Bitter cold, rain and snow forecast for southern Utah

St. George Spectrum & Daily News

Fresh snow rests atop the Pine Valley Mountains above St. George in this photograph from winter, 2021. An early-season storm is expected to bring snow to the mountains across southwestern Utah this week, along with bitter-cold temperatures.

The weather is about to get a lot more winterlike in southwestern Utah, with bitterly cold temperatures midweek giving way to rain and snow by the weekend.

Cold, snowy air from the northwest started making its way into Utah on Monday, threatening snowfall in the mountains around Salt Lake City and other northern cities. The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for the region, indicating the cold front could bring 1 to 2 inches of snow to some places, while ushering in unseasonably cold temperatures through most of the week.

"Very cold temperatures are expected Wednesday morning. Teens or single-digit temperatures are forecast for many of us," according to the alert issued out of the NWS office in Salt Lake City.

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Temperatures will trend about 15 degrees below normal for the time of year. Cedar City was expected to see temperatures as low as 15 degrees by early Wednesday morning, with daytime highs in the 30s. St. George was forecast to maintain highs in the 50s but to see hard freezes at night, with a low of 27 degrees forecast for Wednesday.

Things could get worse over the weekend, with slightly higher temperatures but forecasts for more rain and snow from Friday through Monday.

The forecast had traffic managers statewide urging motorists to be cautious this week, especially along the Interstate-15 corridor.

"This will be a fairly cold system, with snow sticking at almost all elevations," warned a "Road Weather Alert" from the Utah Department of Transportation. The department expected weather-related travel problems for almost the entire length of the state along I-15 from the Idaho border to Iron County.

Smaller highways like SR-143 to Brian Head and U.S. 89 north of the State Route 20 junction were expected to problems, as well.

"Motorists are advised to use caution and TravelWise," the department recommended, referencing the state-sponsored traffic advisory website, www.travelwise.utah.gov.

Skiers make their way down the mountain at Brian Head Resort in Iron County in this file photo from last winter. Brian Head and other high-elevation places in southwestern Utah are expected to get several inches of snow this week during a series of winterlike storms forecast to move into the area.