The Winter Olympics blew into town with a fast moving cold front. The storm brought a quick shot of snow to the valleys, with snow and strong winds in the mountains.
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.
The episode as NWS SLC wrote it up.
The Winter Olympics blew into town with a fast moving cold front. The storm brought a quick shot of snow to the valleys, with snow and strong winds in the mountains. The high winds were a problem for Olympic Ski Jumpers, and the event was postponed. Some of the stronger gusts recorded were 71 mph (62 kts) at Deer Valley, 70 mph (61 mph) at Snowbasin, and 62 mph (53 kts) at the University of Utah. Mountain snowfall totals ranged from 4 inches at Snowbasin to 15 inches at Alta. The Wasatch Front valleys picked up 1-2 inches. The snow ended right on cue, with just a few lingering flurries remaining for the opening ceremonies.
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 Feb 8, 6:37 AM MST, 1 hour 23 minutes earlier.
UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
637 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2002
.SYNOPSIS...A FAST MOVING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL CROSS UTAH
TODAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN FOR THE WEEKEND.
.DISCUSSION...UPDATE AT 630...COLD FRONT SOUTH OF DUGWAY THEN
NORTHEAST THROUGH THE TOOELE AND SL VALLEYS THEN NORTHEAST TO NEAR
EVANSTON. FRONT MOVED ACROSS THE LAKE AT 50 KNOTS WITH A BAND OF
MODERATE SNOW AND GUSTY WINDS. EXPECT A BREAK AFTER FRONTAL BAND
THIS MORNING THEN SCATTERED CONVECTIVE SHOWERS WILL FILL IN DURING
THE AFTERNOON ALL OF NORTHERN UTAH EXCEPT THE SALT FLATS. SHOWERS
THEN DECREASING DURING THE EVENING.
SOUTHERN END OF STRONG NORTHERN ROCKIES CYCLONE WILL MOVE ACROSS
NORTHERN UTAH TODAY FOLLOWED BY A COLD NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT OVER THE
ENTIRE STATE THROUGH EARLY SATURDAY. ISSUING A WIND ADVISORY FOR
POST-FRONTAL WINDS TODAY NORTHWEST UTAH DESERTS. ALSO POTENTIAL FOR
NEAR ADVISORY WINDS LATE AFTERNOON AND EVENING FOR UTAH
COUNTY...WESTERN UINTA BASIN AND CASTLE COUNTRY. SNOW WILL BE BRIEF
WITH THE FRONT AND WIND WILL BE THE MAIN STORY TODAY. EXTENDED THE
SNOW AND B/S ADVISORY THROUGH THE WHOLE DAY...AGAIN MAINLY FOR THE
WIND COMPONENT. WINDS ARE INCREASING THIS MORNING ON THE MOUNTAIN
RIDGES...WITH GUSTS TO 70 MPH (110 KM/HOUR) OBSERVED ON THE HIGHER
RIDGES OF THE NORTHERN WASATCH MOUNTAINS. FRONT JUST ENTERING
NORTHWEST UTAH AT 10Z. TIMING CLOSER TO AVN THEN RECENT ETA RUNS.
MM5 MESOSCALE MODEL RUN BY U/U INITIALIZED FROM THE AVN HAS FROPA
12-13Z WHICH LOOKS REASONABLE. ALSO WILL ADD THUNDERSTORMS NORTH OF
I-80.
BY LATE AFTERNOON EVENT WILL BE OVER EXCEPT FOR COLD AND GUSTY
NORTHERLY WINDS. LOCAL STUDY DOES NOT INDICATE WIND HIGHLIGHTS
NEEDED FOR WASHINGTON COUNTY TONIGHT BUT WILL NEED TO MONITOR.
PROBLEM AREA MAY BE SNOW SHOWERS ALONG THE WASATCH FRONT. EVENING
MODEL RUNS HIGHER AMPLITUDE AND SLOWER WITH THE EVOLUTION THROUGH
TONIGHT. STICKING WITH THE AVN A -30 POCKET OF AIR LINGERS AT 500 MB
THROUGH 06Z. THIS SHOULD RESULT IN ACCUMULATING SNOW THROUGH THE
EVENING FOR AREAS FAVORED BY UNSTABLE NORTHWEST FLOW...COTTONWOOD
CANYONS AND WESTERN UINTAS. WILL NEED TO MENTION ISOLATED LINGERING
SNOW SHOWERS FOR SALT LAKE AND PROVO AREA DUE TO THE SLOWER NATURE
OF THE SYSTEM.
AIRMASS WILL STABILIZE EARLY SATURDAY AS THE SYSTEM MOVES TO THE
EAST. COLD THROUGH SATURDAY THEN TEMPERATURES MODERATE RAPIDLY
SUNDAY ABOVE THE VALLEY INVERSIONS.
