Winter Storm in Utah, December 16 to 18, 2002

UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
330 AM MST MON DEC 16 2002

.SYNOPSIS...A PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL MOVE INTO UTAH MONDAY EVENING.
A MUCH COLDER AND UNSETTLED WEATHER PATTERN WILL DEVELOP BY
TUESDAY...LASTING THROUGH MIDWEEK.

.DISCUSSION...SURFACE LOW MOVING ONSHORE IN OREGON. SURFACE HIGH
PRESSURE HAS SETTLED INTO EASTERN UTAH. STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP
THIS AFTERNOON ESPECIALLY WESTERN VALLEYS. WILL ISSUE A WIND
ADVISORY FOR THE WEST DESERTS AND SOUTHWEST VALLEYS AND TOOELE
VALLEY. COLD FRONT MOVES IN TONIGHT. 700 FLOW GOES FROM SOUTHWEST TO
WEST WITH THE FRONT BUT PRESSURE GRADIENT REMAINS SOUTHWESTERLY.
RESULT IS ILL DEFINED SURFACE FRONT. THIS AND LACK OF NORTHWEST FLOW
WILL LIMIT PRECIPITATION TOTALS FOR THE I-15 CORRIDOR THROUGH
TONIGHT. FOR THE MOUNTAINS EXPECTING GENERALLY ADVISORY AMOUNTS OF
SNOW LATE AFTERNOON THROUGH TONIGHT...SO WILL HOLD OFF ON ANY
HIGHLIGHTS FOR TODAY. LOCAL HEAVIER AMOUNTS MAY OCCUR TONIGHT IN
AREAS FAVORED BY SOUTHWEST FLOW. JET STAYS OVER ARIZONA THE NEXT FEW
DAYS AS COLD TROUGH WORKS THROUGH THE AREA. POTENTIAL FOR HEAVIER
BANDS OF PRECIPITATION OVER SOUTHERN UTAH CLOSER THE JET TUESDAY AND
WEDNESDAY.  ALSO POTENTIAL FOR HEAVY SNOW MIDWEEK FOR NORTHERN UTAH
AS COLD AND UNSTABLE NORTHWEST FLOW DEVELOPS. BRIEF BREAK THURSDAY
THEN ALL AVAILABLE MODELS SUGGEST NEXT TROUGH MOVES OVER THE GREAT
BASIN BY FRIDAY. ADJUSTING EXTENDED FORECAST TO PUT WEATHER BACK IN
FOR FRIDAY...LASTING THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

VERY ACTIVE PATTERN HAS RETURNED.

SLC 156 CDC 156  GIBSON

.SLC...WIND ADVISORY THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING WESTERN VALLEYS
       EXCEPT UTAH NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN WASATCH FRONT.
    ...SPS SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT ENTIRE AREA THROUGH NOON.

IDZ024-025-UTZ001>021-WYZ021-171300-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
600 AM MST MON DEC 16 2002

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN TWO-THIRDS OF
UTAH...EXTREME SOUTHEAST IDAHO AND EXTREME SOUTHWEST WYOMING

.DAY ONE... TODAY

A STRONG PACIFIC COLD FRONT WILL APPROACH WESTERN UTAH THIS
AFTERNOON. SOUTH WINDS WILL INCREASE TO WIND ADVISORY LEVELS BY
EARLY AFTERNOON IN THE WEST DESERTS AND TOOELE VALLEY. SEE SLCNPWSLC
FOR DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY

MUCH COLDER WEATHER WITH AREAS OF SNOW WILL OCCUR OVER ALL BUT
EXTREME SOUTHERN UTAH THIS WEEK. SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATION IS
LIKELY IN ALL MOUNTAIN AREAS AND ALONG THE I-15 CORRIDOR FROM CEDAR
CITY NORTH.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER
CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURE.

WCJIN-WYSW

IDZ024-025-UTZ001>021-WYZ021-161900-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
515 AM MST MON DEC 16 2002

...PACIFIC STORM TO ARRIVE IN UTAH THIS AFTERNOON...

THE NEXT PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM...CURRENTLY MOVING ONSHORE IN
CALIFORNIA...WILL BEGIN TO AFFECT UTAH AND SURROUNDING AREAS THIS
AFTERNOON. STRONG SOUTHERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP BY EARLY AFTERNOON
OVER THE WESTERN VALLEYS AND MOUNTAINS. RAIN SHOWERS WILL SPREAD
INTO THE FAR WESTERN PORTIONS BY THIS AFTERNOON...FOLLOWED BY RAIN
CHANGING TO SNOW OVER MOST SECTIONS OF THE STATE TONIGHT.

SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALLS ARE EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS OF UTAH MONDAY
NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY.  NORTHERN AND WESTERN VALLEY LOCATIONS WILL
ALSO SEE ACCUMULATING SNOWS...WITH SEVERAL INCHES POSSIBLE IN AREAS
NEAR THE MOUNTAINS.  SNOW SHOWERS WILL LIKELY CONTINUE INTO TUESDAY
NIGHT AND WEDNESDAY...THEN DISSIPATE BY EARLY THURSDAY.

STAY TUNED TO YOUR FAVORITE LOCAL MEDIA OUTLET...NOAA WEATHER
RADIO...OR A FAVORITE WEB SITE FOR UPDATES ON THESE APPROACHING
WINTER STORM.