SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Happy Thursday or Friday eve, Utah! After a brief break in the weather yesterday thanks to high pressure, another storm has its sights set on the Beehive State. This system drops in from the Pacific Northwest and will favor the western, central, and southern portions of the state given its track. While the best chance won’t be in northern Utah, scattered snow showers will be possible through the daytime hours like we’ve already seen this morning.
By tonight though, the chance for wet weather in northern Utah will gradually begin to go down as the storm dives down to the south pretty quickly. Outside of any wet weather, we’ll see partly sunny to mostly cloudy skies across the state with daytime highs that will be similar compared to what we had yesterday.
When it comes to accumulations, the central and southern portions of the state will do the best, especially the central and southern mountains where over half a foot is possible. Also, along the I-15 corridor from Millard County down to Cedar City, we could see more than a few inches which will likely make travel difficult. In the lowest elevations of southern Utah like St. George, we’ll mainly see rain this afternoon and evening, but if the moisture holds on long enough with colder air moving in tonight, there’s a chance we could see a wintry mix or even straight snow in St. George for a brief period of time. If we do see snow in lower Washington County, any accumulations would likely be minor. To go along with the wet weather potential, given the dynamics of this storm, a few rumbles will be possible in southwestern Utah this afternoon and evening.
This storm has prompted the National Weather Service to issue multiple winter weather advisories for the southern two-thirds of the state. The one that will run the longest is the advisory for the central and southern mountains and begins at 2 p.m. today and will run through 5 p.m. Friday. Times of heavy snow will be possible and accumulations through the duration of the advisory could reach 6-12″ while isolated higher totals will be possible in the Pine Valleys, Tushar Mountains, and near Brian Head. This advisory also encompasses some of the higher passes along I-15 & I-70 where travel could become very difficult.
From 5 p.m. this afternoon through 11 a.m. Friday a winter weather advisory will be in effect for the Upper Sevier River Valleys along with Bryce Canyon Country. 2-4″ of snow will be possible along the Highway 89 corridor, which includes Panguitch, and 3-6″ will be possible around Bryce Canyon. During this same time frame, we also have a winter weather advisory for southwestern Utah which includes cities like Beaver, Cedar City, and Milford. 2-4″ of snow is expected and isolated higher amounts can’t be ruled out. Winds may also gust over 35mph which could make the I-15 corridor from Milford down to Cedar City dangerous.
South Central Utah, Zion National Park, Capitol Reef and areas around the park will also be included in an advisory that runs from 5 p.m. today through 11 a.m. Friday. 2-5″ will be possible across the higher terrain within this advisory and in Zion National Park 1-2″ is expected below 4000ft. and 3-6″ is expected above 4000 ft. The last advisory is for Glen Canyon and Lake Powell. This advisory will begin at 11 p.m. tonight and will continue through 11 a.m. Friday. 1-3″ will be possible within the advisory and periods of winter driving conditions will occur.
By Friday, we’re back to mostly dry skies in northern Utah as showers will linger in eastern and southern Utah, especially in the high terrain. As we go through the day with the storm pulling away, the chance for wet weather will gradually come to an end across the board. Daytime highs will come down by another few degrees which will lead to a chilly day. We’ll begin the weekend dry with similar temperatures compared to Friday with a little more sunshine, but there looks to be another storm shaping up with snow potential for the latter half of the weekend and into next week.
Bottom line? A storm system brings scattered showers today into tonight before calmer skies arrive to start the weekend!