This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2015, and information in the article may be outdated.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.

The first in a series of storm pulses is expected to settle over northern Utah early Thursday, bringing valley rains and mountain snows.

It's a spectacularly run-of-the-mill spate of winter weather for the region; spectacular, because it has been so rare during the past couple dry and warmer-than-normal months. Yet, with snowpack and anemic precipitation in general so far, a welcome change.

In other words, as John Fogerty might rasp, there is a "change in the weather, somethin's happenin' here," but it's a mild change, no need to give further "Creedence" to the southern roots rocker's lament about "people walkin' round in fear."

The National Weather Service predicts several inches of fresh snow for the northern and western mountains, and by Thursday night, the storm should be dusting the central mountains with white, too.

The northern Wasatch Front looked for modest amounts of rain and snow Thursday morning, building to more significant amounts throughout the day and into the evening. High temperatures Thursday will be in the mid-40s, down about 5 degrees from Wednesday's forecast.

Southern Utah, however, will get a pass from Old Man Winter's slap. Under partly cloudy skies, Utah's Dixie will see temperatures approach 60, mirroring Wednesday's forecast.

The Utah Division of Air Quality once more is hoisting its "green," or healthy banners statewide extending toward the week's end.

The Utah Avalanche Center offered backcountry winter sports enthusiasts a mix bag of danger. The Salt Lake, Provo, Moab and Uintas districts all earned "moderate" risk ratings for potentially deadly snowslides, while the mountains above Logan and Ogden were at "low" avalanche danger levels as of Wednesday.

For more extensive forecast breakdowns visit the Tribune weather page at http://www.sltrib.com/weather/.

Twitter: @remims