Utahns lamenting that this winter hasn’t seemed very wintry might feel another week of disappointment over the lack of valley snow.
An incoming storm system might leave a few inches of snow in Utah’s mountains, but lower elevations will probably only see rain, according to Sam Webber, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City office.
The storm’s main wave is predicted to begin Wednesday evening and end by Thursday morning, bringing snow to areas with an elevation of 7,500 feet or higher, Webber said.
Even in those places, however, there likely will only be a few inches of snow, he said, with a potential for more in areas like the Cottonwood Canyons or the western Uinta mountains.
“This storm is not really strong,” Webber said. “We’re not expecting a whole lot in the way of snowfall.”
Later this weekend, he said there’s another potential storm system that could bring more snow, though it’s far enough out that its effect is uncertain.
The big picture, Webber said, is that Utah should see more storms, breaking from this week’s stagnant high pressure.
Wednesday’s storm, Webber said, likely will cleanse some of the inversion hanging over the Salt Lake Valley. Air conditions should improve by Sunday or Monday, he said.
Coming out of a December that broke heat records, Utah’s mountain snowpack is low statewide for this time of year, according to the Utah Division of Water Resources. In several lower-elevation mountain areas, the National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City Office has found record or near-record low amounts of water stored as snow.
And though some snow finally did make its way to the National Weather Service’s airport recording location on Dec. 27, it was the second latest recorded snowfall in the city’s history, and only amounted to about 0.1 inch.
“At this point, we’ll take any bit we can get,” Webber said.