Death and Rebirth

 TL;DR:

The return of snow to the Central Wasatch has greatly refreshed skiing conditions and brought with it the death of the persistent pollution that has been lingering in Northern Utah.

Current Conditions

Temperatures are ranging from the lower 20s on the Wasatch Back at Park City Mountain Resort to mid-teens for the mid-elevations of the Cottonwoods to 8F at Mount Baldy at 11,000'. Light winds and snowfall continue this morning. Road conditions are treacherous as UDOT reports numerous vehicles with 4FD/AWD and snow tires having difficulty in the Cottonwoods this morning. Drive safe!

Low-visibility and snow! Image courtesy of Alta Ski Area.

Short Term Forecast

Snow showers will continue through today, tapering off by the evening hours. Temperatures will remain relatively cool today with overcast skies before clearer skies and warmer temperatures return tomorrow. After this storm wraps up, dry and warm weather will return as brief positively tilted ridge sets up over the Southwestern United States. The image below shows the positive tilt of the ridge axis denoted by the red line on the 500mb Geopotential Height plot.

GFS 500mb Geopotential Height valid 5am MST Tuesday, February 7. Image courtesy of the University of Utah, Department of Atmospheric Sciences. 

Long Term Forecast

The potential for another storm later in the work week remains. However, I am interested in its potential to mix out pollution in the Salt Lake Valley more so than any notable snow totals. Better chances for substantial snowfall look to return to the area sometime next weekend if the current models hold that pattern. Looking at the plot below, minimal snow accumulations can be expected through mid week.

Short-Range Ensemble Forecast (SREF) Downscaled ensemble mean snow and probability of >1" snow valid 0200 MST February 6 through 1700 MST February 9. Image courtesy of the University of Utah, Department of Atmospheric Sciences.