Winter storm warning in place for Wasatch Mountains, Wasatch Back
Dec 3, 2023, 10:30 AM | Updated: May 30, 2024, 11:17 am
The Wasatch Front along the Sandy Foothills around sunset. Snow on the peaks, bright fall foliage and low hanging clouds made for an ethereal but beautiful scene. The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued a winter storm warning for the Wasatch Mountains as well as the valleys of the Wasatch Back. (Jolene Whiyney)
(Jolene Whiyney)
SALT LAKE CITY — The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued a winter storm warning Sunday for the Wasatch Mountains as well as the valleys of the Wasatch Back.
One of the two warnings expires Sunday at 5 p.m. That one covers the Wasatch Mountains north and south of I-80, as well as the western Uinta mountains. The other expires Monday at 5 a.m., covering the Wasatch Back communities of Heber City, Park City and Huntsville.
Winter storm brings rain to valleys, snow to Wasatch mountains
National Weather Service meteorologist Sam Webber said the Ogden Valley and Park City area currently seemed to bear the brunt of the storm.
Webber blamed bands of valley rain and mountain snow on a deteriorating system making its way across the region.
“That is largely due to a decaying atmospheric river that we have that’s pushing across the interior West right now and we’re getting a big slug of moisture,” Webber said.
Webber said the more north you go and the higher in elevation, the more likely you are to encounter snow.
“It’s mostly heavy, wet snow, too – it’s not like the light, fluffy stuff that we typically see here that is the prized possession of Utah, it’s really dense, wet, heavy snow,” he added.
The moisture fell at an opportune time for northern Utah, where the snowpack currently measures about 40% lower than normal for this time of year. We should know in several more days how this system impacts our current snowpack levels.
Webber said avalanche risk across the region remains high as well.
