A strong late season cold upper-level low and its associated cold front moved through northern Utah. The front brought rain, locally heavy snow and widespread strong wind to the Wasatch Front and Wasatch 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.
A strong late season cold upper-level low and its associated cold front moved through northern Utah. The front brought rain, locally heavy snow and widespread strong wind to the Wasatch Front and Wasatch Mountains. Some of the strongest wind gusts included 72 mph at Park Valley, 56 mph at Coalville, and 53 mph in Hooper. Areas of heavy snow were also observed over the far northern areas of the state. Logan reported 5 inches and 9 inches at Snowbasin.
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 Apr 28, 2:00 AM MST, 3 hours earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
300 AM MDT WED APR 28 2004
.SYNOPSIS...A STRONG COLD FRONT WILL SWEEP SOUTH ACROSS UTAH TODAY.
THE CENTER OF THE STORM WILL MOVE INTO THE STATE LATE TONIGHT...THEN
MOVE SLOWLY SOUTHEAST TO THE FOUR CORNERS REGION BY FRIDAY. A DRY
NORTHERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL FOLLOW THROUGH THE WEEKEND.
&&
.DISCUSSION...COLD UPPER TROUGH CURRENTLY OVER WASHINGTON/NRN ID
WITH A STRONG SURFACE FRONT INTO CNTRL/SW ID. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY
BEGINNING TO SHOW A NEW CIRCULATION CENTER TRYING TO FORM OVER NW MT
WITH A SECONDARY VORTICITY MAX MAKING AN END RUN SOUTH ALONG THE
PACIFIC NW COAST. THIS VORTICITY MAX DIVING SOUTH WILL TAKE A
SIZABLE PIECE OF ENERGY SSE ALONG THE SIERRAS LATER TODAY/TONIGHT...
AND WILL ELONGATE THE TROUGH IN A SW-NE FASHION. THE LATEST PROGS
STILL CLOSE OF THE UPPER LOW OVER UTAH BY THURSDAY...BUT WITH
SOMEWHAT LESS AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE ETA AND GFS MODELS.
ONE THING THAT HASNT CHANGED IS A STRONG COLD FRONT SWEEPING SOUTH
THROUGH THE STATE TODAY. THE FRONT WILL OUTRUN THE UPPER SUPPORT
AS IT MOVES INTO RATHER DRY AIR OVER UTAH. AS RESULT THE THREAT OF
PRECIP WITH THE FRONT MINIMAL AT BEST. WIND WILL BE THE REAL STORY
AS THERE EXISTS A VERY TIGHT SURFACE GRADIENT BEHIND THE BOUNDARY
AND FAIRLY STRONG COLD ADVECTION IN THE LOW LEVELS. MANY AREAS
WILL BE CLOSE TO HIGH WIND WARNING CRITERIA. GUSTS IMMEDIATELY
BEHIND THE FRONT MAY HIT WARNING LEVELS...BUT SUSTAINED WINDS
SHOULD FALL IN THE HIGH END ADVISORY CRITERIA. WILL SORT ALL THIS
OUT IN THE MORNING UPDATE.
BEST THREAT OF PRECIP SHOULD COME TONIGHT THROUGH EARLY THURSDAY
EVENING AS THE LOW CLOSES OFF OVER THE STATE. VERY DRY AIRMASS...
ESPECIALLY OVER SRN UTAH...WILL BE PROBLEM EARLY ON. STILL...WITH
STRONG UPWARD MOTIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THE LOW AND COLD AIR SUPPORT
ALOFT...WOULD HAVE TO THINK THAT SIGNIFICANT PRECIP IN STORE FOR AT
LEAST THE CNTRL/ERN MOUNTAINS THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING. SLOW
MOVEMENT OF THE LOW TOWARDS THE 4-CORNERS WILL BE A PLUS FOR HEAVIER
PRECIP. SOMEWHAT DISAPPOINTED THE MODEL QPFS HAVE DROPPED OFF SO
DRAMATICALLY PAST COUPLE OF MODEL RUNS. THIS HAPPENED IN THE MODELS
WITH THE LAST STORM WHICH TOOK A SIMILAR TRACK THROUGH THE FORECAST
AREA. WE RECEIVED SIGNIFICANT PRECIP OVER THE SOUTH AND EAST WITH
THAT STORM...THOUGH THERE WAS A BIT MORE MOISTURE IN PLACE WHEN THAT
STORM PASSED THROUGH. WILL SCALE THE EXPECTATION ACCORDINGLY...BUT
STILL KEEP THE WINTER STORM WATCH GOING FOR TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY
EVENING DOWN SOUTH...AND LATE THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY FOR THE
NE MOUNTAINS.
A LONG NORTHERLY FETCH SETS UP ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE WEST COAST
RIDGE FRIDAY/SATURDAY. TEMPS WILL MAKE A SLOW CLIMB FROM WHAT
SHOULD BE COLD READINGS THURSDAY. TEMPS SHOULD WARM FURTHER EARLY
NEXT WEEK AS THE RIDGE SETTLES OVER THE BASIN.
&&
.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...HIGH WIND WRNG UTZ004-005 TODAY
...HIGH WIND WRNG UTZ011-012-014-016-019-020 THIS AFTN THROUGH
MIDNIGHT TONIGHT
...WINTER STORM WATCH SRN/ERN MOUNTAINS TONIGHT-THURSDAY
EVENING UTZ009-010-017-018
...WIND ADVISORY UTZ002-003 TODAY.
ID...NONE.
WY...WINTER STORM WATCH TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY.
&&
CONGER6 high wind, 2 strong wind, 2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, April 2004
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: 5420460, 5420461, 5420462, 5420463, 5420464, 5420465, 5420466, 5420467, 5420468, 5420469.