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Hi, I’m Monica Traphagan with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City, UT. This
briefing was created on February 7th, 2013 and talks about a slow moving winter
storm that will impact the area Friday through the weekend.
On Thursday afternoon, the storm that will impact Utah and Southwest Wyoming was just
offshore along the Pacific Northwest coast. It will continue to the southeast and
reach Utah tomorrow, moving slowly across the state through Sunday, bringing periods of
snow.
Here are the total snow accumulations we expected from Friday through Sunday with this
system. Over the higher terrain, the Northern Mountains should see 12 to 24 inches while the
Southern Mountains will see totals more like 10 to 20 inches. Valley locations north
of I-70 are expected to see 4 to 8 inches of snow during the event, with lesser totals south
of I-70. The bottom line is that this is a long duration event, and the entire state
will see periods of accumulating snow Friday through Sunday, with the
mountains seeing the highest totals.
Here are the main impacts we’ll be seeing with the storm. First, the snow will cause areas of
winter driving conditions. We think that the Friday evening commute could be problematic
for some, particularly in Utah County. Travel is expected to be particularly difficult
Friday night through Saturday morning along I-84 from Tremonton to the Utah/Idaho
border. Winter driving conditions are also expected to develop beginning Friday for
Parley’s Summit, as well as US-40 and US-6. For a bit of good news, this storm will get
rid of any lingering valley inversions, allowing for improving air quality. The
storm will also result in improved ski conditions, but will increase the avalanche
danger. Remember, for the latest avalanche information you should visit the Utah
Avalanche Center’s website at utahavalanchecenter.org.
In summary, a slow moving winter storm system will impact the area Friday afternoon through
Sunday night, bringing periods of accumulating snow to the entire state during that time.
The snow will cause travel difficulties due to winter driving conditions beginning as
early as Friday evening. This storm will also get rid of any lingering valley inversions.
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