Heavy Snow and Lake-Effect Snow in Utah, November 3 to 6, 2008

Name: Heavy Snow and Lake-Effect Snow in Utah, November 3 to 6, 2008
Start: 2008-11-03T06:00
End: 2008-11-06T01:00
Location: Utah

November 3 to 6, 2008 · NWS SLC · 6 events in 5 counties and zones

A vigorous early season storm moved through the area, producing widespread precipitation. After the initial cold front on the 3rd and 4th, lake effect snow continued into November 5th.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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.

A vigorous early season storm moved through the area, producing widespread precipitation. After the initial cold front on the 3rd and 4th, lake effect snow continued into November 5th.

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 Nov 3, 4:30 AM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Nov 3, 4:30 AM MST, 1 hour 30 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
430 AM MST MON NOV 3 2008

.SYNOPSIS...THE NEXT STORM SYSTEM WILL BEGIN TO MOVE INTO THE AREA
TONIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO WEDNESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE WILL RETURN
THURSDAY THROUGH SATURDAY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...SHORT WAVE RIDGING IN BETWEEN SYSTEMS BROUGHT CLEARING
TO SOUTHERN UT OVERNIGHT AND PARTIAL CLEARING UP NORTH. WARM
ADVECTION CLOUDINESS AHEAD OF THE NEXT TROF HAS ALREADY BEGUN TO
FORM OVER NRN UT IN THE LAST HOUR OR SO AND SHOULD GET OVERSPREAD BY
HIGH CLOUDS BY MIDDAY. LOCAL FOG HAS DEVELOPED IN THE AREAS THAT
HAVE BEEN CLEAR SUCH AS THE SEVIER VALLEY...UTAH VALLEY...AROUND
NEPHI...AND IN THE HEBER VALLEY. THIS SHOULD BURN OFF BY MID
MORNING.

THE NEXT TROF CONTINUES TO LOOK LIKE A POTENT COLD SYSTEM AND IS
FORECAST TO BE INTENSIFYING AS IT BEGINS TO MOVE INTO THE WESTERN
STATES TODAY. PRECIP IS FORECAST TO DEVELOP OVER FAR NWRN UT IN THE
AFTERNOON ALONG THE WARM FRONT AHEAD OF THIS SYSTEM. THIS SPREADS
ACROSS THE FAR NORTH OVERNIGHT BUT DOESNT GET ANY FARTHER SOUTH
UNTIL THE COLD FRONT ARRIVES TUE MORNING. PRECIP SHOULD BECOME
WIDESPREAD BEHIND THE FRONT AND CONTINUE THROUGH THE DAY. THE
AIRMASS COOLS THRU THE DAY AND SNOW LEVELS WILL BE DIPPING TO NEAR
THE NORTHERN VALLEY FLOORS BY LATE AFTERNOON. HEAVY SNOW IS LIKELY
IN THE NRN AND POSSIBLY CENTRAL MTS TUE AND THE CURRENT WATCH WILL
REMAIN IN EFFECT.

PRECIP BECOMES MORE SHOWERY AND DOMINATED BY OROGRAPHICS TUE NIGHT
BUT INSTABILITY ALSO INCREASES AS THE UPPER COLD POOL MOVES INTO THE
NORTHERN GREAT BASIN. THIS SHOULD KEEP HEAVY SNOW GOING OVER THE
WESTERN SLOPES OF THE MTS AND LOOKS GOOD FOR A LAKE BAND TO DEVELOP
OFF THE GREAT SALT LAKE.

INSTABILITY GRADUALLY LOWERS WED AS THE UPPER COLD POOL SHIFTS EAST
AND THE AIRMASS STARTS TO WARM ALOFT. ANY OROGRAPHIC PRECIP SHOULD
END BY LATE IN THE DAY.

RIDGE CONDITIONS ARE FORECAST THU THRU SAT WITH SOME MOISTURE
STREAMING OVER THE RIDGE INTO NRN UT THU AND FRI. MED RANGE MODELS
BEGIN TO DIVERGE AFTER SAT ON TIMING OF NEXT TROF.

&&

.AVIATION...SOUTH WINDS ARE EXPECTED AT THE SLC TERMINAL THROUGHOUT
THE DAY WITH VFR CONDITIONS. THERE IS A 20 PERCENT CHANCE THAT
NORTHWESTERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP BETWEEN 20Z AND 22Z. CEILINGS
SHOULD REMAIN ABOVE 6000 FEET THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

&&

.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...WINTER STORM WATCH FROM 11 PM TONIGHT TO 11 AM WEDNESDAY FOR
     UTZ007-UTZ008-UTZ009.

WY...NONE.

&&

WILENSKY/HOSENFELD

FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)

Event by event

3 heavy snow, 3 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountains I-80 North

When: November 3, 6:00 AM MST to November 5, 12:00 PM MST
Where: Wasatch Mountains I-80 North forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer

Snowbasin received 18 inches of new snow over a 24 hour period.

Heavy Snow, Wasatch Mountains South of I-80

When: November 3, 6:00 AM MST to November 6, 1:00 AM MST
Where: Wasatch Mountains South of I-80 forecast zone
Reported by: COOP Observer

Alta received a storm total of 46 inches of new snow, while Snowbird and Brighton received 41 and 27 inches respectively.

Heavy Snow, Western Uinta Mountains

When: November 4, 11:00 AM MST to November 5, 2:00 AM MST
Where: Western Uinta Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL

Chalk Creek #1 SNOTEL received approximately 12 inches of new snow in 12 hours.

Lake-Effect Snow, Northern Wasatch Front

When: November 5, 2:00 AM MST to 3:00 PM MST
Where: Northern Wasatch Front forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A lake effect snow band dropped 6 inches of new snow on North Salt Lake.

Lake-Effect Snow, Salt Lake and Tooele Valleys

When: November 5, 2:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where: Salt Lake and Tooele Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee

A lake effect snow band formed over Salt Lake County, dropping 11.5 inches of snow on Sandy, 9.5 inches at Olympus Cove, 8 inches at Upper Millcreek, and 6 inches of snow in Draper.

Lake-Effect Snow, Salt Lake and Tooele Valleys

When: November 5, 2:00 AM MST to 4:00 PM MST
Where: Salt Lake and Tooele Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee

A lake effect snow band formed over Salt Lake County, dropping 11.5 inches of snow on Sandy, 9.5 inches at Olympus Cove, 8 inches at Upper Millcreek, and 6 inches of snow in Draper.

What these are

Heavy Snow: Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.
Lake-Effect Snow: Heavy snow in bands downwind of a large lake as cold air crosses warmer water.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Utah in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, November 2008

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: 142729, 142730, 142731, 142732, 142733, 142893.