Warning, advisories issued as another wintry storm arrives in Utah

SALT LAKE CITY — The storms keep coming.

And as always, drivers should be cautious in the wet, slick conditions.

High amounts of car crashes follow high precipitation, especially when drivers don't slow down and give space to emergency vehicles. Morgan County witnessed multiple car crashes Monday evening, causing major delays and closing westbound Interstate 84 near Peterson.

The National Weather Service issued a winter storm warning for parts of the Wasatch and West Uintas mountains, where 10 to 20 inches or more of snow are forecast between Monday and Wednesday. The warning, issued Monday afternoon, comes after the agency previously issued a winter weather advisory for the area.

Other mountain areas in the state remain listed under winter weather advisories, where 6 to 12 inches of snow or more are forecast through Wednesday. The storm also has the potential to produce some snow in valley areas, especially in northern Utah.

It follows another large storm last week, which produced as much as 17 inches of snow at Brighton Resort, including 1.1 inches of water. It helped bolster the statewide snowpack, which stands at 10.8 inches of water entering this week. That level is 166% of normal for this point in the snow collection season, per Natural Resources Conservation Service data.

"But we can't just turn off the spigot now. We've got to keep it going through mid-winter and early — even middle of — spring if we want to make a dent (in the drought), if we want to make some improvement and refill our reservoirs," said KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson.

Another storm arrives in Utah

The incoming storm is moving in from the Pacific Coast, much like others in the past few weeks. It's expected to provide a mixture of valley rain and mountain snow beginning Monday afternoon, especially in northern Utah. Those showers will continue into the evening, expanding into most parts of the state by Monday night, Johnson said.

There are, however, some small breaks in the clouds, meaning some areas could be "skipped out" of the storms Monday, he said. The precipitation is expected to linger into Tuesday morning, which may result in a wet Tuesday morning commute.

The first wave is expected to clear out by midday Tuesday before another round of rain and snow arrives early Tuesday evening into Wednesday.

Some snow also started to fall in the valley areas earlier than anticipated, meaning that accumulations in the valleys may vary based on the elevation where precipitation turns to snow. The National Weather Service posted a photo of snow surrounding I-80 near Wendover on Twitter, writing that snow is falling "at lower elevations than previously forecasted in northern Utah valleys."

However, most of the snow is still expected to fall in the mountains. The storm warning and winter weather advisories remain in effect through 5 p.m. Wednesday because of the length of the storm system. Here's how it will impact the state:

• Ten to 20 inches of snow are forecast in Central Wasatch and West Uintas mountains.
• Parts of the Upper Cottonwood Canyons may receive higher snow totals. The weather service lists places like Alta and Brighton as having a stronger likelihood of 2 feet of snow, or more.
• Six to 12 inches of snow are forecast in the Wasatch Mountains north of I-80, as well as the central and southern mountain ranges. The Ben Lomond, Brian Head and Tony Grove areas may receive more than 12 inches of snow.
• Four to 6 inches of snow are forecast in higher-elevation portions of the western Uinta Basin, while 1 to 3 inches is possible for lower-elevation areas in the basin.
• Three to 7 inches of snow are forecast for most parts of the Bear River Valley and Wasatch Back. Higher accumulations are projected closer to Park City, which is forecast to receive 10 to 15 inches of snow.
• One to 4 inches of snow are forecast for the Cache Valley and Castle Country areas.

Freezing rain is possible at times Monday night in the Ogden Valley and Morgan areas, one advisory adds.

Johnson said snow is more probable along the Wasatch Front with the second wave of the storm system. A weather service model posted Monday morning lists a trace to an inch of snow likely for parts of the region.

"Our best chance to see valley snow, which won't be a lot, will be Wednesday morning," he said. "This is a three-day event. And if you put the totals together, it may (produce) a quarter to three-quarters of an inch (of precipitation). Some (models) say more, some say less."

Travel impacts

Westbound I-84 was closed after a semitruck jackknifed, blocking the road and leading to a crash with three semitrucks, according to the Utah Highway Patrol.

Sgt. Cameron Roden said the road was blocked by the crash for about an hour and traffic was stopped for a time to clean a fuel spill.

Two emergency vehicles were responding to that wreck when another ambulance was dispatched to the scene. That ambulance was rear-ended in another accident involving four vehicles just a few miles away, Morgan County fire officials said.

One semitruck driver from the first crash and one patient in the rear-end accident were transported to the hospital. After one emergency vehicle left, another rollover occurred right in front of the crash scene, Morgan County fire officials said.

"South Weber medics and Mountain Green first responders both assisted and luckily the driver was unharmed," Morgan fire officials said.

Morgan fire officials reminded everyone to slow down in inclement weather, move to the farthest opposite lane for emergency vehicles operating with flashing lights on, and to not follow emergency vehicles too closely.

"All of us want to go home too. Thank you," Morgan fire officials said in a Facebook post.

The weather alerts state there will be two periods of "heavier snowfall" in the mountains over the three-day event. Those are Monday night, especially in northern Utah, and Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.

The Utah Department of Transportation issued a weather alert ahead of the first wave, noting that the storm will "bring some road impacts" Monday into Tuesday.

"Rain and high-elevation snow will move into the state from west to east through Monday afternoon. High mountain passes and summits are likely to begin to see accumulating snow before or during the Monday evening commute," the alert states. "Mountain snow will carry on through the night, eventually tapering off through Tuesday morning. For most of the state, rain/snow levels will be comfortably above valley floors."

These routes are most likely to be impacted by the first wave:

• I-15: Areas north of Plymouth, Box Elder County
• I-70: Clear Creek Summit, Salina Summit through Devils Canyon
• I-80: Parleys Canyon to the Utah-Wyoming border
• I-84: Howell, Box Elder County, to Utah-Idaho border, Mountain Green to Utah-Wyoming border
• U.S. 6: Spanish Fork through Price
• U.S. 40: Entire route
• U.S. 89: Mt. Pleasant through U.S. 6 junction
• US-191: Utah-Wyoming border through the Uinta Basin; Indian Canyon to U.S. 6 junction
• American Fork Canyon
• Big Cottonwood Canyon
• Little Cottonwood Canyon
• Provo Canyon
• State Route 31

UDOT adds that roads will begin to be impacted again Tuesday evening into Wednesday.

The rest of the workweek is forecast to be dry, though another storm system is currently projected to roll in by Sunday, Johnson said. Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center.

Related topics