Utah, 2001

Heavy Snow in Utah, March 16, 2001

March 16, 2001 · NWS SLC · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A quick blast of Wintery weather hit Western Utah, depositing a fresh blanket of snow. The northern mountains picked up 8-12 inches, with 4-8 inches common over the western valleys and along the Wasatch benches.

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.

A quick blast of Wintery weather hit Western Utah, depositing a fresh blanket of snow. The northern mountains picked up 8-12 inches, with 4-8 inches common over the western valleys and along the Wasatch benches.

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 Mar 15, 8:31 PM MST, 4 hours 29 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 15, 8:31 PM MST, 4 hours 29 minutes before
UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
831 PM MST THU MAR 15 2001

SYNOPSIS...A STRONG PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO NORTHWEST
UTAH LATE TONIGHT AND THROUGH THE STATE FRIDAY.

DISCUSSION...SURFACE THERMAL TROUGH IN NORTHEAST NEVADA WILL MOVE
INTO NORTHWEST UTAH SHORTLY. UPPER LEVEL FRONT ALSO OVER EASTERN
NEVADA SPREADING VIRGA INTO NORTHWEST UTAH. LIGHT SNOW WILL BEGIN IN
THE MOUNTAINS FOLLOWING UPPER LEVEL FRONT PASSAGE AROUND MIDNIGHT.
SURFACE FRONT AND LEADING EDGE OF MARITIME POLAR AIRMASS FROM ABOUT
BOISE TO ALTURAS IN NORTHEAST CALIFORNIA AT 03Z. HEAVIER
PRECIPITATION FOR UTAH WILL OCCUR WITH AND BEHIND THE SURFACE FRONT
WHICH WILL ARRIVE EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. NEED TO SPEED UP TIMING OF
HEAVIER SNOWFALL SLIGHTLY IN THE CURRENT HEAVY SNOW WARNING. WILL
INDICATE THE HEAVIER SNOW DEVELOPING EARLY FRIDAY AND RE-ISSUE THE
WSW AT 900 PM. ZONES LOOK GOOD AND NO UPDATES PLANNED THERE.

SLC 4862 CDC 2641 GIBSON

.SLC...HEAVY SNOW WARNINGS FRI/FRI NGT ZONES 2/3/7/8/9/10/ID25
       SNOW ADVISORY FRI/FRI NGT ZONES 1/4/6/14/15/16/17/18/ID24/WY21

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

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

When
March 16, 1:00 AM MST to 3:00 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
March 16, 1:00 AM MST to 3:00 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
March 16, 1:00 AM MST to 3:00 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
March 16, 1:00 AM MST to 3:00 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
March 16, 1:00 AM MST to 3:00 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

Heavy Snow, X Nw Kane/Xs Xe Iron/N W Washington/Nw Wc Garfield/Piute/W Wayne/Sevier T C/X E Millard/S Sanpete T Sc/X Se Juab/P X Nw Emery/X E Beaver

When
March 16, 1:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where
X Nw Kane/Xs Xe Iron/N W Washington/Nw Wc Garfield/Piute/W Wayne/Sevier T C/X E Millard/S Sanpete T Sc/X Se Juab/P X Nw Emery/X E Beaver 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

More

Every storm in Utah in 2001Every state in 2001This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, March 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: 5275197, 5275198, 5275199, 5275200, 5275201, 5275202.