This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Like a fading boxer on the ropes, a gasping winter was preparing one more counterpunch as seasonal contender spring moved in for the inevitable knockout.
In the wake of a balmy, sunny weekend in northern Utah, the National Weather Service predicted a storm system originating in the Pacific Northwest will slip over the Wasatch Front by Monday evening and will cover the entire state by Tuesday morning. A mix of mountain snowfall and valley rain showers, escalating to thunderstorms in some locales, were forecast for the Beehive State.
A Winter Weather Advisory was to kick in at 4 p.m. Monday and extend through 6 p.m. Tuesday for the Wasatch Front and western Uinta mountains. Fresh snow of 5-10 inches, with locally higher amounts, were expected across the Wasatch Range.
Forecasters also placed the Great Salt Lake Desert and mountains under a Wind Advisory effective 4 p.m. Monday and extending through 4 a.m. Tuesday. Winds gusting to 55 mph were expected.
The Salt Lake and Tooele valleys, after reaching nearly 60 degrees on Monday, were to dip to the low-40s Tuesday as rain pelted the region. However, sunny weather and highs in the low-50s were on tap for Wednesday.
Southern Utahns can look for low-70s Monday under partly cloudy skies, and temperatures a few degrees cooler on Tuesday and Wednesday, but no appreciable rain or snow.
Ahead of the storm, the Utah Avalanche Center rated the state's mountains at "moderate" risk for potentially deadly backcountry snowslides on Tuesday.
The Utah Division of Air Quality hoisted its "green," or healthy breathing banners for the entire state into the midweek.
For more extensive forecast information, visit the Tribune's weather page at http://www.sltrib.com/weather.
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