Staying home might be a good idea for Utahns this holiday weekend.
Winter weather advisories are in place this weekend in northern and southern Utah, according to the National Weather Service. Advisories for Salt Lake City, Ogden, Heber City and other places along the Wasatch Front are in effect from 6 p.m. Saturday until 10 a.m. Sunday. Those areas could see 3 to 5 inches of snow and gusty winds. Weather warnings were also put into place for Cedar City, Bryce Canyon and other locations in the southwest starting at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Despite the frightful weather, the Utah Highway Patrol hadn’t seen many crashes.
Trooper Chris Bishop said there were 70 throughout the state and no fatalities as of 4:30 p.m. Saturday. On a stormy weekday, UHP usually sees well over a hundred crashes just along the Wasatch Front, according to Bishop. He said more people might be staying inside because it is a weekend. The storm started later in the day, which might also have led to lower crash numbers.
In addition to the weather warnings, the forecast calls for considerable avalanche danger for the weekend. Heavy snow falling on top of weak layers might cause deep avalanches, according to the Salt Lake County Emergency Management Bureau.
The Utah Avalanche Center posted on Saturday that avalanche danger was considerable in most parts of the state and high in Logan.
The current conditions come a week after four skiers were killed in an avalanche.
