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Salt Lake City — Nearly all of Utah is on a winter storm warning ahead of a “severe winter storm” that could potentially bring up to a foot or more of Snow in some valleys and several feet of snow in the mountains from Tuesday through noon. Thursday morning.

Most areas not included in the warning are listed in the winter weather advisory. Meanwhile, a strong wind warning has also been issued at several locations in southern Utah, where gusts up to 65-70 mph are likely from Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning.

Storm time

The storm comes from the Pacific Northwest. The precipitation began with light rain along the Wasatch Front on Tuesday morning in addition to mountain snow. Around 2:00 pm Tuesday, snow began to fall in parts of the ledges as rain intensified in the valleys.

KSL meteorologist Kristen Van Dyke said rain in the valley will turn to snow as soon as a cold front arrives in the afternoon.

“We are likely to have rain along the Wasatch Front in the afternoon. At some point between 4:00 pm and 8:00 pm, we go from rain to heavy snow, which quickly builds up on the roads,” she said. “When this transition occurs, many times you see these squall bands in whiteout conditions; very heavy, dense snow falls, which sticks and makes it difficult to see. This can happen when so many people are on the road.”

As the front is currently moving through northwestern Utah, take a look at the forecast for the timing of more heavy snowfall in northern Utah. Plan your trips and activities accordingly. #utwx#wywxpic.twitter.com/sbfh2ivmhX

— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) February 21, 2023

A band of snow is expected to move into southwestern Utah by Wednesday morning, while it continues to fall in upstate Utah. Light showers are expected throughout Wednesday and Thursday before it finally clears up.

“So that would give a lot of time for the total amount of snow to build up,” Van Dyke said.

Snow Amount

Many winter storm warnings and advisories give an idea of ​​how much snow is expected from that storm.

Mountains

• 2 to 3 feet of snow in the Wasatch Mountains. Areas closer to the Bear River Range and Cottonwood Canyons can even get over 40 inches of snow.
• 1 to 2 feet of snow in the southern mountains. It is expected that strong gusts of wind up to 75 m/s will lead to a drift.
• 1 to 2 feet of snow is also expected on the Wasatch Plateau and the central mountains, including areas such as Fort Cove, Fish Lake and Jos Valley.
• The La Salle and Abajo mountains received 1 to 2 feet of snow and wind gusts of up to 60 mph.

Valleys and backcountry

The total amount of snow in the valleys may vary depending on when the rain turns to snow on Tuesday. However, the weather service still predicts:

• Areas such as Park City, Heber City, and Huntsville received 1 to 2 feet of snow.
• 8 to 16 inches of snow in the Tooele Valley and valleys along the Wasatch Front, from Ogden to Payson. More snow is expected along the ledges.
• 6 to 12 inches of snow in northern Utah, including Brigham City and Logan. The same goes for areas in central Utah such as Millard and Juab counties and the Sanpete Valley, as well as areas in southwestern Utah such as Beaver, Cedar City and Milford.
• 5 to 10 inches of snow in the Western Desert, including Park Valley and Wendover.
• 4 to 8 inches of snow in the western part of the Uinta Basin and in the Sevier Valley. Areas close to Bryce Canyon can also get 4 to 8 inches.
• 4 to 10 inches of snow in Springdale and parts of Zion National Park. Nearby communities such as Rockville and Virginia can also receive 1 to 4 inches of snow.
• 3 to 6 inches in the eastern part of the Uinta Basin, including Ballard and Vernal.
• 2 to 5 inches in Kanaba and Escalante, with a total approaching 8 inches in the Glendale and Orderville areas. The same goes for parts of southeast Utah and Central Utah’s Castle Country, including Blanding, Emery, Dead Horse Point State Park, and Price.

Storm impact

If you can find a way to leave work early on a Tuesday, do it, Van Dyke suggests, due to the expected traffic congestion.

The Utah Highway Patrol, the Utah Department of Transportation, and even Utah Gov. Spencer Cox are advising the same, adding the option to stay home on Wednesday if possible.

“If you can, we encourage you to work remotely tomorrow” Cox tweeted Tuesday afternoon.

UDOT issued road weather alert which remains in effect until Thursday morning.

“Snow will be heavy at times and continue across the state Tuesday evening and Wednesday before fading to end Wednesday evening,” the warning said. “Along the Wasatch Front, travel to work on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning looks set to be heavily impacted.”

UDOT lists nearly every major road in the state as either “high” or “moderate” caution from Logan to Cedar City through Thursday morning. Road restrictions are likely in Cottonwood and Parley Canyons.

The agency also released backcountry closure in parts of Little Cottonwood Canyon Tuesday due to avalanche danger. The Utah Avalanche Center reports that general avalanche danger may increase as the snow begins to accumulate on Tuesday.

Schools

Snow can delay or close schools; however, it is still too early to know if they will be released. For example, Ben Horsley, a spokesman for the Granite School District, explained on KSL NewsRadio’s “Dave & Dujanovic” that the district monitors conditions before making any decisions.

“We will be watching and monitoring how this happens and what impact it will have (on) our operations,” he said. “One of the first things we look at is, can we actually get our people there safely? Can we drive our buses? Can we make things move? Are the roads clean enough? … We need to see how it works. and how well the plows can keep up.”

Utah snow cover

Meanwhile, any additional snow will only attach to above average snow cover this season. Snow cover in Utah reached 16.6 inches of water on Tuesday, 146% of the norm for the last week of February.

Candice Hasenyager, director of the Utah Department of Water Resources, said on Tuesday that this year’s snow cover won’t save Utah from battling droughts, but such storms are significantly reducing them.

That’s why she considers the water year 2023 to be very important.

“This is our year of opportunity. To take full advantage of our abundant snow cover, we must continue to use our water wisely,” she said in a statement. “By using less water, we will become more drought tolerant.”

Full seven-day forecasts for areas in Utah can be found online at the KSL Weather Center.

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Carter Williams is an award-winning reporter covering general news, outdoor recreation, history and sports for KSL.com. He previously worked for Deseret News. He’s a transplant from Utah, Rochester, New York.

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