EXTENDED DISCUSSION...A WEAK AND DRY SYSTEM MOVES PAST UTAH TO THE
NORTH MONDAY WITH MODEST COOLING AT 700 MB. LONGER RANGE MODELS
SUGGEST A SPLIT IN THE JETSTREAM DEVELOPING WELL OFFSHORE BY MID
WEEK. MRF STILL HINTS AT POSSIBLE LIGHT SHOWERS FOR THE NORTHERN
MOUNTAINS WEDNESDAY BUT CONFIDENCE NOT HIGH. THIS WOULD OCCUR UNDER
DEFORMATION AXIS BETWEEN NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN STREAMS.
SLC 620 CDC 110 GIBSON
.SLC...SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY MOST NORTHERN MTNS TODAY
...UTZ007>009/IDZ025.
...WIND ADVISORY TODAY GREAT SALT LAKE DESERT...UTZ005.UTZ002-UTZ003-UTZ004-UTZ006-UTZ007-UTZ008-090100- SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE FORECAST OFFICE SALT LAKE CITY UTAH HAZARDOUS WINTER WEATHER POTENTIAL FOR NORTHERN UTAH 518 AM MST FRI FEB 8 2002 OVERVIEW: CURRENTLY SOUTH WINDS ARE STRONG AND GUSTY OVER THE VALLEYS OF NORTHERN UTAH AHEAD OF A SURFACE FRONT ARRIVING FROM THE NORTH AND WEST. THESE SOUTH WINDS WILL SHIFT TO GUSTY NORTHWESTERLIES 15-25 MPH AT THE FRONTAL PASSAGE AND TEMPERATURES WILL IMMEDIATELY DROP ABOUT 8-10 DEGREES F. FRONTAL PASSAGE IS EXPECTED TO BE ABOUT 6-7 AM IN SALT LAKE CITY. AS THE FRONT PASSES, ABOUT AN INCH OF SNOW IS EXPECTED IN THE VALLEYS AND A FEW INCHES IN THE MOUNTAINS. GUSTY WINDS ALONG AND BEHIND THE FRONT MAY CREATE AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW ON THE HIGHER MOUNTAIN PASSES DURING THE DAY ON FRIDAY. CONDITIONS SHOULD IMPROVE FRIDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING WITH DECREASING WIND AND JUST A FEW REMAINING MOUNTAIN SHOWERS. IN THE MOUNTAINS, A SNOW ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR 3-6 INCHES OF SNOW, WITH UP TO 10 INCHES ON THE HIGHER PEAKS BY THE TIME THE STORM IS OVER ON SATURDAY MORNING. ...OGDEN CANYON/WEBER CANYON/TRAPPERS LOOP... TODAY (6AM-6PM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SNOW DECREASING AFTER 11 AM. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF ABOUT AN INCH OR TWO. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW REDUCING VISIBILITY AT TIMES, ESPECIALLY ON TRAPPERS LOOP. WINDS SLOWLY DECREASING DURING THE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES (F): 8AM NOON 4PM WEBER CANYON PARK AND RIDE 40 33 31 MOUNTAIN GREEN PARK AND RIDE 25 24 23 WIND: SOUTH WINDS 15-25 MPH EARLY, THEN NORTHWEST WINDS 15-25 MPH, SLOWLY DECREASING TO 5-15 MPH BY LATE AFTERNOON. COMMENTS: SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY IN THE MOUNTAINS FOR 3-6 INCHES OF SNOW THROUGH THE DAY WITH ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 2-4 INCHES OVER THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS. TONIGHT (6PM-6AM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY. A FEW MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT WITH LESS THAN A COUPLE INCHES ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION, IF ANY. TEMPERATURES (F): OVERNIGHT MINIMUM WEBER CANYON PARK AND RIDE 15 MOUNTAIN GREEN PARK AND RIDE 10 WIND: NORTHWEST WIND 5-15 MPH, EXCEPT AT MOUTHS OF CANYONS WHERE WINDS WILL BE NORTHEAST 5-10 MPH. COMMENTS: NONE ...I-80/MOUTH OF PARLEYS CANYON/PARLEYS SUMMIT/KIMBALL JUNCTION... TODAY (6AM-6PM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SNOW DECREASING AFTER 11 AM. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF ABOUT AN INCH OR TWO. