Winter Storm — Western Uinta Mountains, Utah

2024-03-01 to 2024-03-03 · Western Uinta Mountains, Utah

Event narrative

Several SNOTEL stations including Lakefork #1, Buck Pasture, and Trial Lake recorded roughly 0.9 to 1.5 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 12 to 21 inches of snow. Strong winds and wind gusts were also observed at various mesonet sites in the zone through the event. Some observations included a peak wind gust of 92 mph at the Trial Lake mesonet site 3/2 at 10:40 am MST and a wind gust of 80 mph at the Windy Peak mesonet site 3/1 at 10:45 pm MST.

Wider weather episode

A strong system approached the region for the start of March, with very anomalously strong low level flow noted ahead of a cold frontal boundary. This strong low level flow resulted in a prolonged period of strong sustained and gusty winds across almost the entirety of Utah. As the cold front moved into northern Utah, some areas experienced convective precipitation and associated strong wind gusts. Winds began to subside following the passage of the cold front, but the colder air allowed for precipitation to transition to snow, yielding accumulating snow across much of the area. Mountain locations which remained sufficiently cold throughout the event received fairly substantial snow accumulations in addition to the prolonged strong winds.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1158218. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.