Dry and (relatively) warm for now, snow to end the week

 TL;DR:

Today will be mild with sunny skies and mountain temperatures topping out in the mid-30s °F. Tomorrow will feature colder air and a few flakes. Friday will be a storm skiing day, but snowfall accumulation is still uncertain due to model disagreement. Then we dry out after Saturday...

Nowcast:

The sun is rising on a mild morning in the mountains; here's the view from Alta:

Alta's Salt Lake Valley webcam, courtesy of Alta.

Even at the highest peaks, we've climbed to over 30°F. You could almost trick yourself into thinking it's spring...

This mild trend will continue throughout the day with sunny skies and mountain temps topping out in the mid-30s °F. The wind will pick up as the day goes on in anticipation of a weak storm that's arriving tomorrow... read on!

Short term:

A weak wave of moisture is going to push into Utah tomorrow during the day. It's nothing to get particularly excited about - just a shot of cold air and gusty winds accompanied by a few flakes. Even at Alta - where I usually see extraordinary numbers - we're looking at only two inches or so:

The model plumes, courtesy of the University of Utah's Department of Atmospheric Sciences

But the observant of you will have noticed that the plumes do something very interesting after this storm - the line goes up. Read on...

Long term:

Another wave of moisture rolls through Utah starting in the early hours of Friday and will drop snow throughout the day, making for a proper storm-skiing day. There's still a significant amount of disagreement within the models; the are highlighting the Cottonwood Canyons for the most snowfall, while others favor the northern (Logan/Ogden-area) mountains. I'll refrain from making any concrete forecasts right now, but I'd keep my eye on the two areas above for 6-12" of freshies by the end of Friday, with the potential for more...

Either way, after this weekend we turn dry again. Notice how the model plumes (essentially) flatline after about midday on Saturday:

The Canyons model plumes, courtesy of the University of Utah Department of Atmospheric Sciences

This is for the Canyons (PC area), but the trend is the same for the rest of Utah.

Enjoy the mild day today and get ready for colder air to come!

Backcountry comments:

If you will be traveling in the backcountry make sure you have the proper equipment and know before you go. For the whole avalanche forecast and all things avalanche head over to our friends at the Utah Avalanche Center.