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW REDUCING VISIBILITY AT TIMES, ESPECIALLY NEAR PARLEYS SUMMIT AND ON U.S. 40 BETWEEN HEBER AND SILVER CREEK JUNCTION. WINDS SLOWLY DECREASING DURING THE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES (F): 8AM NOON 4PM MOUTH OF PARLEYS CANYON 40 32 28 PARLEYS SUMMIT 38 26 23 KIMBALL JUNCTION 42 26 20 WIND: SOUTH WINDS 15-25 MPH EARLY, THEN NORTHWEST WINDS 15-25 MPH, SLOWLY DECREASING TO 5-15 MPH BY LATE AFTERNOON. COMMENTS: SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY IN THE MOUNTAINS FOR 3-6 INCHES OF SNOW THROUGH THE DAY WITH ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 2-4 INCHES OVER THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS. TONIGHT (6PM-6AM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY. A FEW MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT WITH LESS THAN A COUPLE INCHES ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION, IF ANY. TEMPERATURES (F): OVERNIGHT MINIMUM MOUTH OF PARLEYS CANYON 15 PARLEYS SUMMIT 10 KIMBALL JUNCTION 0 WIND: NORTHWEST WIND 5-15 MPH, EXCEPT AT MOUTH OF CANYON WHERE WINDS WILL BE NORTHEAST 5-10 MPH. COMMENTS: NONE ...PROVO CANYON TO HEBER... TODAY (6AM-6PM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SNOW DECREASING AFTER 11 AM. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF ABOUT AN INCH OR TWO. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. WINDS SLOWLY DECREASING DURING THE AFTERNOON. TEMPERATURES (F): 8AM NOON 4PM MOUTH OF PROVO CANYON 40 34 29 HEBER 40 26 18 WIND: SOUTH WINDS 15-25 MPH EARLY, THEN NORTHWEST WINDS 15-25 MPH, SLOWLY DECREASING TO 5-15 MPH BY LATE AFTERNOON. COMMENTS: SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ADVISORY IN THE MOUNTAINS THROUGH THE MORNING WITH ADDITIONAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 2 INCHES OVER THE MOUNTAIN PEAKS. TONIGHT (6PM-6AM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY. A FEW MOUNTAIN SNOW SHOWERS POSSIBLE OVERNIGHT WITH LESS THAN A COUPLE INCHES ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATION, IF ANY. TEMPERATURES (F): OVERNIGHT MINIMUM MOUTH OF PROVO CANYON 15 HEBER 10 WIND: NORTHWEST WIND 5-15 MPH, EXCEPT AT MOUTH OF CANYON WHERE WINDS WILL BE NORTHEAST 5-10 MPH. COMMENTS: NONE ...SALT LAKE VALLEY... TODAY (6AM-6PM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SNOW DECREASING AFTER 11 AM. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF ABOUT AN INCH. TEMPERATURES (F): 8AM NOON 4PM DOWNTOWN SALT LAKE CITY 45 35 27 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 49 35 25 WIND: SOUTH 15-25 MPH EARLY, SHIFTING TO NORTHWEST 15-25 MPH IN THE MORNING, DECREASING TO 5-15 MPH BY LATE AFTERNOON. COMMENTS: NONE TONIGHT (6PM-6AM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY. TEMPERATURES (F): OVERNIGHT MINIMUM DOWNTOWN SALT LAKE CITY 15 UNIVERSITY OF UTAH 15 WIND: NORTH-NORTHWEST 5-10 MPH. COMMENTS: NONE ...OGDEN/I-15 IN DAVIS-WEBER COUNTIES... TODAY (6AM-6PM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH SNOW DECREASING AFTER 11 AM. TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION OF ABOUT AN INCH OR TWO. TEMPERATURES (F): 8AM NOON 4PM DOWNTOWN OGDEN 30 32 26 WIND: SOUTH 15-25 MPH EARLY, SHIFTING TO NORTHWEST 15-25 MPH IN THE MORNING, DECREASING TO 5-15 MPH BY LATE AFTERNOON. COMMENTS: NONE. TONIGHT (6PM-6AM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY. TEMPERATURES (F): OVERNIGHT MINIMUM DOWNTOWN OGDEN 11 WIND: NORTH-NORTHWEST 5-10 MPH. COMMENTS: NONE ...UTAH COUNTY... TODAY (6AM-6PM) WEATHER: CLOUDY AND BREEZY, WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW IN THE MORNING. TEMPERATURES (F): 8AM NOON 4PM DOWNTOWN PROVO 40 32 28 WIND: SOUTH 15-25 MPH EARLY, SHIFTING TO THE NORTHWEST 10-20 MPH IN THE MORNING, DECREASING TO 5-15 MPH BY LATE AFTERNOON. COMMENTS: NONE. TONIGHT (6PM-6AM) WEATHER: MOSTLY CLOUDY. TEMPERATURES (F): OVERNIGHT MINIMUM DOWNTOWN PROVO 15 WIND: NORTH-NORTHWEST 5-10 MPH. COMMENTS: NONE
3 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, February 2002
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: 5324228, 5324229, 5324230.