Winter Storm in Wasatch Back, Utah

A combination of a COOP observer, a CoCoRaHS observer, and public reports included snowfall amounts of 23.3 inches at Wanship 1 NW, 22.0 inches at Midway, 16.0 inches at 1 SW Liberty, 10.5 inches at Deer Creek Dam, and 10.0 inches at 1 NW Heber City. Additionally, strong wind gusts were observed through the event, including a gust of 59 mph at Trappers Loop Road mesonet site, a gust of 65 mph at the Eden mesonet site, a 61 mph gust at the I-80 @ Silver Ck Jct mesonet site, and several gusts in excess of 60 mph (peak gust of 69 mph at 6:50 pm MST 1/12) at the US-189 at Deer Creek Dam mesonet site.

A fairly long duration two part winter storm moved through Utah in mid January. This winter storm resulted in several days of fairly substantial mountain snow, with more modest accumulations noted in some of the lower elevation valleys. Mountain snow was more or less a continuous feature with minimal breaks between the two portions of the system, while most valley accumulations occurred during the colder second half of the system. This system also produced periods of strong sustained winds and gusts, and was responsible for triggering multiple avalanches throughout Utah's mountains.