After a mostly quiet weather weekend, active pattern returning to the state this week

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Happy Sunday, Utah! It’s a calm start to the day with increasing moisture throughout the afternoon and evening.

A large trough of low pressure is working its way into the Beehive State late tonight through Monday and will bring healthy valley rain and mountain snow totals. Southwest flow will increase today as the storm approaches and blustery winds are expected along the western half of the state. Winter weather alerts have already been issued for the mountain regions as well as the storm should bring a foot or two of new snow to the higher elevations through early Tuesday. Temperatures will be warmer today under southwest flow with near seasonal highs expected for most regions.

The first wave of showers will arrive through the latter half of Sunday with the next wave moving in along the cold front Monday afternoon. Scattered rain and snow showers will be possible in between those time frames with most valleys expecting 0.25-.5″ of rain. Isolate thunderstorms will be possible Monday afternoon as the cold front sweeps through as well. The mountains are forecast to receive 12-24″ with locally higher amounts possible. Temperatures will drop from the mid-50s on Sunday into the 40s for the rest of the week.

More active weather is lined up for the rest of the week with another system pushing in Tuesday afternoon with continued impacts through Friday. Snow levels will fluctuate throughout the week with the majority of snowfall occurring above the valley floors. The heaviest precipitation is expected sometime late Tuesday night into Wednesday with possible rain on snow at elevations near 7,000 feet. This could, once again, cause flooding concern like we saw last week. Make preparations now if you live in areas that may see impacts by excessive rainfall or snowmelt. This system will likely bring another round of significant mountain snowfall to higher mountain ranges of Utah as well. Long range forecasts show that throughout the course of week, with the combination of both storms, some of the ski resorts could have another 4-5 feet of snow! Impeccable amounts of snow on top of an already record-setting snow year.