Winter Storm in Utah, February 4 to 5, 2003

Name: Winter Storm in Utah, February 4 to 5, 2003
Start: 2003-02-04T07:00
End: 2003-02-05T10:00
Location: Utah

February 4 to 5, 2003 · NWS SLC · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

An arctic blast of air brought frigid temperatures and more snow to Northern Utah. Snowfall was generally in the 6-12 inch range in the mountains, with 2-6 inches in the valleys.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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.

An arctic blast of air brought frigid temperatures and more snow to Northern Utah. Snowfall was generally in the 6-12 inch range in the mountains, with 2-6 inches in the valleys.

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 Feb 4, 3:53 AM MST, 3 hours 7 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 4, 3:53 AM MST, 3 hours 7 minutes before

UTAH AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
353 AM MST TUE FEB 4 2003

.SYNOPSIS...COLDER AND UNSETTLED WEATHER WILL PUSH INTO MUCH OF
THE FORECAST AREA BY THIS EVENING AND REMAIN THROUGH THURSDAY.

.DISCUSSION...OMEGA BLOCK IN PLACE OVER THE EASTERN PACIFIC WITH
COLD LOW SETTLING OVER THE FORECAST AREA THROUGH THURSDAY.

SHORT WAVE TROUGH WITH ASSOCIATED JET MOVING OVER NORTHERN UTAH AND
SOUTHEAST IDAHO THIS MORNING. SCATTERED MODERATE SNOW SHOWERS PRESENT
OVER THESE AREAS. AIR MASS BECOMING QUITE UNSTABLE AS THE COLD LOW
SETTLING OVER THE AREA TODAY. THEREFORE...THE COVERAGE OF THESE SNOW
SHOWERS WILL INCREASE THROUGH THE MORNING. IN ADDITION...THE SNOW
WILL SLIDE INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTHWEST UTAH DURING THE DAY. DYNAMICS
WEAKER IN THE AFTERNOON OVER THE NORTH AS JET SAGS SOUTH AS WELL.
700MB FLOW ALSO TURNS MORE NORTHERLY LATER THIS AFTERNOON AS TROUGH
AXIS MOVES THROUGH. HOWEVER...AIR MASS STILL UNSTABLE. MAY ISSUE SNOW
ADVISORY FOR NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AS UNSTABLE NORTHWEST FLOW VERY
FAVORABLE.

WHOLE SYSTEM SAGS SOUTH WITH TROUGH AXIS EXTENDING FROM SOUTHERN
NEVADA TO HUDSON BAY BY WEDNESDAY MORNING. EXPECT AIR MASS TO DRY
OUT AS LONG TRACK OVER LAND FOR MOISTURE. THIS WOULD RESULT IN
SHOWERS BECOMING MORE ISOLATED AND CONCENTRATED TO OROGRAPHICALLY
ENHANCED AREAS BY WEDNESDAY.

A SHORT WAVE MOVING OUT OF NORTH-NORTHEAST FLOW OVER THE AREA TO
TRAVEL INTO NEVADA WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY. SOME JET SUPPORT
WITH THIS FEATURE AND MAY ADD TO CHANCE OF SHOWERS OVER WESTERN
AREAS. AT THE SAME TIME...HIGH CENTER BEGINS TO ROLL INLAND. MAIN
EFFECT IS FLOW TURNS MORE NORTHEAST AND TIGHTENS UP TROUGH AXIS
THURSDAY. BY FRIDAY...WESTERN PORTION OF THE TROUGH AXIS DISCONNECTS
AND DEVELOPS INTO A CLOSED LOW OVER SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA FRIDAY.
OTHER MEDIUM RANGE MODELS VERY SIMILAR. AS STATED EARLIER...DUE TO
OVERLAND TRACK OF AIR...THE AIR MASS HAS DRIED EXTENSIVELY DURING
THE WEEK. ONE ASPECT OF THE EASTERLY FLOW WOULD BE CHANCE OF STRONG
EASTERLY WINDS OVER NORTHERN UTAH. SURFACE GRADIENT WOULD NOT SUPPORT
IT AT THIS TIME...BUT STILL EXPECT STRONGLY ENHANCED DRAINAGE.

STILL NOT MUCH DIFFERENCE IN END RESULTS OF FORECAST AMONG THE
MEDIUM RANGE MODELS FOR THE WEEKEND. HOWEVER...CLOSED LOW THAT IS
FORECASTED TO MOVE INTO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST BY FRIDAY AFTERNOON
IS HANDLED DIFFERENTLY BY MODELS. END RESULT IS CLOSED LOW OVER
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA TO DRIFT ACROSS ARIZONA FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY
WITH LITTLE EFFECT OVER SOUTHERN UTAH. SO...BIGGEST TREND WILL BE A
WARMING AIR MASS INTO MONDAY.

SLC 743 CDC 122  NELSON

.SLC...SNOW ADVISORY NORTHERN MOUNTAINS TODAY. SEE SLCWSWSLC FOR
       DETAILS.

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 4, 6:00 AM MST, 1 hour before

IDZ024-025-UTZ001>021-WYZ021-051400-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
600 AM MST TUE FEB 4 2003

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

.DAY ONE... TODAY

OCCASIONAL SNOW SHOWERS TODAY ACROSS EXTREME SOUTHEAST IDAHO...
NORTHERN UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING MAY CAUSE HAZARDOUS DRIVING
CONDITIONS...ESPECIALLY THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS. SEE SLCWSWSLC FOR
DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN... WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

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

WCJIN-WYSW

Event by event

5 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 10:00 AM MST
Where: Ne Box Elder T X Ne/W Weber/Davis forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, P Nc Weber/P C Morgan/P W C Summit/P Sc Wasatch

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 10:00 AM MST
Where: P Nc Weber/P C Morgan/P W C Summit/P Sc Wasatch forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, Rich/Cache T Nw/P E C Weber/Most of Morgan/Nw Summit/Ne Salt Lake/X Ne Box Elder

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 10:00 AM 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

Winter Storm, W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 10:00 AM MST
Where: W Salt Lake T X W/E Toole T X E forecast zone
Reported by: GENERAL PUBLIC

Winter Storm, W Summit T Nw/Se Salt Lake/Wasatch X Sc/E Utah/P X E Juab/X Nw San Pete

When: February 4, 7:00 AM MST to February 5, 10:00 AM 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

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

Every storm in Utah in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, February 2003

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: 5327973, 5327974, 5327975, 5327976, 5327977.