Can't Stop, Won't Stop

TL;DR:

Snow tapers off this afternoon with the potential for another significant storm impacting the state of Utah this weekend. Objective metrics are telling us that conditions truly are all-time in the Wasatch; These are the winters that change lives.

Nowcast

Lingering snow showers should taper off by the end of the day. It's chilly out with temperatures ranging from the mid-20s at the base of Park City to 20F at the base of Alta at 9,000' to 11F at 11,000' on Mount Baldy. Winds have been strong all day, gusting to 79 mph on Mount Baldy with sustained winds in the 25-30 mph range on the highest ridgelines.

Looking down Little Cottonwood Canyon. Image courtesy of Alta Ski Area.

Storm Totals since Monday AM

Alta - 38 inches

Snowbird - 36 inches

Park City Mountain Resort - 31 inches

Deer Valley - 35 inches

Solitude - 37 inches

Brighton - 37 inches

Short-term Forecast

A ridge of high pressure will quickly build in above Utah tomorrow through Friday before a landfalling Atmospheric River in California brings cloudier weather to our region. Expect dry conditions through the end of the day Friday. Hopefully, this will give some time for everyone to dig out and for roads to reopen (looking at you LCC).

GFS Model 500mb Geopotential Height and Anomaly valid 00Z Friday January 13 (5pm MST Thursday January 12). Image courtesy of Tropical Tidbits.

Long Term Forecast
The potential for a set of two significant winter storms look to impact the state starting Saturday into Sunday. Look for more forecasts later this week to dive deeper into these systems. For reference, the GFS Little Cottonwood Canyon downscaled model for Alta-Collins shows one solution for potential snow.

GFS Little Cottonwood Canyon downscaled model for Alta-Collins. Image courtesy of the University of Utah, Department of Atmospheric Sciences.