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If you like to ski or snowboard, this forecast is for you.
Three cold fronts are stacked up over the Pacific and the first one should push into northern Utah late Saturday bringing snow to the mountains and rain, possibly turning to snow showers, to the valleys, according to Brian McInerney, hydrologist with the National Weather Service. Storminess will continue through Tuesday.
"Get your gloves and hats out, because it's going to start snowing," he said.
Friday will be windy ahead of the storm, with gusts up to 30 mph. Highs in northern Utah valleys will be in the 50s.
Snowbird already has received 72 inches of snow this season and could get up to 24 additional inches by the time skies clear Wednesday. Thursday, the resort was reporting a base of 37 inches.
The trio of storm systems is expected to bring snow to mountains statewide.
"We're on for a big event," McInerney said. "It will improve skiing conditions dramatically for Thanksgiving weekend."
The stormy weather will be facilitated by a low-pressure trough that will camp out over northern Utah for several days, according to weather service computer models. The storm track will dive south over the Pacific, paralleling the West Coast before turning sharply inland over Southern California, according to computer models. The stormy weather is expected to approach Utah from the southwest.
McInerney said it remains unclear how much snow will accumulate in valley floors. It depends on when colder air arrives.
"Typically with winter storms, the uncertainty comes with timing and the amount of snow," he said.
Saturday's high also might hit 50 degrees, according to the weather service. By Sunday, the highs will fall to the mid-40s, with a low of about 30 degrees. Monday and Tuesday, Salt Lake City's high will reach only the mid-30s, with lows in the mid-20s.
It bodes well for the ski industry, McInerney said.
Lisen Green, of Wasatch Touring in Salt Lake City, agrees.
"We're doing great this year," she said of retail sales. "Last year at this time, we were pretty slow because the snow was slow in coming."
The word is out, Utah has snow, and more is on the way, said Snowbird's Jared Ishkanian.
"The long and short of it is we're having a great start," he said Thursday. "Local skiers and boarders are turning out early and often."
And visitor bookings are up, too, Ishkanian said. "We see a strong correlation between the snow and phones ringing."
It also will snow down south in Washington County's Pine Valley Mountains but not in Dixie's lower elevations. Rain should arrive late Saturday in St. George, with highs in the 60s, according to the National Weather Service. Lows should be in the 40s Sunday morning.
The highs Monday in St. George will reach only into the 50s, and by Tuesday, the mercury may not get out of the 40s.