March weather can be fickle.
On the first day of the month, Ron Swan of Washington City prepared to do a little fishing under clear blue skies at Sand Hollow Reservoir with temperatures hovering around the 70s.
"On a scale of one to 10, it's an 11," he said. "This is a chance to get out of the city, get some fresh air, do a little fishing and enjoy life."
Today, just four days later, much of Utah will experience colder and snowy conditions, good news for skiers and boarders hoping to extend the season.
According to Christine Krus, a forecaster with the National Weather Service's Salt Lake City office, March is the third wettest month of the year behind April and May.
Krus said Salt Lake City International Airport usually receives 1.91 inches of water in March. The wettest saw 3.9 inches fall in 1983 and the driest was 0.56 inches in 1997.
Forecasters looking at long-range models say there is no strong signal that conditions this March will be colder, warmer, wetter or drier than average. They do, however, expect that precipitation will be 33 to 40 percent above normal in the bottom third of the state this month.
And it appears conditions could be particularly unsettled over the next few days.
The National Weather Service in Salt Lake City issued a weather statement Wednesday predicting that a cold Pacific storm system will bring snow as it tracks east through Utah Thursday afternoon. The storm should taper off Friday.
Mountains could receive up to 16 inches by Friday morning. The weather service predicts that valley locations could see between 1 to 4 inches of snow by Friday.
The forecast calls for an 80 percent chance of snow or rain Thursday in Salt Lake City with highs of 47 and lows in the mid-30s, and a 50 percent chance of snow Friday. While Saturday is predicted to be clear, another storm is expected Saturday night and Sunday.
The St. George area has a 60 percent chance of rain Thursday but the weekend looks sunny and nice with highs of 57 on Friday and 64 on Saturday.
