Late-season winter storm delivers valley and mountain snow, warnings issued

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Another late-season winter storm has set the stage for sloppy conditions for our Tuesday!

A robust cold front moving through the state Monday night opened the door for colder air, as well as valley and mountain snow, and stalled over Salt Lake County. This could end up being the biggest snowfall of the season for the Salt Lake Valley with the help of our Northwest flow in place!

While the heaviest precipitation was overnight and through the morning commute, we have snow showers expected through the remainder of the day and several winter alerts in place. The Utah Department of Transportation has issued travel advisories due to road snow during the morning commute.

Winter Weather Advisories have been issued for a large portion of the state by the National Weather Service, with winter travel conditions expected in areas underneath the advisories. Some notable spots under advisory include the Northern Wasatch Front, Tooele/Rush Valleys, Utah County, Cache Valley, and mountain locations in Northern, Central, and Southern Utah.

We also have two Winter Storm Warnings in effect, including Salt Lake City’s only Winter Storm Warning of the entire 2024/2025 winter season.

The Salt Lake Valley and Southern Wasatch Mountains remain under a Winter Storm Warning while the rest of the state is under an advisory due to pour NW flow and the stalling of the cold front. The Warning for the Salt Lake Valley is in effect on Tuesday from midnight until 6 p.m. and calls for 2-6 inches of snow, or 6-12 inches if you’re on the east benches.

This will make for a difficult and slick morning commute, so plan a little extra time so you can drive safely. The Southern Wasatch Mountains will be under a warning for a while longer, through 6 a.m. Wednesday, with 1-2 feet in the forecast and up to 30 inches possible in the Upper Cottonwoods.

The Winter Weather Advisories include many more locations from mountains to valleys across the state. Starting in the north we have Cache Valley and eastern Box Elder County which is the first area to expire at 9 a.m. Tuesday after dropping 1-3 inches of snow.

The Northern Wasatch Front, Tooele/Rush Valleys, and Utah Valley hold onto their advisory for much longer, staying in effect until 6 p.m. Tuesday with 1-4 inches on deck, and 3-8 inches for the benches. Eastern Juab/Millard Counties, Sanpete Valley, and Southwest Utah are all under the same advisory until 4 p.m. Tuesday, most places will see 2-5 inches, but areas west of I-15 may only get 2 inches.

Winter Weather Advisories for the mountains will also be in effect for roughly the same timeframe but will have higher snow totals. The Northern Wasatch Mountains will be under an advisory until 9 p.m. Tuesday with most areas seeing 6-12 inches of snow, but the Bear River Range and Ogden Mountains could get up to 20 inches.

The advisory for the Central Mountains, Wasatch Plateau/Book Cliffs, and Western Uintas is similar to the Northern Wasatch Mountains with 6-12 inches possible and a 9 p.m. Tuesday expiration, but the Manti-Skyline may have up to 18 inches. The Southern Mountains won’t be under an advisory for as long, expiring at 4 p.m. Tuesday with 5-10 inches of snow on the table, and locally up to 15″ for places like Brian Head and the Tushar Range.

Once the storm moves out, some lingering showers are possible, including a slight chance for lake-effect snow near Salt Lake Valley into Wednesday morning. Another system is set to arrive Thursday, bringing more mountain snow, though it won’t be as strong as the previous storm. Right now, there’s potential for another trough to graze Northern Utah this weekend and bring another round of light snow.

We will see how this week evolves as March Madness doesn’t only apply to the basketball courts; it also impacts Utah weather! 

We’ll keep you posted on the latest information in our 4Warn Weather forecast both on-air and online, we are Good4Utah!