After widespread precipitation that brought upwards of six inches of snow to Utah mountains, forecasters are expecting a relatively dry outlook before and after Thanksgiving.
Utahns faced the “bulk of the storm” Tuesday as a mild atmospheric river from the West Coast resulted in valley rain and heavy mountain snowfall across the Central and Southern parts of the state, said Sam Webber, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City.
Travelers, Webber said, will likely only feel the effects on high-elevation passes. As of Tuesday morning, heavy road snow was seen on US-40 heading to Daniels Summit, U-6 to Soldiers Summit, I-70 near Salina Summit and SR-153 near Beaver.
“Big picture here is that if you’re doing any travel, especially to the south and east through [Wednesday] afternoon, anticipate some of [those] high-elevation roads [being] no potential,” Webber said.
If travelers are at all concerned that their vehicle can make it over snowy mountain passes, Webber suggested “[holding] off until the storm passes.”
As of Tuesday morning, northern Utah ski areas saw between one and six inches of snow,with potentially more snowfall in southern Utah, Webber said. Up to 12 inches of water was collected from southern Utah observation areas, the meteorologist said.
According to the NWS snowfall forecast, Alta, the western Uintas, Daniels Summit and Soldier Summit could reach up to 18 inches by Wednesday afternoon. In central Utah, mountain snow could reach upwards of two feet, with the Tushar Mountains expected to fall in the range of 36 to 48 inches and the Pavant Mountains up to 30 inches.
Through Tuesday’s overnight hours, another cold front will bring lingering precipitation, primarily affecting northern Utah mountains. Some snowfall may hit valley areas Wednesday morning, Webber said, but likely won’t have much effect.
“Lingering mountain snowfall should be pretty light in nature,” Webber said. “[We’re] not anticipating a whole lot of widespread impacts.”
Along the Wasatch Back, residents should expect to see upwards of three to four inches of snow as the cold front moves through, particularly in Park City and the I-80 corridor, Webber said.
After Wednesday’s residual precipitation, the rest of the week’s outlook should be “free and clear,” with dry weather. According to Webber, there is “virtually no chance of precipitation” through Sunday and “even beyond.” The highest probability of precipitation in Utah is 10%.
