Snow Is Coming

TL;DR: High pressure persists through Friday with a shortwave trough hitting northern Utah on Saturday morning bringing snowfall to the Wasatch. Snowfall totals associated with the shortwave trough are all over the place. For reference, Alta would be fortunate to get above 5”.

NOWCAST: It is currently 32 F at the base of Alta with partly cloudy skies and light winds.

(Alta:https://www.alta.com/weather) 

Short-Term: Our snow-drought will continue until ~11am Saturday morning when a cold front moves its way into northern Utah, lowering the freezing level to the valley floor. Post-frontal winds will be out of the NW and peak on Saturday night while temperatures will drop into the teens by Sunday morning. Snowfall totals will likely be anywhere between 2-6” at Wasatch resorts. Not quite the storm we are looking for, but we will take it.

(Utah Weather Center: https://weather.utah.edu/. The shortwave trough axis is shown in blue. This is what is bringing our snowfall. The High pressure ridge that will build into the region Sunday is shown in red "H") 

 

Long-Term: High pressure is looking to build back into the region by Sunday afternoon and will act as a deterrent for any shortwave troughs trying to graze us for the time being. We need some Christmas magic to change this weather pattern.

Backcountry comments: As always, check out UAC for the latest on our snowpack.