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SALT LAKE CITY — Snow has fallen across the Wasatch Front and closed roads leading up to Little Cottonwood Canyon at the mouth, according to Unified police.
A winter weather advisory will be active from 5 p.m. on Saturday to 10 a.m. Sunday for the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys. Salt Lake City, Tooele, Lehi, Provo and Nephi are all included in the advisory.
A separate advisory will also be active during that time for the Wasatch Mountains north of I-80, including Woodruff, Randolph, Alta, Brighton, Mirror Lake Highway and Scofield.
UDOT Avalanche tweeted the Little Cottonwood Canyon Full North Side will be closed from 8 p.m. Saturday until 8 a.m.
State Route 210 will be closed to uphill traffick for avalanche control work until 8 a.m. Downhill traffic will stay open "as long as possible."
Backcountry Closure, LCC Full North Side, 8:00 PM to 8:00 AM 01/12 Gate B to Grizzly https://t.co/ESDTyT3FGcpic.twitter.com/BjO5vvecBS
— UDOT Avalanche (@UDOTavy) January 12, 2020
UPD officially closed roads leading to the canyon at 3 p.m. Saturday. Downhill lanes were reopened two hours later and uphill traffic opened slightly after.
Through Sunday, 10 to 20 inches of snow are expected to hit the mountains and it's estimated about 5 to 10 inches will fall in mountain valleys, according to National Weather Service Salt Lake City.
#Weather Alert: We have more intermittent snow showers on the way for the #CottonwoodCanyons tomorrow, with at least 6 in. expected during the day. The heavier impacts will come in Saturday PM, so be prepared for a snowy downhill commute from the mountains. https://t.co/3vQKvFcki4
— UDOT Cottonwood Canyons (@UDOTcottonwoods) January 10, 2020
Only 2 to 4 inches are expected to accumulate in the valleys, with higher totals on valley benches.
Starting Saturday evening and continuing into the night, snow will accumulate on most roadways along the Wasatch Front. Drivers can expect slippery roads and should exercise caution, according to the advisory.
UDOT Cottonwood Canyons tweeted Saturday that traffic is moving at 20 mph at the Snowbird entrance. It also tweeted that a vehicle equipped with chains slid off the road in Big Cottonwood Canyon "between the S-turns and Mineral Slab."
#RoadUpdate: The plows are out and no incidents to report, just a whole lot of ❄️❄️ in #BCC#SR190. Thanks for bearing with us @BrightonResort and @SolitudeMTN ⛷🏂 as traffic is continuing to move slowly but surely. pic.twitter.com/T59aVVIiOu
— UDOT Cottonwood Canyons (@UDOTcottonwoods) January 12, 2020
By Sunday, the snow is expected slow and gradually end during the day. However, the next storm will move into Utah on Monday and possibly impact the morning commute, NWS reported.
*Northern Utah to stay active* Two storms will impact northern Utah through Monday. The highest potential for impact is Saturday evening into Saturday night and potentially for the Monday morning commute. #utwxpic.twitter.com/3pgyZegye4
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) January 10, 2020
At least 6 inches of snow is expected to fall in the Cottonwood Canyons, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.
Traffic information is available via the KSL Traffic Center, @ksltraffic on Twitter, or at udottraffic.utah.gov.
The full KSL Weather forecast is available at ksl.com/weather.
Contributing: Jen Riess, KSL.com
