Dry for the next week, potential storm around/after Christmas

TL;DR:

We remain dry for the next week; models are showing potential storminess around/after Christmas.

Nowcast:

We're seeing relatively warm temperatures (mid-to-high 20s °F) in the mountains under somewhat cloudy skies this morning after a day of light snowfall yesterday. For today, expect highs in the low to mid-30s °F along with a few clouds and possibly gusty winds in the afternoon.

Short-term:

The short-term is a little depressing. We'll see somewhat warm temperatures (near or above freezing at 10,000') with a potentially colder airmass next Sunday/Monday, and we'll remain pretty much bone dry - here's the snow ensembles for Alta for the next ten days:

Snow ensembles for Alta, courtesy of the University of Utah Dept of Atmospheric Sciences

That's a flat line if I've ever seen one, and it means pretty much no snow until at least the 25th. But some of you might have noticed that the situation changes after Christmas, so let's talk about it below...

Long-term:

Models are slowly starting to agree on a storm on or just after Christmas Day - the snow ensembles above show this and I've seen other models hint at similar outcomes as well. Perhaps Santa has some snow as Utah's Christmas present... It's too early to know details though so I'll keep it to this.

We will of course be keeping an eye on this here at Utah Ski Weather, so be sure check back over the next week to see how things are looking.

Thanks for reading!

If you will be traveling in the backcountry, make sure you have the proper training and equipment and know before you go. For the avalanche forecast and other avy-related resources, check out utahavalanchecenter.org.

Snow tonight and Tuesday, long-term looks dry

TL;DR:

Light snow today through tomorrow morning will bring northern Utah mountains 4-8" of new snow, with potential for higher totals in LCC and the far northern mountains (Bear River Range). Tuesday brings another chance for snow, after which we will likely remain dry.

Nowcast:

We're seeing partly- to mostly-cloudy conditions alongside relatively warm temperatures and noticeable wind this morning; for today, expect more of the same along with light valley rain/mountain snow.

Short-term:

As mentioned, we'll see light and somewhat intermittent mountain snow from late morning/early afternoon today through tomorrow morning, with a more intense period of snowfall right around when lifts start spinning tomorrow; this is ideal for snow quality since it lines up with a period of colder (15-20 °F) high-elevation temps. Amounts are looking decent - I'm seeing 4-8" for most mountains, with LCC and the far northern mountains (think Bear River Range) doing slightly better than that. I'm also seeing fairly gusty winds throughout this period, so wear those layers!

Long-term:

I'd recommend getting your powder skiing in tomorrow; we're scheduled for another light dose of snow come Tuesday, but after that, things look pretty dry. Keep doing those snow dances...

Thanks for reading Utah Ski Weather!

Backcountry comments:

If you will be traveling in the backcountry, make sure you  have the proper training and equipment and know before you go. For the avalanche forecast and other avy-related resources, check out utahavalanchecenter.org.