SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Happy Thursday, Utah! We are in the middle of an atmospheric river event and after valley rain and heavy snow overnight, we get a brief break this morning but active skies ramping back up for the afternoon, evening and overnight.

The bottom line? Our atmospheric river event is underway with rain and snow showers today, and valley snow potential overnight.

Our low-pressure system will continue to drive our weather pattern with lingering moisture and scattered showers throughout the day. It won’t be consistent wet weather for most, so expect periods of precipitation. Also, with the colder air in place, the snow levels may drop down the valley floors. This means we could see times of valley rain as well as valley snow with a chance some of our valleys could see accumulations while times of heavy mountain snow will continue.

Another heavier band of snow develops late tonight into Friday morning for the Wasatch Front, and with our northwest flow there’s potential for lake enhancement for parts of Salt Lake, Davis and Tooele Counties. 

By Friday the low pressure moves away, however, more energy arriving from the northwest could mean that northern Utah continues to see the chance for showers through early on Friday while southern Utah looks dry. There could be commute impacts early Friday, especially with mountain routes compromised.

On Thursday and Friday, we’ll be looking at temperatures once again being roughly 10-15 degrees below average with mainly 30s and 40s for daytime highs for most across the state. It will once again feel more wintery as opposed to spring! By Friday afternoon, wet weather will begin to wind down as high pressure starts to build in. 

Due to the expected snow in the mountains, winter alerts are in effect. The northern mountains, central mountains and southern mountains are included in a Winter Weather Advisory that will carry through Thursday evening for the southern mountains while the watch for the northern mountains will continue through Friday evening.

During this time, 12-24 inches will be possible during the duration of the watch in northern Utah with locally higher amounts being possible while the southern mountains could see between 8-16 inches. When it comes to accumulations overall, valleys could receive anywhere from a trace-4 inches, benches and typically colder valleys like Cache Valley could see between 2-5 inches, mountain valleys could see between 6-12 inches, and most mountains will likely land between 8-16 inches, and the Cottonwoods will likely pick up between 12-24 inches.

On Saturday, we’ll get sunshine across the state as temperatures rebound to within shouting distance of seasonal norms. The first half of Sunday won’t bring many changes compared to Saturday, but from Sunday afternoon into early next week another potent storm looks poised to move in. Soggy conditions appear to get a grip on the Great Basin early next week and that could mean additional valley rain and mountain snow targeting Utah. Stay tuned! 

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