Another Day; Another Storm

TL;DR: Clear this morning. Snow returns today, and continues into tomorrow.

Nowcast: All central Wasatch resorts are reporting new snow over the past 24 hours. Here are some totals:

Alta: 13"

Snowbird: 13"

Brighton: 12"

Solitude: 12"

PCMR: 9"

Deer Valley: 7"

Much of that snow fell during the day yesterday as resorts were open, so will you will may not be finding totally untracked powder, conditions will remain excellent. See the view from Solitude's Powderhorn webcam, looking quite snowy.

Source: Solitude Mountain Resort

Short-Term Forecast

We'll see another quick hit of snow this afternoon into the evening, a lull during the day tomorrow, and then snow will pick up again tomorrow afternoon. The 1200 UTC HRRR is calling for about an inch of liquid precipitation equivalent for the central Wasatch through Wednesday morning.

Source: University of Utah Department of Atmospheric Science

Liquid amounts from the GFS (not shown) are a bit less than the HRRR, but the model still calls for over half an inch of water for the central Wasatch. Interestingly, the HRRR calls for more precipitation in the Wasatch back (Deer Valley and PCMR) than the Wasatch front (Cottonwood resorts). This is largely do to the flow being more south-southeasterly (from the south-southeast) in the HRRR compared to the GFS. The GFS is a bit more southerly. Snow-to-liquid ratios for this event will be roughly 15:1, so with 0.75 inches of liquid, resorts should see about a foot of snow between this afternoon and Wednesday morning. There will be a lull overnight tonight, which will limit totals.

Mid-Long Range Forecast: 

A low-amplitude upper level ridge builds in the region later this week, keeping storms to our north and west. This shows up clearly in the upper left panel of the image below (the 0000 UTC European Model, valid 0030 UTC Thursday). Notice how the black contours in that upper left plot curve upwards, indicating a ridging pattern. There will be moisture nearby, so I don't expect totally sunny skies - just minimal precipitation and a mix of sun and clouds. This is the type of precipitation we like to call dribs and drabs.

Source: University of Utah Department of Atmospheric Science

Afterwards, we'll look to have another storm on Monday. This one will have northwesterly flow, so it should be a bit cooler and drier than what we've become accustomed to.

Snow Forecast:

For the storm for later today into Thursday, I forecast 8-12" for all resorts in the central Wasatch. If the flow is more south-southeasterly, resorts on the Wasatch back should win out. With more southerly flow, I expect the resorts on the Wasatch front to perform better.

Enjoy this spectacular winter we've been having!