facebook-pixel

Rain and mountain snow will hit Utah tonight and through the week

(Sean P. Means | The Salt Lake Tribune) Clouds gather over the Oquirrh Mountains west of Salt Lake City on Tuesday morning, March 5. The National Weather Service forecasts precipitation landing on the west side of Utah on Tuesday afternoon, as a storm rolls over much of the state, depositing rain and snow from Tuesday night through Friday.

(Sean P. Means | The Salt Lake Tribune) Clouds gather over the Oquirrh Mountains west of Salt Lake City on Tuesday morning, March 5. The National Weather Service forecasts precipitation landing on the west side of Utah on Tuesday afternoon, as a storm rolls over much of the state, depositing rain and snow from Tuesday night through Friday.

  | March 5, 2019, 2:47 p.m.
| Updated: 3:42 p.m.

Rain or snow, depending on one’s altitude, will roll into Utah through Tuesday night and into the week, the National Weather Service reports.

Precipitation will land on the western edge of Utah on Tuesday afternoon, then spread north and east through the evening. Rain will fall in lower elevations. Snow is expected above 7,000 feet.

That’s just the start. In its “Hazardous Weather Outlook,” the National Weather Service predicts widespread precipitation all week — moderate to heavy on Wednesday, easing up Wednesday night and Thursday, moderate to heavy again on Friday, and some lingering showers Saturday.

The forecast says the Wasatch Front may get between a quarter-inch and half-inch of rain Wednesday, with the mountain valleys getting from a half-inch to an inch of rain.

Mountain areas will get snow on Wednesday and Friday, the weather service reports. The forecast predicts between 10 and 16 inches of snow, with strong winds, accumulating snow on roads, and a rising risk of avalanches.

The Utah Avalanche Center on Tuesday reported a moderate risk of avalanches through the Wasatch Mountains from Ogden to Sanpete County, and in the Uintas. The Wasatch Mountains in Cache County up into Idaho are at a low risk for avalanches, the center reported Tuesday.