SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Several feet of snow in the mountains. Difficult travel conditions. Extreme avalanche dangers. All of those are expected for Utah this weekend as another two winter storms look to roar into the state, bringing wet, heavy snow and powerful winds.
On Friday, the National Weather Service upgraded nearly all of northern Utah to be under a winter storm warning. The alert is already in effect, and it is set to last until early Monday. The warning covers the Wasatch Front, the Wasatch Back, the western Uintas, the Wasatch Plateau, the central mountains, and the Great Salt Lake Desert.
“Avoid travel if possible this weekend, and if traveling be prepared for winter driving conditions,” the weather agency said on social media.
This map shows the winter storm warnings and watches issued for northern and central Utah.
ABC4 meteorologists say the mountains under the warning area will likely see 2 feet of snow or more over the next 72 hours, while the valleys could see around 10 inches stack up. In some isolated areas, such as the Upper Cottonwoods, 60 inches — or 5 feet — of snow could pile up by Sunday evening.
In central Utah, winter weather advisories are in effect through the weekend for Juab and Millard counties, as well as the Sanpete Valley. The central mountains could see 30 inches of snow by Sunday, with up to 10 inches in the valleys, forecasters say.
Timing & Travel Impacts
The first storm blew into Utah on Friday morning. Heavier snow and winds up to 40 mph are expected as the system swirls over northern Utah in the evening. Travel along major highways, such as I-15, could be messy, with snow sticking to the roadway.
Conditions along the northern mountain routes were already treacherous. Earlier Friday, UDOT closed the North Ogden Divide and Logan Canyon following an avalanche in Logan Canyon. While no one was hurt, one vehicle was stuck in the snow and the driver was rescued by a group of people heading to work.
“Tonight, we’re asking people to not travel in the higher elevations, the canyon areas, because there are going to be periods of time where we are going to see whiteout conditions,” said John Gleason, spokesperson for UDOT. “It’s going to be extremely challenging to navigate those steep slopes — Parleys Canyon, Big and Little Cottonwood Canyon, Sardine Canyon, Logan Canyon, all of those areas.”
The Utah Avalanche Center listed the Logan area Friday as under an “extreme” threat of avalanches — the highest category on the scale. Meanwhile, most of the northern and central mountains are under “high” risk.
This map shows avalanche danger across Utah for Jan. 12, 2024.
Snow showers are expected through Friday night and could linger into the morning. For this first system, the valleys could get 1 to 4 inches, while the benches might see up to a half-foot of snow. The northern and central mountains could see between 1 to 2 feet of accumulation by Saturday morning.
After this first storm, there could be a brief reprieve from the snow before the next system lumbers in Saturday afternoon. This second winter storm looks to bring statewide impacts, but the heaviest snow is expected to fall again on northern Utah.
Warmer Temps, Heavier Snow
This second storm will usher in moisture from an atmospheric river, and it will arrive with slightly warmer temperatures. Some valley areas could even see a wintry mix before the mercury drops and the precipitation transitions to snow.
An atmospheric river, as the name suggests, is like a stream in the sky, carrying moist air from the tropics at the equator toward the poles.
The moisture-packed storm coming Saturday could add another 4 to 10 inches of wet, heavy snow to the northern and central valleys, an additional 8 to 16 inches for the benches, another 10 to 20 inches for mountain valleys, and a whopping 15 to 30 inches to the mountains.
But because some of the valley precipitation could fall as rain, it might decrease overall snow totals.
This map shows snow potential in Utah through Sunday evening.
The Saturday system will also dip into southern Utah, potentially dumping 10 inches of snow in the mountains and leaving trace to 2 inches of snow in the valleys. St. George is expected to see mostly rain, although a few snowflakes could fall overnight Saturday.
This second storm won’t wrap up until Monday, with isolated snow showers expected to linger in the higher terrain.
Uthans urged to ‘avoid travel if possible’
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