Winter Storm, Eastern Uinta Mountains
- When
- January 28, 12:00 PM MST to January 29, 12:00 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 in Utah, January 28 to 30, 2002
A powerful slow-moving Pacific trough produced around a foot of new snow in many mountain areas and 4 to 7 inches of new snow in some lower elevation areas of eastern Utah. The highest reported snowfall total was 18 inches in the La Sal Mountains.
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
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 powerful slow-moving Pacific trough produced around a foot of new snow in many mountain areas and 4 to 7 inches of new snow in some lower elevation areas of eastern Utah. The highest reported snowfall total was 18 inches in the La Sal Mountains. Wind gusts of 20 to 40 MPH produced areas of blowing and drifting snow mainly over the higher elevations.
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 Jan 28, 3:59 AM MST, 8 hours 1 minute earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Jan 28, 3:59 AM MST, 8 hours 1 minute before
WESTERN COLORADO & EASTERN UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO 359 AM MST MON JAN 28 2002 CLOSED...OR NEARLY SO...MID LEVEL LOW ALONG PAC NW COAST WITH JET CUTTING NORTHEAST ACROSS GREAT BASIN. SFC FRONT CENT NV-NW UT PARALLEL TO UPPER FLOW AND HAS SHOWN LITTLE MOVEMENT SINCE SUN EVE. PCPN APPEARING TO BE ALONG AND BEHIND FRONT ADDED BY LEFT EXIT REGION OF UPPER JET MAX MOVING ACROSS CENT/SRN NV. THIS SHORTWV SHOULD RACE NE ACROSS CENTRAL UT TODAY AND BRING SOME SNOW TO NE UT...THO LOOKS LITTLE TOO FAR WEST FOR HVY AMTS. MAINLY CLOUDS AND WIND FOR WRN CO TODAY WITH MILD TEMPS AGAIN FOR TIME OF YEAR. WITH ENERGY STILL UPSTREAM OF WEST COAST LOW...LOOKS LIKE IT SHOULD CONTINUE DROPPING SOUTH ALONG COAST UNTIL LEAD JET BEGINS TO PULL AWAY AND UPSTREAM ENERGY ROTATES THROUGH TROF BOTTOM TO PULL IT INLAND TUE-TUE NIGHT...WHICH MEANS SLOW PROGRESSION OF SFC FRONT. WITH MODELS TENDING TO BE SLIGHTLY...BUT CONSISTENTLY SLOWER BETWEEN RUNS...TIMING REMAINS A QUESTION MARK. SFC/700 MB FRONT DOESNT APPROACH WRN CO BORDER UNTIL MON EVENING. THEN LOOKS LIKE IT TAKES IT SWEET TIME PUSHING THROUGH...OR WASHES OUT...BASED ON ETA/MESOETA 700 MB WIND FIELD REMAINING SWLY THRU TUE EXCEPT ACROSS THE NORTH. AVN MORE PROGRESSIVE AND DISCOUNTED ATTM. STRONGEST 250 MB JET AND 500 MB BAROCLINIC ZONE MOVE OVER THE AREA LATER TONIGHT AND TUE FOR EXPECTED BEST CHANCE OF PCPN...BUT PCPN AMTS NOT OVERLY GREAT IN MODELS. SUBTROPICAL MOISTURE (MAINLY MID/HIGH LEVEL FROM SFC OBS) CURRENTLY SHOOTING ACROSS BAJA TO 4- CORNERS SHOULD TEND TO CUT OFF DRY SLOT ACROSS SRN CA. LOWER LEVEL MOISTURE MAY GET TAPPED BRIEFLY...AND REMAINS A CONCERN FOR THE SOUTH WERE GOOD OROGRAPHIC SW FLOW LOOKS SOMEWHAT WASTED TODAY INTO TONIGHT DUE TO LIMITED OF RH. OTHERWISE...BEST MOISTURE SHOULD BE ACROSS THE NORTH. FOR THE ERN UINTAS...FLOW BECOMES WESTERLY AND DECREASES AFT 06Z TUE...PUTTING THEM MORE IN THE SHADOW OF HIGHER WRN UINTAS. WILL CONTINUE TO HOLD OFF ON SNOW HIGHLIGHTS MON NIGHT/TUE DUE TO TIMING UNCERTAINTY AND FORECASTED SNOW AMTS THO AMTS MAY BE PUSHING ADVISORY LEVELS IN SOME AREAS...SEE WHAT THE 12Z RUNS BRING. MAIN TROUGH AXIS FINALLY FORECAST TO MOVE THROUGH ON WED FOR A CONTINUED CHANCE OF SNOW. EXTENDED (THU-SUN)...TROF MOVES EAST OF AREA BY THURSDAY MORNING. SOME WEAK NORTHWEST FLOW LINGERS ON THURSDAY ESPECIALLY OVER NORTHERN SECTIONS BUT WILL LEAVE AS PARTLY CLOUDY ACROSS THE REGION. FLOW BECOMES MORE ZONAL FRI AS ANOTHER TROF DROPS DOWN WEST COAST WITH MRF EVENTUALLY MOVING IT ACROSS AZ ON SUNDAY. MRF SHOWING LITTLE OR NO PCPN WITH THIS. NO CHANGES. JAD EMERGENCY MANAGERS IN EASTERN UTAH AND WESTERN COLORADO CAN EXPECT CONTINUED WINDY WEATHER ACROSS THE MOUNTAINS AND HIGHER ELEVATIONS TODAY INTO TONIGHT. LOOK FOR LIGHT SNOW TO DEVELOP OVER THE ERN UINTA MTNS AND EAST TAVAPUTS PLATEAU THIS AFTERNOON...WITH SNOW DEVELOPING OVER THE WRN CO MTNS TONIGHT. .GJT...NONE.
The radar
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
Event by event
4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Winter Storm, La Sal & Abajo Mountains
- When
- January 28, 6:00 PM MST to January 30, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- La Sal & Abajo Mountains forecast zone
- Reported by
- AWOS,ASOS,MESONET,ETC
- Coordinates
- 38.304, -109.687 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Grand Flat and Arches
- When
- January 28, 9:00 PM MST to January 29, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Grand Flat and Arches forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 38.982, -109.570 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)
Winter Storm, Canyonlands / Natural Bridges
- When
- January 28, 9:00 PM MST to January 29, 10:00 AM MST
- Where
- Canyonlands / Natural Bridges forecast zone
- Reported by
- TRAINED SPOTTER
- Coordinates
- 37.626, -109.805 (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
- Extreme Cold in California, January 28 to 31, 2002
- Winter Weather in Nevada, January 28, 2002
- Excessive Heat in West Virginia, January 28, 2002
- Winter Storm in Colorado, January 28 to 30, 2002
- Excessive Heat in Ohio, January 28, 2002
- Winter Storm and Heavy Snow in California, January 28 to 29, 2002
- Excessive Heat in Kentucky, January 28, 2002
- Blizzard and Heavy Snow in Alaska, January 28 to 29, 2002
- High Wind in Colorado, January 28, 2002
- Heavy Snow in North Dakota, January 28, 2002
- Heavy Snow in South Dakota, January 28, 2002
- Heavy Rain in Hawaii, January 28, 2002
More
Every storm in Utah in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 2002
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: 5278853, 5278855, 5278854, 5278856.