More Snow, Here we Go

TL;DR:

With another storm in store for this week the mountains could see 18-20” bringing almost 2” of water. Temperatures will be cold and the freezing level may drop low enough to bring some valley snow.

Nowcast:

Following a weekend of cool temps with a little bit of snow to boot we move into a big week. As a strong trough digs down the west coast we are experiencing a brief period of warmer air, temperatures in the mountains are breaking into the high 30’s today and in some locations even above 40. Despite the warm temperatures some upper elevations may see trace amount of snow.

Short term:

The highly anticipated large scale upper-level trough that is currently over the west coast strengthening will move into the area late Tuesday to kick off this snow event. The strong SW flow will inject our atmosphere with lots of moisture.

U of U Atmospheric Science

Although snow will begin Tuesday afternoon into the night the brunt of the storm is expected to arrive mid-morning Wednesday with the passage of a cold front. Temperatures in the cottonwoods could drop down to near zero indicating we may see some of that dry gold that the Wasatch is renowned for. With the passage of this front snow totals could reach up to 18” by mid-day Wednesday. With the frontal passage freezing levels could dip down into the valley bringing some scattered snow showers late Wednesday into Thursday.

U of U Atmospheric Science

When it is all said and done this storm could bring up to 20” of new snow and almost 2” of water!

 

Long term:

Following this weeks storm we may have another break until the beginning of next week. With less moisture in the atmosphere accompanied by more stability precipitation may be limited through the weekend but some short-wave disturbances could provide a few inches here and there.

If you are going to be traveling in the backcountry make sure you are properly equipped and get all your avalanche related information from our friends over at the Utah Avalanche Center.