After the beginning of a year that has been relatively low on snow, things could soon change in Utah, if only by a few inches.
The National Weather Service on Wednesday issued a series of winter weather advisories affecting the state’s mountainous regions and northern valleys, in anticipation of a Thursday morning storm.
According to Hayden Mahan, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City office, the incoming storm is predicted to bring between 6 and 12 inches of snow to northern mountain regions areas and 4 to 8 inches in mountains in central and southern Utah.
Northern Utah valleys could see 1 to 4 inches, Mahan said. But though there likely won’t be a lot of snow, he said it’s predicted to fall in a quick burst during the morning’s rush hour.
“It could provide for a messy morning commute, especially across Northern Utah [Thursday] morning,” he said.
Increasing the danger, he said, is the fact that drivers in Utah have yet to face any significant storms this year.
“For instance, the other day, we had some graupel showers over a couple of different parts of I-15,” he said. “Didn’t last very long, but it was enough to cause many accidents. ... That just kind of tells us that folks are still not in the winter frame of mind whenever it comes to driving.”
The snow storm, Mahan added, is likely to be the last Utahns will see for more than a week.