A series of moist Pacific storm systems moved through Utah over a 3-day period. The storm brought wet, heavy snow to much of the state, with the heaviest snow across both the valleys and mountains of northern Utah.
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 series of moist Pacific storm systems moved through Utah over a 3-day period. The storm brought wet, heavy snow to much of the state, with the heaviest snow across both the valleys and mountains of northern Utah.
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 Dec 11, 10:20 PM MST, 1 hour 40 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
1020 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2009
.SYNOPSIS...A SERIES OF MOIST BUT RELATIVELY MILD PACIFIC STORM
SYSTEMS WILL IMPACT THE REGION THROUGH THE WEEKEND. HIGH PRESSURE
WILL THEN DEVELOP OVER THE AREA DURING THE MIDDLE TO LATTER
PORTION OF NEXT WEEK.
&&
.DISCUSSION...THE NEXT IN A SERIES OF SHORTWAVES IS MOVING INTO
THE FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING...WITH PRECIPITATION MOVING IN FROM
THE WEST EVIDENT ON BOTH RADAR AND SATELLITE IMAGERY. THE PRECIP
IS EXPECTED TO BE HEAVIEST IN THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE
CWA...ESPECIALLY ALONG THE HIGHER TERRAIN...WITH LIGHTER
PRECIPITATION LIKELY IN THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE CWA.
WHILE THE AIRMASS REMAINS MOIST AND WEAK EMBEDDED WAVES WILL
CONTINUE TO MOVE THROUGH THE AREA ON SATURDAY...MOST OF THE CWA
WILL LIKELY EXPERIENCE SOME SIGNIFICANT BREAK IN PRECIPITATION
DURING THE DAYLIGHT HOURS TOMORROW. MODELS HAVE BEEN CONSISTENT
ABOUT MOVING ANOTHER DISTINCT SHORTWAVE THROUGH THE STATE TOMORROW
AFTERNOON...THOUGH THERE IS DISAGREEMENT BETWEEN THE NAM AND GFS ON
THE EXACT PLACEMENT OF THE HEAVIEST PRECIP...WITH THE GFS FOCUSING
THE HEAVIEST PRECIP ON NORTHERN UTAH...AND THE NAM LIGHTING UP THE
CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. FINALLY THE MAIN LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES
THROUGH UTAH ON SUNDAY...WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOWFALL LOOKING TO BE
FOCUSED ON NORTHERN UTAH AS THE SURFACE LOW MOVES DIRECTLY THROUGH
THE AREA...THOUGH THE ENTIRE CWA SHOULD DO QUITE WELL WITH THE MOIST
AIRMASS IN PLACE.
DID A QUICK UPDATE TO THE FORECAST EARLIER THIS EVENING TO
INCREASE POPS ACROSS THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE CWA AFTER 06Z...AS
IT LOOKS LIKE THE MAIN SWATH OF PRECIP WILL NOT BE THROUGH THE
AREA UNTIL LATER IN THE OVERNIGHT HOURS. OTHERWISE...NO FURTHER
UPDATES ARE ANTICIPATED.
&&
.AVIATION...CEILINGS AT THE SLC TERMINAL ARE EXPECTED TO DROP BELOW
6000 FT AGL BY 6Z...AND REMAIN AT LEAST THAT LOW THROUGH THE DAY.
CIGS MAY BECOME MVFR WITH LIGHT SNOW AT TIMES BETWEEN 9Z-18Z. THERE
IS A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF IFR VSBYS IN LIGHT SNOW AFTER 10-11Z
CONTINUING THRU ABOUT 18Z SAT. WINDS ARE EXPECTED TO BE MAINLY OUT
OF THE SOUTH THROUGH THE DAY...BUT MAY BECOME LIGHT AND VARIABLE AT
TIMES.
&&
.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 5 AM SATURDAY TO 11 PM SUNDAY FOR
UTZ518.
WINTER STORM WATCH FROM MIDNIGHT SUNDAY TO 11 PM SUNDAY FOR
UTZ001-UTZ002-UTZ003-UTZ004-UTZ006.
