SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – After a windy and mild Wednesday, a cold front is moving through the state bringing wet weather and substantially cooler temperatures.
A soggy morning commute will allow for accumulating snow for the mountains and rain for the valleys, particularly in the northern portions of the state. Snow levels may fall as low as the benches at 5,000 feet, with those above 6,000 feet seeing the most potential for accumulation.
This system has prompted the National Weather Service to issue a Winter Weather Advisory for the Wasatch mountain range and Western Uintas, followed by a freeze watch for Cache Valley, the Wasatch Front and Tooele County.
The winter weather advisory will impact the Wasatch mountains and Western Uinta Mountains, including Mantua, Logan Summit, Alta, Brighton, Mirror Lake Highway, and Moon Lake.
The advisory goes into effect Wednesday at midnight and lasts through 4 p.m. Thursday. Snow accumulations may total 3-10 inches with locally higher amounts, especially in the Upper Cottonwoods, where anywhere from 6-12 inches is expected.
Winter driving conditions are expected, with the trickiest travel expected for the Cottonwood Canyons and high-elevation routes such as Monte Cristo and Mirror Lake Highway.
The cold front will bring this precipitation and then clear the area, but cold air with a NW flow lingers. Some of the coldest air of the season is ahead, and as a result, a freeze watch goes into effect late Thursday night and will last until Friday morning.
The watch area includes Tooele and Rush Valleys, Easter Box Elder County, the Northern Wasatch Front, and the Salt Lake and Utah Valleys. Early Friday morning temperatures are expected to dip as low as the mid to upper 20s, posing a risk to sensitive vegetation. Exposed pipes and sprinkler systems could burst if left unprotected.
We will continue to closely monitor the situation and keep you updated, so tuned in with your 4Warn Weather team. We are Good4Utah!
