UTAH (ABC4) – As most Utahns know, we have been in a bad spot weather-wise with the lack of precipitation we have been experiencing. But a late-season spring storm is shaping up to bring some much-needed wet weather to Utah and the rest of the Great Basin to start off the work week.

The system is coming in from the Pacific Northwest, where the colder air will help produce some mountain snow while the rest of the precipitation is expected to be rain for the valleys.

Due to this winterlike storm system the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City and Elko have issued winter weather advisories for late Sunday into Monday as this storm moves from inland creating issues for the higher elevations.

Roads will get a little messy for certain mountain passes despite the warm road temperatures, meaning slushy conditions are expected for Monday’s morning commute.

Most valleys will not see snow except for some heavy bands, as the snow level for tomorrow will be at 5,500 feet. Benches can end up seeing some snow mixing in with the rain as temperatures cool down but areas that expect to see the best snow accumulations will be above 7,000 feet.

Timing of this precipitation looks to be towards Monday morning as we continue to see the low pressure system move into the Salt Lake area. This could be very problematic for those needing to make the morning commute over parts of the Wasatch Front and other higher elevation areas.

As the day progresses wet weather continues to move in and bring some affecting most of the Beehive State with valley rain and mountain snow. During the afternoon hours, we could possibly hear some rumbles of thunder as some cells may have convective properties that can produce some lightning and higher rainfall rates.

This would be good as it would help squeeze out the moisture from the atmosphere and help bring it down to the surface. These stronger showers and storms can be expected around the evening time and possibly slow down your commute home. The precipitation will continue on through the rest of the evening as wrap-around rain and snow begins to develop over Nevada once again. This becomes the setup that brings us the possibility of showers for Tuesday as the storm system exits our area to the east.

Rainfall amounts of over half an inch in Salt Lake City are expected with other areas also seeing some measurable precipitation through Monday. If this amount of rain does happen to accumulate for Salt Lake City it should put us near our normal amount of precipitation that we receive for the month of April, which would help put a big dent into our drought conditions.

Snowfall amounts look to be more concentrated to the Cottonwoods, Wasatch Back, and the Uintas. The Little Cottonwoods look to be the benefactor of this system with models showing the best accumulations there. Locally we could even see higher amounts depending on wind flow and snowfall rates allowing for cooler air to settle in and allow for better accumulation.


All in all, this system has the potential to really help us with our drought if it is able to dump its moisture over us. The ingredients are there, and we can do need this moisture to help us out especially during the driest months of the year.

While it may not be a drought buster anything to help us get back close to normal is always welcomed! And if you want to know more on what to expect after this system leaves, watch Utah’s most accurate forecast right here.