Some Utahns could get 9 inches of snow Tuesday
But it’s expected to get warmer this weekend.
(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Snow covers Little Dell Reservoir on Wednesday, April 5, 2023. Up to 9 inches of snow could fall in some parts of northern Utah on Tuesday.
It’s expected to be relatively warm in Utah this weekend, but thunderstorms and another snowstorm are expected first this week.
A storm front moved into northern Utah Monday afternoon, bringing rain and hail in some areas along with lightning and wind gusts of 40 to 50 miles per hour, according to the National Weather Service.
The storm was expected to drop temperatures into the low 50s, which “set the stage for widespread snow showers in the mountains of northern and central Utah and yes, even some potential for sea-enhanced downwind snow showers.” Great Salt Lake will create,” the weather service said.
Traces of snow or up to 1 inch in some areas could be seen in northern Utah’s valleys early Tuesday, with more possible on the benches. A few inches are expected in the mountains of northern Utah, with the highest totals — 4 to 9 inches — expected in the Cottonwoods and Bear River Ranges.
Snow with lake effect possible
Though May is just a week away, a “high-end scenario” suggests the oquirrhs and banks in the western Salt Lake Valley could get up to 9 inches of “lake-enhanced snowfall” Tuesday morning.
The National Weather Service warned that “as with any short-range lake effect event, large variations in conditions will occur.”
The cold front is expected to leave the state by Wednesday, leaving clearer and drier conditions and temperatures in the mid to high 60s, at or above normal.
Temperatures will continue to rise into the weekend, reaching 70-80 degrees, around 5-15 degrees above normal. There is a 50% chance that temperatures will climb above 80 on Sunday and a 70% chance on Monday.
According to the weather service, this would accelerate the melting of Utah’s record winter snowpack and increase the likelihood of flooding in northern Utah.
In southern Utah, the cold front will drop Tuesday’s temperatures into the low to mid 70s — which is near-normal for the St. George area. But it won’t be long.
The forecast then calls for temperatures in the low 80s on Wednesday, the high 80s on Thursday and Friday, and the low 90s on Saturday and Sunday. No precipitation is forecast for the weekend in southern Utah.
