This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
It's coming: Like an icy locomotive with a tender full of wet, heavy snow and heralded by the whistle of gusty winds, a major winter storm system is barreling into Utah.
The National Weather Service predicts anywhere from 1 to 3 feet of the white stuff will fall along the Wasatch and central mountains of the state through Wednesday. Hydrologists also warn that snow, driven by winds of 10-25 mph, will be especially moist, bringing up to 3 inches of water content to elevations 4,500 feet and higher.
In the mountains, where sub-freezing temperatures will be sustained, the snow will accumulate. In the valleys, however, where daytime highs will climb into the 40s, the multi-day storm could bring slush and localized ponding and flooding in urban areas with poor drainage.
From Logan extending south through Brigham City, Ogden, Salt Lake City, Park City, Provo, and Nephi to Richfield, as well as the western Uintas and southeastern Utah's Monticello area, a Winter Storm Warning was in effect through 5 p.m. Wednesday.
A Winter Weather Advisory was in place for the eastern Uintas and the Book Cliffs/Tavaputs Plateau through 6 p.m. Tuesday. Those areas braced for 4-8 inches of new snow.
The Utah Department of Transportation warned of icy, snow-packed roads, especially along mountain passes and summits into the midweek. The Salt Lake and Tooele valleys looked for 1-3 inches of snow from the storms. Daytime highs Tuesday will be the upper-30s and overnight lows in the mid- to upper 20s. remims@sltrib.com
Twitter: @remims