This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Colder and wetter weather ended a brief, spring-like break for northern and central Utah Wednesday, greeting commuters with valley rain and mountain snow.
After a windy Tuesday that saw temperatures in the upper-50s to low-60s along the Wasatch Front, Wednesday's forecast was for daytime highs 15-20 degrees colder. A snowy Thursday will be even colder, with highs expected to rise no higher than the mid-30s.
Indeed, the National Weather Service placed the Wasatch and western Uinta mountains, along with the Wasatch Plateau, Book Cliffs and central Utah mountains, under a Winter Weather Advisory through 4 a.m. Friday.
Forecasters predicted 1-4 inches of snow in the valleys and along the benches, while accumulations of 18-32 inches were expected in the Wasatch Range and 8-16 inches in the central mountains.
But take heart. As the 19th century French writer Victor Hugo put it: "Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart." (Not that patient? The calendar assures that spring will arrive on March 20).
While residents of northern and central Utah will be donning parkas and hefting snow shovels as the work week winds down, southern Utahns looked for daytime temperatures in the 50s and 60s. Along with some 10-20 mph breezes, Utah's Dixie expected some periodic rain showers late Wednesday and through Thursday, but Friday was to be sunny and clear.
The Utah Division of Air Quality staff liked was it saw coming, awarding "green," or healthy grades to the entire state the remainder of the week.
The Utah Avalanche Center's forecasters were less happy, though: the mountains above Logan, Ogden, Salt Lake City, Provo and the Uintas all began Wednesday with "considerable" risk ratings for potentially deadly backcountry snowslides. The Moab and Abajo districts were at "moderate" risk, while the Skyline district was "low."
For more extensive forecast information visit the Tribune's weather page at http://www.sltrib.com/news/weather/.
Twitter: @remims