Winter Storm — Wasatch Mountains I-80 North, Utah

2024-03-14 to 2024-03-15 · Wasatch Mountains I-80 North, Utah

Event narrative

A system moving through resulted in a combination of strong wind and modest snow accumulations for a period of time. For snow totals, several SNOTEL stations including Powder Mountain, Lightning Ridge, and Parrish Creek recorded roughly 0.5 to 1.6 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 7 to 20 inches of snow. LOGAN PEAK and SNOWBASIN - STRAW TOP mesonet sites also recorded several wind gusts in excess of 75 mph, with LOGAN PEAK observing a peak wind gust of 85 mph 3/14 at 11:00 am MST and at 1:00 pm MST.

Wider weather episode

An initially modest cool season system and associated cold front brought precipitation to areas of Utah. For this period of the event, Utah's central mountains received slightly more notable snow, with limited impacts elsewhere through the state. This system then evolved into a cutoff low, which more or less meandered around the California/Arizona/Utah border region before eventually becoming reabsorbed into the greater flow several days later. Due to this, several prone locations in northern Utah valleys saw somewhat persistent strong easterly downslope winds, while areas in southern Utah (both low elevations and mountains) saw periods of impactful snow.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1164804. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.