Socked In Down Valley But Blue Skies Above

TL;DR:

    Sunny skies and cool temperatures in the mountains today, a little refresher on the way with more significant snowfall this weekend. 

Nowcast:

    Although the valley is engulfed in clouds up at your favorite ski locations in the Wasatch the sky is blue. Low temperatures accompany the beauty that the mountains behold today as base areas hover around the low 20's upper teens and the ridgelines are in the low teens dipping as low as 10 °F. Low winds out of the west are present yet remain below 15 mph. If you're going to be skiing, pack some layers but also remember that sunscreen as it will remain clear all day.

Watch the fog move down the valley this morning. U of U Atmospheric Science

Short term:

    Currently, a shortwave trough is moving inland and will be headed our way as we move into Wednesday. While this won't be a significant event it will bring some moisture to the area and some precipitation to accompany it. Flurries could begin late afternoon or evening tomorrow and persist lightly into Thursday. Water totals of only about 0.25-0.5" of water could fall bringing us a 2-4" refresher. Light southerly winds will persist through the end of the week as the atmosphere sets up for a more significant event this weekend. 

Highlighted here is the shortwave feature that will impact the area late tomorrow. U of U Atmospheric Science

Long term:

    Looking ahead to this weekend another significant storm is being staged. The larger scale trough that this current shortwave is embedded within will dig down the west coast throughout the remainder of this week and begin its eastward transition mid-weekend. Beginning Saturday night northern Utah will see strong southwesterly flow and an injection of moisture. Along with this flow we will experience some vorticity advection setting up our atmosphere with some favorable conditions for precipitation. Areas of the Wasatch could see up to an inch of water resulting in 10-12" of snow.

Here the area of high vorticity that will be advected to the area is highlighted. U of U Atmospheric Science

    As per usual, if you plan to travel in the backcountry ensure you have the proper equipment and knowledge. Avalanche conditions exist and multiple natural and human-triggered avalanches have occurred recently. For observations, forecasts, and all things avalanche head over to our friends at the Utah Avalanche Center