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Hello again, this is Brian McInerney, Hydrologist with the National Weather Service
located in Salt Lake City Utah. We have a pretty good winter storm to hit Utah late
Thursday. This event will bring widespread snowfall and very cold temperatures. So
let’s take a look at what’s going on.
Snowfall across the state of Utah will be significant. Mountain snow is forecast to
reach 1-2’ with the higher amounts in the more favorable areas. Benches can expect
8-12”, and most important valley areas are forecast to receive 4-8”. The western
valley areas can anticipate the greatest impacts as the expected snowfall in these
areas are some of the highest amounts they have seen in quite some time.
expected to move into Utah Thursday evening/night and continue to snow through
Friday. By Saturday afternoon the system is expected to move to the east and away from Utah.
So when we look at the storm and when it’s going to snow the most, Thursday night through
Friday will bring the heaviest amounts. Temperatures will also be very cold with this sytem.
Friday morning is expected to see temperatures in the low 20’s with snow.
A major winter storm western US, as highlighted in the satellite image above. This winter storm
will move into the Great Basin Thursday…and through the state Thursday afternoon into
Saturday. Significantly impaired travel is expected across much of the state.
With this storm, we anticipate four different types of impacts. The first being
winter driving conditions which will significantly impair travel through Thursday and
Friday. Check out the UDOT web page for road and weather info by either doing a google search
on UDOT or take a look at the link below. These guys have lots of very good detailed
info. This storm will be cold enough that snow will
lowest elevations. This includes very difficult driving in the western valley areas in
addition to all mountain areas. Basically, all roadways are forecast to be covered with
snow by Friday afternoon. With the storm, we’ll see greatly improved air
low elevation valleys. Prior to this storm, Salt Lake City, Ogden, Logan, and Provo had 4
of the 5 worst areas for air quality. The storm will blow out the pollution and we should
be able to breath easier. Skiing will be very nice, with 1-2 ft. of nice
powder to the mountains. With the new snow, backcountry avalanche conditions will have
an increased danger. If you plan on traveling through the mountains on skis or
snowmobiles, please use caution. For more information I would suggest you look at the
Utah Avalanche Center’s web page at utahavalanchecenter.org.
The meteorologists who generated the forecast for this storm have parts that they are very
confident, and some parts that are less confident. They have the highest confidence with the
snow falling statewide, with the heaviest amounts along the I-15 corridor on Thursday night.
Also they feel pretty good about blowing and drifting snow, and the elimination of
the nasty inversion we’ve been living with for the past 10 days.
if the snow will last through Friday morning, and if the timing of the front will affect
the Thursday evening commute. These aspects are typically the most difficult when forecasting
winter events as cold fronts can stall or accelerate.
So to give a quick summary, we’ve got snow and lots of it. We anticipate 1-2’ in the
mountains, with 8-12” on the benches, and 4-8” in the valley areas. While the valleys will
have the lowest amounts, it will have the greatest impacts as that’s where the majority of
the population lives and commute through. Travel will be difficult, skiing will be
very good, and avalanche impacts will increase for backcountry travelers.
Thanks for watching! If you have any questions feel free to send us an email. You can also like
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