Wintry storm delivers more snow throughout Utah

by admin December 13, 2022

Cars struggle to negotiate streets in the avenues as snow falls in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022.

The Utah Highway Patrol says between midnight and about 10 a.m. Tuesday, troopers responded to just under 100 crashes on snowy slick roads caused by Utah's latest winter storm.

They also pulled over drivers that troopers say were going "extremely too fast" for the winter weather, including making traffic stops on vehicles allegedly going 102 mph, 96 mph, 93 mph, 91 mph and 90 mph.

"Poor decisions result in bad consequences. Make the choice to drive slower," the UHP tweeted.

Meanwhile, school start times throughout Utah's Uintah School District were delayed Tuesday morning as the final parts of a snowstorm lingered in the state.

The delay included all work schedules for district employees, district officials said in a statement Monday. Officials added there would be no kindergarten or district preschool activities, though full-day kindergarten would be held. All classes will still be dismissed at their regular times in the afternoon.

The crashes and delays come as many parts of northern and eastern Utah remain under either a winter storm warning or winter weather advisory. The advisory, issued by the National Weather Service, was set to expire Tuesday morning but it was extended into the late afternoon, which is also when the warning is set to expire.

Winds are becoming northwesterly aloft which could create some snow showers overnight/tomorrow morning. There is also ~20% chance of some lake enhanced snow impacting areas from SL County through Weber County resulting in 1-2" of snow. Here is one hi-res model's depiction. #utwx pic.twitter.com/9HOye8BGrI
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) December 12, 2022

A cyclist rides on the street as snow falls in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022.

Most of the snow is the result of ongoing squalls that have passed over communities and slopes, according to KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson.

"We're dealing with wrap-around moisture that could hold on into this afternoon," he said Tuesday. "We could see breaks here and there but ... most things begin calming down (in the early evening). Some models keep that snow going, we'll have to watch it. It looks like (snow) stopping and going through the night is possible."

The storm system, which began on Sunday, has met and even exceeded some expectations over the past few days. Alta's Collins location is the big snow winner so far, recording 29 inches of snow over the past few days, the National Weather Service reported at 9:30 a.m. Tuesday. Brighton, Powder Mountain, Park City Mountain, Snowbasin and Snowbird resorts have also received close to or above 2 feet of snow.

Utah's snowpack jumped to 157% of normal for this point in the snow collection season, up from 147% on Saturday, according to Natural Resources Conservation Service data accessed Tuesday afternoon. Utah has now received more than one-third of its annual snowpack average, and there are 112 days left to get the remaining water by the normal peak in early April.

Valley communities and benches have also experienced quite a bit of snow. The weather service reports that close to a foot of snow had fallen in East Millcreek by 8 a.m. Tuesday, while 10 inches had fallen in Pleasant View. Salt Lake City International Airport has also received at least 6 inches of snow.

A driver brushes snow off their windshield as snow falls in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022.

Johnson said that snow showers are now expected to clear out for most of Wednesday; however, another wave is forecast to return late Wednesday into early Thursday.

"It looks like another wave could try and get in here," he said. "It would be in the form of light snow."

Even colder temperatures are also forecast over the next few days. Salt Lake City's high temperature is expected to drop from the low 30s to the mid-to-upper 20s by this weekend, including overnight lows in the teens. Overnight temperatures are projected to fall into single digits in areas like Logan and Park City, too.

As for communities in Utah's southern end, St. George's high temperatures will remain in the low-to-upper 40s through the rest of the week, according to the weather service forecast. That includes overnight lows in the 20s. Moab's highs could fall close to the freezing point throughout the rest of the week along with overnight lows in the teens.

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

A worker uses a machine to brush snow away from the sidewalks at the Capitol in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2022.