Utah’s winter weather patterns so far this season have looked great for people who hate shoveling, but pretty dismal for anyone hoping for a white Christmas.
Despite the relatively dry season, the Salt Lake Valley early Friday saw a snowy interruption, said Jon Wilson, a meteorologist with The National Weather Service’s Salt Lake office. By about 10 a.m., though, the storm was already wrapping up and expected to end by early afternoon.
“Most years by this point, we’ve had at least one event or more where we’ve had at least several inches of snowfall,” Wilson said.
Throughout November and so far in December, the valley has only seen less than 2 inches of snow, based on the weather service’s measurements.
Wilson said the main culprit has been a high-pressure area to the west of Utah, which has largely blocked storms that otherwise may have hit the Beehive State.
That obstacle has also affected much of the southwestern U.S., leaving the region drier than normal. But that’s starting to change.
“We’re getting these storms rolling in from the west, but they’re not overly cold,” he said.
That means they may dust the mountains and other higher terrain with snow, but in northern Utah’s valleys, “they’re not bringing powerful cold fronts in with a lot of moisture to produce really heavy snow,” he said.
More snow expected
Another storm system is expected to hit Utah on Saturday and Sunday. This, Wilson said, is likely to be stronger than Friday’s snowfall. That’s in part because there’s “more moisture” coming with that system.
“The biggest difference — we’re forecasting more precipitation across northern Utah,” he said.
In higher elevation areas, especially those close to the Utah-Idaho border, he said the storm could deliver 6-12 inches of snow.
All that snow will bring considerable avalanche danger to the Wasatch and Bear River ranges, and the western Uinta Mountains, according to the Utah Avalanche Center.
The center recommended recreationists avoid trekking on or underneath steep north-facing terrain in the backcountry, and said avalanches are likely to be triggered on or below slopes steeper than 30 degrees.
“Carry and know how to use avalanche rescue equipment,” the center said.
Their forecasters predict dangerous avalanche conditions will persist through Monday morning.
On the warmer valley floors, Wilson said this weekend’s storm is more likely to drop about 2 inches or so of snow.
Then, late Monday and into Tuesday next week, another storm similar to Friday’s is expected.
After that, conditions great for fostering inversions will return — at least through the end of next week.
— Salt Lake Tribune staff writer Paighten Harkins contributed to this report.
