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SALT LAKE CITY — This week's snowstorm is officially Salt Lake City's largest snow event in nearly two years.
The National Weather Service reports that 12.2 inches of snow have fallen at the city's official station since Sunday. It's the most snow from a single storm since 11.7 inches fell on Feb. 17, 2021.
The snow even seemed to be neverending by the end. The monitor at the airport, which records readings every five minutes, reported snow showers at the airport for 33½ hours straight, ending by 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. A weather service model on Saturday gave Salt Lake City a 42% probability of receiving 8 inches of snow or more between Sunday and Tuesday, with not much expected Wednesday.
All of the weather service's winter weather advisories in Utah for Wednesday have now expired, though more snow is in the forecast overnight into Thursday morning.
The storm system, which began on Sunday, exceeded many expectations beyond just Salt Lake City. For example, the National Weather Service's Alta-Collins station received 4 feet of snow since the snow began. Alta also led Utah's resorts with 16 inches of snow over the past 24 hours, as of Wednesday morning.
Brighton, Powder Mountain, Park City Mountain, Snowbasin, Snowbird and Solitude resorts have also received at least 24 to 38 inches of snow this week.
A lot of us now in the 30 and up club. #GreatestSnowOnEarth#utwx ❄️📏 pic.twitter.com/JdyLHd6ayz
— Matthew Johnson (@KSL_Matt) December 14, 2022
Utah's snowpack is now listed at 154% of normal for this point in the snow collection season, according to Natural Resources Conservation Service data accessed Wednesday afternoon, packing on nearly an inch of water statewide since Sunday. Utah has now received 37% of its annual snowpack average, and there are 111 days left to bank water by the peak of the season in early April.
The Wasatch Back, which was listed in a storm warning, also received plenty of snow. Liberty, located near Eden in Weber County, reached over 17 inches of snow by Tuesday morning. A station at the Bountiful bench received close to 16 inches of snow by Wednesday morning.
Since the storm began Sunday, Millcreek's Olympus Cove neighborhood received just shy of a foot of snow, according to a report updated at 4 p.m. Tuesday. Sandy has also received about a foot of snow by Wednesday, while Logan and Brigham City each received 9 inches of snow.
Of course, the snow also created some traffic headaches. The Utah Highway Patrol says troopers responded to over 100 crashes on snowy slick roads caused by Utah's latest winter storm Tuesday and Wednesday. That includes a two-vehicle crash on southbound I-15 in Woods Cross that blocked the HOV lane at around 6 a.m.
Some school times were also delayed this week.
One last wave
And the snow isn't quite over yet. The National Weather Service issued another winter weather advisory for another round of snow that is expected to arrive in Utah from the northwest Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
The system has the potential to deliver another 1 to 4 inches of snow along the Wasatch Front and into Cache Valley, while some locations in central and southern Utah may receive an inch or two, according to KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson. As for the mountains, another 5 to 10 inches is possible in some places, like Alta.
"It could be another messy commute (Thursday) morning," he said, adding that the showers will eventually clear out as the day continues.
Even colder temperatures are also forecast over the next few days, too. Salt Lake City's high temperature is expected to drop from the low 30s to the mid-to-upper 20s by this weekend, including overnight lows in the teens. Overnight temperatures are projected to fall into single digits in areas like Logan and Park City, too.
As for communities in Utah's southern end, St. George's high temperatures will remain in the low-to-upper 40s through the rest of the week, according to the weather service forecast. That includes overnight lows in the 20s. Moab's highs could fall close to the freezing point throughout the rest of the week along with overnight lows in the teens.
Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center.
Contributing: Bridger Beal-Cvetko
