Winter Storm — Eastern Uinta Mountains, Utah

2022-12-21 · Eastern Uinta Mountains, Utah

Event narrative

Winds gusted between 50 and 80 mph at times which resulted in significantly reduced visibility in blowing snow and hazardous travel. There was a peak wind gust of over 100 mph recorded at the automated station at Chepeta on the Utah/Colorado state line. Generally 2 to 4 inches of snow fell across the area. The cold front brought wind chills down to -30 degrees F at the automated station at Bassett Spring.

Wider weather episode

An impressive arctic air mass accompanied a strong cold front that dropped across eastern Utah. The lift from the front itself paired with strong jet support aloft and minor moisture resulted in scattered showers across the Eastern Uinta Mountains. While snowfall totals weren't overly impressive with this system, generally light to moderate, the combination of snowfall with wind gusts in excess of 70 mph at times in the higher terrain resulted in blizzard-like conditions and significant travel impacts.

In the wake of the system, the arctic air overhead paired with continued breezy conditions resulted in bitterly cold wind chills for the northern mountains.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1061163. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.