The first in a series of moist Pacific storms brought precipitation to much of Utah, after a relatively dry first half of the month. The heaviest snow fell in the mountains of northern and southwest 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.
The first in a series of moist Pacific storms brought precipitation to much of Utah, after a relatively dry first half of the month. The heaviest snow fell in the mountains of northern and southwest 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 Jan 18, 10:55 AM MST, 1 hour 5 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
1055 AM MST MON JAN 18 2010
.SYNOPSIS...A MOIST WEST SOUTHWEST FLOW OFF THE PACIFIC WILL SET
UP ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN THIS WEEK. A SERIES OF INCREASINGLY
ENERGETIC PACIFIC STORMS WILL CROSS THE AREA DURING THIS TIME.
&&
UPDATED AVIATION SECTION
.DISCUSSION...REGIONAL SATELLITE IMAGERY INDICATES INITIAL WAVE OF
WELL ADVERTISED PATTERN CHANGE EXITING RAPIDLY NORTHEAST THIS
MORNING. THOUGH NOT IMPRESSIVELY STRONG...WIDESPREAD PRECIP FELL
ACROSS THE WESTERN TWO-THIRDS OF THE STATE EARLY THIS
MORNING...AND CONTINUES ACROSS THE NORTHERN WASATCH FRONT.
PRECIP TIMING JUST PRIOR TO SUNRISE COLLAPSED
TEMPS RAPIDLY THROUGH DRY SUBCLOUD LAYER BELOW 700MB ALLOWING FOR
SNOW LEVELS TO FALL RAPIDLY TO JUST UNDER 4000FT ACROSS MUCH OF
THE STATE. UPDATED EARLIER TO RAISE POPS/QPF/SNOWFALL ALONG THE
WASATCH FRONT AND PORTIONS OF CASTLE VALLEY TO ADDRESS THIS.
ADDITIONALLY...TIMING CAUGHT ROAD TEMPS AT THEIR COOLEST MAKING A
TREACHEROUS COMMUTE ALONG THE WASATCH FRONT. SEE LATEST NOWCAST
AND HWO FOR ADDITIONAL INFO ON DRIVING RELATED IMPACTS FOR THE
REMAINDER OF THE MORNING.
FORECAST CHALLENGE IN THE SHORT TERM RELATES TO MIXING POTENTIAL
OF NORTHERN VALLEYS THIS AFTERNOON...AND POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF THE
NEXT SHORT WAVE FOR TONIGHT AND TUESDAY MORNING. A FAIR AMOUNT OF LOW
CLOUD COVER EXTENDS WEST INTO EAST CENTRAL NEVADA...WITH THE NEXT
SHORT WAVE RAPIDLY IN-FLUXING MID AND HIGH CLOUD COVER OVER WESTERN
NEVADA. CURRENT THINKING PLACES A SHORT TERM BREAK IN CLOUD COVER
THIS AFTERNOON OVER THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE STATE...WITH
INCREASING SOUTHERLY SURFACE WINDS AS PRE-STORM GRADIENT TIGHTENS.
COMBINATION OF INCREASED WINDS AND BREAK IN CLOUDS DURING PEAK SUN
ANGLE SHOULD MIX MOST IF NOT ALL OF THE REMAINING LOW LEVEL
INVERSION PRIOR TO NEXT STORM ONSET THIS EVENING. IN THIS
SCENARIO...SNOW LEVELS WILL JUMP TO BETWEEN 5-6000FT AND IMPACTS
RELATING TO SNOW WILL BE CONFINED TO THE MOUNTAINS AND MOUNTAIN
VALLEYS HEADING INTO TUESDAY MORNINGS COMMUTE. IF INVERSIONS
HOLD...THEN P-TYPE ALONG THE WASATCH FRONT BECOMES A
CHALLENGE...WITH THREAT OF ADVISORY LEVEL SNOWFALL POTENTIAL
TUESDAY MORNING FOR POPULATED WASATCH FRONT. WILL BE MONITORING
THIS VERY CLOSELY THROUGH THE DAY TODAY...
WILL BE ADDRESSING HEADLINES FOR MOUNTAIN/MOUNTAIN VALLEY ZONES
FOR THE AFTERNOON PACKAGE. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS...
