Utah Daily Snow

Heads up, there may be fresher snow! Read the latest Utah Daily Snow

By Evan Thayer, Forecaster Posted 1 year ago December 2, 2022

Friday Freshies

Summary

Fresh snow from the overnight intense front will allow for a powder day today. Next storm will arrive later this weekend with another period of accumulating snow.

Short Term Forecast

Yesterday was windy. We knew it would be -- it was in the title of the post after all -- but the intensity of the wind still took me by surprise. Several resorts opted to essentially throw in the towel after wind holds made operating nearly impossible. Lots of scouring of snow, especially in LCC. Of course, that was all in advance of last night's intense front which has already swept through the region. 

Heavy snow fell early this morning with this frontal band and most of us slept right through it. Forecast was for 9-15" for northern Utah mountains. So far, reports are generally in the 9-12" range, the main exception is Snowbasin which is reporting 6". We could still see a few snow showers, but for the most part we are wrapped up on this storm. The duration of the storm was the limiting factor -- as intense as it was, it's hard to get major accumulation when you only have a window of a few hours to get it done. Still, another 0.93" of liquid already at Alta-Collins and a foot of snow... who's complaining?

We now have a break in the action for this afternoon into early Saturday. We will have some weak energy lift into central Utah later on Saturday and we could see some clouds and a few snow showers. But the bulk of the next storm doesn't arrive until late Sunday. 

This next system is not overly impressive either. The main focus of its precip will be from the southern Sierra Nevada, NNE into central Idaho. By the time it eventually sweeps through, it will be in a weakened state. This is similar to the storm we just saw in that regard. Because of this totals are probably going to be unimpressive. WPC showing the following:

Generally another 0.4-0.8" of liquid for northern Utah mountains. We may also see warmer temps and denser snow, so the liquid may not go as far in terms of totals. Right now my expectations are low with generally 4-8" forecasted for Sunday afternoon through Monday morning. We shall see if models do anything to re-encourage us between now and Sunday. 

Extended Forecast

We should clear out a bit next week as high pressure takes control temporarily. Longer range models have been pretty consistent now in showing some type of energy the weekend of December 10-11. It doesn't look like a big storm, but we have a chance to see some scraps that could at least provide a refresh. We are also seeing models flip back to a potentially more active scenario around mid-month. Obviously, far from a certainty, but I do like seeing it. As always, we will wait and see how this plays out. Overall, not seeing signs of dominant high pressure like we did for long stretches of the past two winters -- so that's a win!

Evan | OpenSnow

About Our Forecaster

Evan Thayer

Forecaster

To Evan, 'The Greatest Snow on Earth' is more than just a motto - it’s a way of life. In 2010, he started Wasatch Snow Forecast as a way to share the best powder days with his fellow snow-lovers. Evan brings the same quality forecasts and weather discussions to OpenSnow and hopes you enjoy skiing/riding Utah as much as he does.

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