Heavy Snow in Utah, December 14 to 15, 2001

Name: Heavy Snow in Utah, December 14 to 15, 2001
Start: 2001-12-14T11:00
End: 2001-12-15T18:00
Location: Utah

December 14 to 15, 2001 · NWS SLC · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Another strong storm brought heavy snow to Northern Utah. Most mountain locations picked up 10-20 inches of fresh powder, while the valleys and benches along the Wasatch Front received 5-10 inches.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS SLC wrote it up.

Another strong storm brought heavy snow to Northern Utah. Most mountain locations picked up 10-20 inches of fresh powder, while the valleys and benches along the Wasatch Front received 5-10 inches.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Salt Lake City, UT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 14, 9:50 AM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 14, 9:50 AM MST, 1 hour 10 minutes before

UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
950 AM MST FRI DEC 14 2001

.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG WINTER STORM WILL MOVE ACROSS THE AREA
TODAY...EXIT ON SATURDAY.  HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN FOR SUNDAY INTO
MONDAY.

.DISCUSSION...TROUGH MOVING THROUGH THE GREAT BASIN THIS MORNING.
LOOKS AS THOUGH FROM SATELLITE IMAGES THAT THE STORM HAS SPLIT
CONSIDERABLY.  GOOD AREA OF WARM ADVECTION PRECIP OVERNIGHT INTO THIS
MORNING. AREAS PRONE TO GET SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF PRECIP IN
SOUTHWEST FLOW ALOFT HAVE DONE WELL DURING THIS PERIOD. 12Z MODELS
SEEM SIMILAR IN NATURE FOR THIS AFTERNOON.  THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN
EARLIER MODEL RUNS IS THAT THE FRONT IS A LITTLE SLOWER AND AIR MASS
NOT AS COLD.  THE 700MB TROUGH IS A LITTLE LATER AS WELL...SO THINK
THE AMOUNTS WILL BE AT THE LOWER END OF WHAT IS IN THE CURRENT
FORECAST FOR AREAS FAVORED BY NORTHWEST FLOW.  OROGRAPHIC COMPONENT
SIGNIFICANT ENOUGH TO ENHANCE PRECIPITATION AMOUNTS TODAY AND
TONIGHT.

TONIGHT...THE FRONT WILL PUSH THROUGH MUCH OF THE STATE AS THE UPPER
LEVEL TROUGH MOVES THROUGH UTAH.  HIGH PRESSURE BUILDS IN QUICKLY
OVER THE FORECAST AREA SATURDAY.  UPPER LEVELS WARM QUICKLY AS
WELL...EFFECTIVELY STABILIZING THE AIR MASS.

FOR NOW...WILL LOWER AMOUNTS IN SOME ZONES AND WILL ADJUST SOME WIND
SPEEDS AND TIMING FOR TODAYS FRONT.

SLC 998  CDC 684  NELSON

.SLC...SNOW ADVISORIES AND HEAVY SNOW WARNINGS IN EFFECT THROUGHOUT
THE AREA TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING. SEE THE SLCWSWSLC FOR
DETAILS.

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, C W Box Elder/C W Xe Toole/X W Salt Lake/X Nw Utah

When: December 14, 11:00 AM MST to December 15, 6:00 PM MST
Where: C W Box Elder/C W Xe Toole/X W Salt Lake/X Nw Utah forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis

When: December 14, 11:00 AM MST to December 15, 6:00 PM MST
Where: Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, P Nc Weber/P C Morgan/P W C Summit/P Sc Wasatch

When: December 14, 11:00 AM MST to December 15, 6:00 PM MST
Where: P Nc Weber/P C Morgan/P W C Summit/P Sc Wasatch forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, Rich/Cache T Nw/P E C Weber/Most of Morgan/Nw Summit/Ne Salt Lake/X Ne Box Elder

When: December 14, 11:00 AM MST to December 15, 6:00 PM MST
Where: Rich/Cache T Nw/P E C Weber/Most of Morgan/Nw Summit/Ne Salt Lake/X Ne Box Elder forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E

When: December 14, 11:00 AM MST to December 15, 6:00 PM MST
Where: W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Heavy Snow, W Summit T Nw/Se Salt Lake/Wasatch X Sc/E Utah/P X E Juab/X Nw San Pete

When: December 14, 11:00 AM MST to December 15, 6:00 PM MST
Where: W Summit T Nw/Se Salt Lake/Wasatch X Sc/E Utah/P X E Juab/X Nw San Pete forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Utah in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, December 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5275596, 5275658, 5275659, 5275660, 5275661, 5275662.