Early California snow will likely impact Utah mountain ranges

SALT LAKE CITY — One of the earliest winter weather advisories in the last two decades for northern California will likely bring snow to the mountain ranges of northern Utah as soon as today. 

Forecast calls for California, Utah mountain snow

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the Sierra Nevada mountains overnight. It forecast up to four inches of snow for the mountain range above about 8,000 feet. It marks the first time since 2007 the NWS predicted a September snowstorm for the region. 

Monday, the lead forecaster for the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City Mike Seaman said Utah can also expect high-elevation mountain snow. 

“So the storm system that’s moving in, bringing snow across the Sierras, is moving into the Great Basin today,” Seaman said. “We’re going to see some pretty strong winds across the region — wind gusts in excess of 40 miles an hour here from Salt Lake City southward through Cedar City . . . looking at valley rain, but actually some high elevation snow. We may see accumulations above about 9,000 feet, not looking for significant accumulations, but maybe just a couple of inches up there on the peaks of the Wasatch and the Uintas.”

For powder hounds, that means resort areas such as the peaks above Alta and Snowbird will likely see measurable snowfall. Seaman also expects the higher elevations of Mirror Lake Highway in Utah, such as the Bald Mountain area, will pick up enough snow to measure. 

La Niña and the winter forecast

While September snowfall is not unheard of in Utah, it is rare, according to Seaman. 

“It’s not uncommon to see snow across the higher grades in northern Utah as we get into the middle portion of September. There are certainly years where we don’t see any snow well into October and sometimes even early November,” Seaman said. 

KSL NewsRadio asked Seaman whether that bodes well for the winter snowpack or our water picture. 

“You know, it’s pretty early to say right now,” Seaman said. “It’s gonna be a kind of ‘wait and see,’ but in the meantime, with the storm system coming through — it doesn’t hurt. I’ll say that much just for our water supply, as we start out the water year here at the beginning of next month.” 

Seaman and other forecasters are watching the transition into a La Niña pattern, which he said sometimes favors heavy snowfall in Utah but sometimes does not. 

According to the NWS, a La Niña pattern pushes stronger-than-normal trade winds toward Asia across the Pacific Ocean, which results in cooler waters swelling up closer to the coasts of North and South America.

La Niña years typically result in dry conditions in the southern states, with wetter weather and even flooding in the Pacific Northwest. But Utah, being in the middle, can go either way, depending on exactly where the jet stream winds up. 

Read more: 

• How much did Utah’s record snowpack help the Great Salt Lake?
• No snow yet, but it may be time to start looking for winter tires
• Cottonwood Canyons traction sticker returns this winter

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