THE NEXT STRONGER WAVE ARRIVES IN SOUTHWEST UT LATE TODAY AND
SPREADS HEAVIER AND MORE WIDESPREAD PRECIP ACROSS THE CWA TONIGHT
INTO EARLY TUE. THIS SHOULD END UP AN ADVISORY LEVEL EVENT FOR
MOST MTNS AND CONVERTED THE EXISTING WATCH TO AN ADVISORY STARTING
AT 00Z. EXPECT WE WILL NEED ADVISORIES FOR MOST OTHER MTN ZONES
AND MAYBE SOME HIGHER SWRN VALLEYS SUCH AS NEAR CEDAR CITY. WILL
ALLOW DAY SHIFT TO MAKE FINAL CALL ON THIS.
SUBSEQUENT WAVE WED IMPACT THE SOUTH MORE THEN THE THU WAVE SHOULD
BE A LITTLE COLDER AND AFFECT MORE OF THE AREA. THE PRECIP EVENT
ASSOCIATED WITH THE MAIN LONG WAVE SHOULD BE WIDESPREAD AND COLD
ENOUGH FOR SNOW TO ALL BUT DIXIE.
RIDGING RETURNS BY NEXT SUN.
&&
.AVIATION...CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE TO IMPROVE AT THE SLC
TERMINAL THROUGH THE DAY. BASED ON TRENDS ACROSS THE SALT LAKE
VALLEY...IT LOOKS LIKE IMPROVED MIXING AT THE TERMINAL IS
LIKELY...LEADING TO VISIBILITIES ABOVE 6SM FOR THE FIRST TIME IN
DAYS AND A PERIOD OF CEILINGS ABOVE 7000FT AGL THIS AFTERNOON.
THERE IS ONLY A 20 PERCENT CHANCE THAT MVFR CONDITIONS WILL
PERSIST THROUGH 23Z. CEILINGS WILL BEGIN TO LOWER LATE THIS
AFTERNOON AND THROUGH THIS EVENING...DROPPING BELOW 7000FT AGL
AGAIN BETWEEN 00Z AND 03Z AHEAD OF THE NEXT APPROACHING WAVE.
&&
.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 5 PM MONDAY TO NOON TUESDAY FOR
UTZ517-UTZ518.
WY...NONE.
&&
MERRILL/SCHOENING/WILENSKY
FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)
FOR FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
VISIT...
HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY/GENERAL/AFD_FAQS.PHP (ALL LOWER CASE)HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT 600 AM MST MON JAN 18 2010 UTZ001>016-019>021-517-518-WYZ021-191300- 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- 600 AM MST MON JAN 18 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF UTAH AND FAR SOUTHWEST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW WILL MAKE FOR A LOCALLY HAZARDOUS MORNING COMMUTE ACROSS NORTHWESTERN UTAH TODAY. SNOW WILL TAPER OFF BY MIDDAY. VALLEY RAIN AND SNOW AND MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL DEVELOP AGAIN FROM THE SOUTHWEST LATE TODAY AND BECOME WIDESPREAD TONIGHT. SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS SOUTHWEST UTAH. LOCAL VALLEY ACCUMULATION IS POSSIBLE. THE PERSISTENT FOG AND URBAN HAZE IN THE NORTHWEST VALLEYS IS EXPECTED TO GRADUALLY DISSIPATE TODAY THROUGH TONIGHT. THE COLD AIR TRAPPED IN THE EASTERN BASINS SHOULD ALSO WARM UP AND MIX OUT DURING THIS SAME TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY AN ACTIVE WEATHER PATTERN WILL CONTINUE ACROSS THE AREA TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. A SERIES OF WEATHER DISTURBANCES WILL BRING PACIFIC MOISTURE INTO THE AREA WITH PERIODS OF PRECIPITATION. MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS WILL RECEIVE HEAVY AMOUNTS OF SNOW DURING THIS LONG DURATION EVENT...WITH THE HEAVIEST AMOUNTS IN AREAS FAVORED BY SOUTHWEST FLOW. PERIODS OF RAIN AND SNOW ARE EXPECTED IN THE VALLEYS...WITH SNOW LEVELS GRADUALLY LOWERING THROUGH THE WEEK. THE GREATEST THREAT OF SIGNIFICANT WIDESPREAD PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED LATE IN THE WEEK. .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)
4 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Webster Flat SNOTEL received 1.60 inches liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 20 inches of new snow.
Brighton Crest received 23 inches of new snow. Also, 16 inches of snow was reported at Alta.
Ben Lomond Peak SNOTEL received 1.90 inches liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 21 inches of new snow, based on snow ratios from similar elevations.
Plow drivers reported to UDOT that 14 inches of new snow had fallen in the Faust Valley, about 14 miles northwest of Tremonton.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 2010
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: 212593, 212592, 212590, 212605.