WINTER STORM WATCH FROM 5 PM SATURDAY TO 9 AM MONDAY FOR UTZ007-
UTZ008-UTZ009-UTZ010-UTZ517.
WINTER STORM WATCH FROM 5 PM SATURDAY TO 11 PM SUNDAY FOR UTZ015-
UTZ016.
WY...NONE.
&&
PUBLIC...SCHOENING
AVIATION...HOSENFELD
FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT 402 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2009 UTZ001>016-019>021-517-518-WYZ021-122315- CACHE VALLEY/UTAH PORTION-NORTHERN WASATCH FRONT- SALT LAKE AND TOOELE VALLEYS-SOUTHERN WASATCH FRONT- GREAT SALT LAKE DESERT AND MOUNTAINS-WASATCH MOUNTAIN VALLEYS- WASATCH MOUNTAINS I-80 NORTH-WASATCH MOUNTAINS SOUTH OF I-80- WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS-WASATCH PLATEAU/BOOK CLIFFS- WESTERN UINTA BASIN-CASTLE COUNTRY-SAN RAFAEL SWELL- SANPETE/SEVIER VALLEYS-WEST CENTRAL UTAH-SOUTHWEST UTAH- UTAHS DIXIE AND ZION NATIONAL PARK-SOUTH CENTRAL UTAH- GLEN CANYON RECREATION AREA/LAKE POWELL-CENTRAL MOUNTAINS- SOUTHERN MOUNTAINS-SOUTHWEST WYOMING- 402 PM MST FRI DEC 11 2009 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A WEAK STORM SYSTEM WILL BRING LIGHT SNOW TO MUCH OF NORTHERN UTAH LATE TONIGHT. VALLEY ACCUMULATIONS ARE GENERALLY EXPECTED TO REMAIN AN INCH OR LESS...HOWEVER WITH COLD SURFACE TEMPERATURES ANY SNOW WHICH FALLS WILL ACCUMULATE ON AREA ROADWAYS...RESULTING IN POTENTIALLY SLICK DRIVING CONDITIONS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CONTINUE SATURDAY THROUGH MONDAY MORNING AS A SERIES OF MOIST PACIFIC STORM SYSTEMS CONTINUE TO TRACK ACROSS THE AREA. SIGNIFICANT SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND...ESPECIALLY IN AREAS FAVORED UNDER SOUTHWESTERLY FLOW...WITH THE HEAVIEST SNOW OCCURRING LATE SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. IN ADDITION TO THE SNOW...STRONG WINDS WILL DEVELOP LATE SATURDAY THROUGH SUNDAY MORNING...WHICH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING SNOW. HAZARDOUS DRIVING CONDITIONS CAN BE EXPECTED ON AREA ROADWAYS DUE TO THE SNOW AND WINDS. SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER HEADLINES FOR MORE INFORMATION. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)
13 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Brigham City received 18 inches of new snow. Other totals included 12.5 inches at North Ogden and 10 inches in South Ogden.
SunCrest received 14 inches of new snow and Alpine received 9.5 new inches.
Vernon Creek SNOTEL received 2.30 inches liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 28 inches of new snow for the event.
Providence received 10 inches of new snow.
Duchesne reported a storm total of 12 inches new snow.
Liberty received 32 inches of new snow. Also, 24 inches of snow fell at Eden.
Snowbasin Mid-bowl received a storm total of 27 inches of snow.
Brighton Crest received a storm total of 56 inches new snow. Other storm totals from the area included 45 inches at Alta UDOT, 41 inches at Solitude, and 40 inches of snow at Snowbird.
Kolob SNOTEL received 3.30 inches liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 40 inches of new snow.
Mammoth-Cottonwood SNOTEL received 2.60 inches liquid equivalent preciptation, or approximately 32 inches of new snow.
Chalk Creek #1 SNOTEL received 2.80 inches liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 35 inches of new snow for the event.
Seeley Creek SNOTEL received 2.20 inches liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 26 inches of new snow.
Ferron received a storm total of 10.5 inches of new snow. Also, 7 inches of snow was reported 3 miles east of Wellington.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, December 2009
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: 207816, 207817, 208192, 207815, 208193, 207834, 208187, 208188, 207814, 208190, 208189, 208191, 208194.