Thundersnow, snow squalls among overnight Utah weather
Feb 28, 2023, 10:02 AM
Tuesday morning snowfall as seen from the Tanner Clinic parking lot on Antelope Drive in Layton, Utah (Adam Small, KSL NewsRadio)
(Adam Small, KSL NewsRadio)
SALT LAKE CITY — A winter storm brought snow squalls and thundersnow to portions of northern Utah overnight, and helped add to incredible snow totals at most of Utah’s ski resorts.
Latest snow totals Sunday – 7 AM this morning:
❄33″ Brighton
❄31″ Alta
❄28″ Powder Mtn
❄27″ Logan Area Mountains
❄25″ Solitude
❄10.9″ Mantua
❄3″ Scipio🌬71 mph I-80 near MP 81
🌬54 mph Cedar City Airport
🌬54 mph Willard POE
🌬51 mph Provo Airport#utwx #wywx https://t.co/hErknqgJrI— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) February 28, 2023
The squalls were predicted for areas of southern Utah in warnings from the National Weather Service.
A snow squall warning is in effect until 5:30 AM MST for I-15 near Beaver, UT and I-15 near Cedar City, UT and I-15, US-91 near Parowan, UT. pic.twitter.com/8f7h0cwd4x
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) February 28, 2023
You know you’re in a snow squall if you see sudden white-out conditions and quickly dropping temperatures. They are usually short-lived, and particularly dangerous on the roadways.
It’s thanks to snow squalls that not much snow fell in this latest storm.
“Generally that (snow squall) means a quick burst of really intense snowfall,” said Nicole DeSmet, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. “That also brings with it, a lot of times, strong winds, gusty winds, and some blowing and drifting snow.
“That doesn’t lead to a lot of accumulating snowfall,” she told KSL NewsRadio.
The other weather phenomenon witnessed overnight was thundersnow, which is exactly as it sounds. Christine Martinez sent this video from Roy, showing thundersnow around 2 a.m. Tuesday.
KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson reported more thundersnow early Tuesday morning in Orem.
In the middle of a #SnowSquallWarning here in Orem. Heavy snow and brief blizzard-like conditions. The snow pelting my window woke me up! Wow! #utwx pic.twitter.com/4F4Um1eHs3
— Matthew Johnson (@KSL_Matt) February 28, 2023
DeSmet said light snow showers are expected to continue throughout the day on Tuesday, and that more snow will fall in the overnight hours and throughout Wednesday.
She said most of the northern Utah valleys could see from two to three more inches of snow from Wednesday’s storm and up to seven inches of new snow on the benches.
Related reading:
- Snowplows will be out in force to clear roads around Utah, UDOT says
- How much snow is coming this week?
- Snowstorm brings ‘blessings’ to Utah’s agriculture
