Utah, 2001

Winter Storm in Utah, December 14 to 15, 2001

December 14 to 15, 2001 · NWS GJT · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A strong storm system produced 6 to 9 inches of snow in the mountains and 3 to 5 inches in the eastern Uinta Basin. Winds of 20 to 30 MPH occurred mainly at higher elevations and resulted in areas of blowing and drifting snow.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
4

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 GJT wrote it up.

A strong storm system produced 6 to 9 inches of snow in the mountains and 3 to 5 inches in the eastern Uinta Basin. Winds of 20 to 30 MPH occurred mainly at higher elevations and resulted in areas of blowing and drifting snow.

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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 14, 3:35 AM MST, 2 hours 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 14, 3:35 AM MST, 2 hours 25 minutes before
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
335 AM MST FRI DEC 14 2001

CORRECTED TIMING FOR WATCH

COMPLEX WEATHER PATTERN WILL AFFECT CWA THROUGH SATURDAY. AS THE
TROF MOVES INTO THE GREAT BASIN TODAY...WINDY SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL
DEVELOP OVER THE CWA. SNOW WILL DEVELOP FIRST OVER NORTHERN MOUNTAINS
OF EASTERN UTAH BY THIS AFTERNOON AND SPREAD EAST BY THIS EVENING.
HAVE GONE WITH NEW MESO-ETA AND RAMS SOLUTIONS WHICH ARE SLIGHTLY
SLOWER THAN 00Z ETA AND AVN. STRONG DIV-Q ASSOCIATED WITH A
SECOND WAVE WILL AFFECT THE ENTIRE CWA TONIGHT. AS THE TROF PASSES
LATE TONIGHT FLOW WILL TURN TO THE WEST AND BECOME NORTHWEST AND
WEAKEN SLIGHTLY BY SATURDAY. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE ALSO EXPECTED
OVER THE LOWER ELEVATIONS OF CWA TONIGHT AND SATURDAY MORNING BUT
WILL HOLD OFF ANY HIGHLIGHTS FOR THE THOSE AREAS. MOIST...UNSTABLE
NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE SNOW OVER THE MOUNTAINS ON SATURDAY WITH
HIGHER AMOUNTS OVER OROGRAPHICALLY FAVORED LOCATIONS. WILL GO WITH A
CHANCE OF SNOW OVER LOWER ELEVATIONS. AS FOR HIGHLIGHTS...HAVE PUSHED
BACK WINTER STORM WATCH FOR COLORADO ZONES 4...9...13 AND 18 FOR
TONIGHT AND SATURDAY...AND HAVE ADDED WINTER STORM WATCH FOR TONIGHT
AND SATURDAY FOR COLORADO ZONES 12 AND 19. HAVE ADDED SNOW AND
BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN UTAH MOUNTAIN ZONES LATE THIS
AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY.

EXTENDED (SUN-THU)...MOIST NORTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE CHANCE OF
SNOW SHOWERS ACROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS ON SUNDAY...
OTHERWISE PARTLY CLOUDY ELSEWHERE. RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE WILL
DOMINATE THE WEATHER THROUGH MID WEEK WITH MAINLY DRY AND COLD
CONDITIONS. A WEAK DISTURBANCES WILL BRUSH NORTHERN PORTIONS OF CWA
LATE TUESDAY. THEREFORE NO MAJOR CHANGES FOR THE EXTENDED.

MPM/JAD

.GJT...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY FOR LATE THIS AFTERNOON
       THROUGH SATURDAY UT ZONES 23 AND 25.
       WINTER STORM WATCH TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY
       CO ZONES 04 12 13 18 19.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Eastern Uinta Mountains

When
December 14, 6:00 AM MST to December 15, 11:00 PM MST
Where
Eastern Uinta Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.506, -109.513 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Eastern Uinta Basin

When
December 14, 6:00 AM MST to December 15, 11:00 PM MST
Where
Eastern Uinta Basin forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.125, -109.518 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, La Sal & Abajo Mountains

When
December 14, 6:00 AM MST to December 15, 11:00 PM MST
Where
La Sal & Abajo Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
38.304, -109.687 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Tavaputs Plateau

When
December 14, 6:00 AM MST to December 15, 11:00 PM MST
Where
Tavaputs Plateau forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.554, -109.544 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm
A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Utah in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings 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: 5276112, 5276113, 5276114, 5276115.