This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A fresh blanket of snow slowed northern Utahns' Friday morning commute, but the region's cycle of winter storms eased ahead of what was forecast to be a cold but drier weekend.
The latest, relatively mild storm had spent itself as the Wasatch Front rose for work. Still, with up to 6 inches of new snow accumulating overnight in the mountains, the Utah Highway Patrol warned motorists on Interstate 15 and Interstate 80 to slow down and exercise care on slippery roads.
Both Big and Little Cottonwood canyons began Friday with travel restricted to four-wheel drive or tire-chained vehicles.
Park City and Alta each recorded 5.5 inches of snowfall overnight, while Brighton measured 5, South Jordan 4.3, Solitude 3, and Cottonwood Heights 2 inches. Salt Lake City had recorded 1.4 inches by 6 a.m.
The National Weather Service had a Winter Storm Warning in place through 2 p.m. Friday for southeastern Utah's Bluff and Blanding areas, with 6-12 inches of snow expected; 2-4 inches were predicted for west-central Utah's Delta and Monticello, in the southeast, where a Winter Weather Advisory was in effect until 4 p.m. Friday.
That snowfall meant closure of all schools in the San Juan School District.
Saturday was to dawn partly cloudy in the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys, but no new snow was expected as daytime highs climbed into the mid-30s — same as Friday's forecast. Overnight lows were expected to be in the low-20s.
Southern Utahns also looked for a drying trend this weekend, after Friday's valley rains and mountain snows. High temperatures, echoing Friday's forecast, were to climb into the mid- to upper-40s. Overnight lows were to be in the upper-20s.
The Utah Division of Air Quality issued a no-burn order that applied both to coal and wood stoves and furnaces as well as outdoor fires of all kinds in Salt Lake and Cache counties heading into the weekend. Those counties and the remainder of the state — with the exception of Tooele, Washington and Carbon counties, which were rated "green," or healthy — had "moderate" grades for particulate pollution levels.
The Utah Avalanche Center rated the risk for potentially deadly backcountry snowslides at "considerable" for above Ogden and Provo as of Friday, while the remainder of the state's mountain slopes were considered to be "moderate" for avalanche danger.
For more extensive forecast information, visit The Salt Lake Tribune's weather page at: http//www.sltrib.com/weather.
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