge storm here, but it is going to provide some pretty good snow," said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson, noting that the brunt of the storm will be just east of Utah this time around.

Storm timing

Wednesday will be mild and breezy, with temperatures reaching the upper 50s and lower 60s across the Wasatch Front and northern Utah. But a low-pressure system over the Pacific Northwest on Wednesday morning will eventually make its way into Utah by Wednesday afternoon or evening, Johnson said.

A mix of valley rain and mountain snow is expected to impact northern Utah first, before the system sweeps across more regions early Thursday. Rain may switch over the snow in the valleys as the initial cold front passes through.

"The core of the storm moves into Utah (later in the day)," he said, noting that showers will be more scattered throughout the day. "Snow showers (are) more likely with this by Thursday afternoon and evening — keeping those snow showers in play from north to south, all the way down to Fillmore."

More scattered showers are possible through Friday afternoon, before the system moves out of the state toward the start of the weekend. The timing means there could be some slick morning commutes on Thursday and Friday.

Potential accumulations

The National Weather Service initially issued a winter storm watch for some parts of Utah, but downgraded those sections to match advisories issued in other parts of the state. Those state that:

• The Wasatch, West Uinta and central mountains could receive 6 to 12 inches of snow between Wednesday night and Friday afternoon; up to 18 inches of snow is possible in the upper Cottonwood Canyons.
• Wasatch Back communities could end up with 2 to 6 inches of snow by Friday evening.
• Two to 8 inches of snow is likely in the Wasatch Plateau/Book Cliffs and southern mountains, with 1 to 3 inches possible in the Sanpete and Sevier valleys.

All of it should help Utah's mountain snowpack, which is still struggling. The 8 inches of snow water equivalent statewide is just above the record low for early March.

There's some variation in how much snow other parts of Utah have. Estimates are "highly uncertain" and depend on where the snow line forms and other factors, federal forecasters note.

It will likely produce at least a trace of snow from Logan to Cedar City between Thursday and Friday, but the odds of producing at least an inch range from 50% in Ogden to 70% in Beaver, per the weather service.

Models note there's a slight possibility for multiple inches of snow if the right conditions come together. For instance, Salt Lake City has a 12% chance of receiving at least 4 inches of snow, partly due to possible lake-effect enhancements.

Between rain and snow, the storm has the potential of delivering 0.30 to 0.60 inches of precipitation or more across most of the state by Friday evening, according to KSL Weather models. Higher totals are likely in Wyoming and Colorado.

Drier conditions are forecast across the state this weekend as temperatures warm back up. Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online at the KSL Weather Center.

Related topics