Spring-like this weekend, winter-like next week

TL;DR:

A relatively warm and dry, but somewhat windy and cloudy couple of days are ahead; next week, we'll see the return of winter with upwards of a foot of snow likely by Friday.

Nowcast:

It's a (relatively) warm and sunny morning in the mountains; even Snowbird's Hidden Peak at 11,000' is above freezing (although it's worth noting that there is a bit of wind chill, bringing the feel-like temperature into the mid-20s °F):

Weather data from Snowbird's Hidden Peak, courtesy of the National Weather Service

For today, expect mountain highs in the mid to high 30s °F, sunny skies, and mostly light winds. It's not quite spring skiing yet, but it is a good teaser!

Short-term:

The weekend weather will be similar to the weather of the past couple of days in that it'll be mild and dry; however, winds and cloud cover will increase ahead of next week's snow. Keep reading for more on that...

Long-term:

It's pretty clear from the models that winter is returning to the Wasatch next week:

Utah snow ensemble plumes for Canyons-Daybreak, courtesy of the U of U's Department of Atmospheric Sciences

However, they're struggling on the strength and timing of the storm. Even the snow ensemble plume above has two main possibilities: the GEFS (blue line) shows two distinct waves with a storm total of 30", while the ENS (pink line) favors a more gradual/continuous accumulation topping out at just over 15". A couple of other models I looked at seemed to like the "two distinct waves" solution better and favored 12-20" by next Friday.

Either way, I'd mark March 4th and 6th-7th on your calendars as potentially deep days...

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