A fast-moving cold front entered the state on April 5th, with gusty winds behind the frontal boundary. The severe wind gusts with this front were primarily restricted to downslope areas in the west-northwesterly flow.
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 fast-moving cold front entered the state on April 5th, with gusty winds behind the frontal boundary. The severe wind gusts with this front were primarily restricted to downslope areas in the west-northwesterly flow.
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 5, 8:07 AM MST, 8 hours 43 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT 907 AM MDT TUE APR 5 2011 .SYNOPSIS...A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS NORTHERN UTAH TODAY...THEN CONTINUE SOUTH INTO THE SOUTHERN HALF OF UTAH THROUGH TONIGHT. A SECOND COLDER PACIFIC STORM WILL REACH THE INTERIOR WEST LATE THIS WEEK...AND IMPACT THE REGION THROUGH THE WEEKEND. && .DISCUSSION...SURFACE ANALYSIS AND MSAS BOTH INDICATE THE COLD FRONT IS CURRENTLY LOCATED FROM BUTTE MONTANA TO SOUTHEAST OF BOISE TO NORTH OF RENO. THE FRONT HAS BEEN MOVING AT A STEADY RATE OVER THE PAST FEW HOURS AND IS ON TRACK TO REACH THE CWA THIS AFTERNOON. THE 12Z NAM INITIAL POSITION OF THE FRONT IS RELATIVELY CLOSE TO THE ACTUAL POSITION...BRINGING MORE CONFIDENCE TO THE NAM BASED PROGRESSION OF THE FRONT. FIRST FORECAST ISSUE OF THE DAY IS WHETHER TO ISSUE A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW FOR THE NORTHERN AND POSSIBLY CENTRAL MOUNTAINS OF UTAH FOR TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. CURRENT SNOW TOTAL FORECASTS ARE ON THE LOW END OF THE ADVISORY RANGE. WILL WAIT FOR THE COMPLETION OF THE AFTERNOON GRIDS BEFORE MAKING A DECISION...BUT AM LEANING TOWARDS ISSUING A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THE WASATCH MOUNTAINS...THE WESTERN UINTA MOUNTAINS AND THE BOOKCLIFFS/WASATCH PLATEAU FOR TONIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON. NEXT FORECAST ISSUE WILL FOCUS ON THE LARGE...COLD PACIFIC SYSTEM EXPECTED TO IMPACT THE ENTIRE WESTERN UNITED STATES THURSDAY THROUGH THE WEEKEND. TIMING ON INDIVIDUAL FEATURES CONTINUES TO BE ERRATIC BASED ON THE MODEL...BUT THE GENERAL IDEA OF A LONG PERIOD OF COOL AND WET CONDITIONS FOR MUCH OF THE CWA IS ON TRACK. WILL WAIT FOR THE 12Z EC AND GFS BEFORE MAKING MANY ADJUSTMENTS TO THIS FORECAST PERIOD. CURRENT GRIDS ARE ON TRACK AND NO UPDATES ARE NEEDED AT THIS TIME. && .AVIATION...SOUTHERLY SURFACE WINDS WILL INCREASE THROUGH EARLY THIS AFTERNOON AT THE KSLC TERMINAL. A WIND SHIFT TO NORTHWEST IS EXPECTED BETWEEN 22-00Z AS A COLD FRONT MOVES ACROSS THE TERMINAL...ALTHOUGH THERE IS A 30 PERCENT CHANCE THAT NORTHERLY WINDS WILL DEVELOP AS EARLY AS 20Z. CEILINGS SHOULD REMAIN ABOVE 070 UNTIL THE FRONTAL PASSAGE...BUT A 30 PERCENT CHANCE EXISTS THEY WILL LOWER BELOW 070 AS EARLY AS 20Z AS THE FRONT APPROACHES FROM THE NORTH. RAIN IS EXPECTED TO DEVELOP BEGINNING AROUND 00-02Z. PERIODS OF MVFR CONDITIONS ARE POSSIBLE BEFORE PRECIPITATION TAPERS OFF AROUND 08-10Z. && .SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UT...NONE. WY...NONE. && KRUSE/CHENG 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 316 PM MDT TUE APR 5 2011 UTZ001>016-019>021-517-518-WYZ021-061315- 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- 316 PM MDT TUE APR 5 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT A COLD FRONT WILL CROSS NORTHERN AND CENTRAL UTAH THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT. PRECIPITATION IN THE FORM OF VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL INCREASE IN BOTH AREAL COVERAGE AND INTENSITY BEHIND THE COLD FRONT. SEVERAL INCHES OF NEW SNOW ARE POSSIBLE IN THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS THIS EVENING...THEN OVER THE CENTRAL MOUNTAINS TONIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH TUESDAY MOISTURE SURGING NORTHEAST FROM A LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM OFF OF THE BAJA COAST WILL INTERACT WITH THE COLD FRONT ACROSS SOUTHEAST UTAH WEDNESDAY. AN INCREASING AREA OF SHOWERS WILL DEVELOP OVER SOUTH CENTRAL THROUGH SOUTHEAST UTAH TOMORROW. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO COOL THURSDAY WITH THE ARRIVAL OF A SECOND COLD FRONT FROM THE WEST...WITH SNOW LEVELS FALLING TO THE VALLEY FLOOR BEGINNING THURSDAY NIGHT. PERIODS OF SNOW...AT TIMES MIXED WITH RAIN...WILL BE LIKELY IN THE VALLEYS BETWEEN THURSDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. THE STORM SYSTEM WILL FINALLY PULL OUT OF THE REGION SATURDAY NIGHT. SEVERAL FEET OF SNOWFALL CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS. A BRIEF BREAK IN PRECIPITATION WILL DEVELOP SUNDAY. THE NEXT PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WILL REACH UTAH MONDAY...WITH MOST OF THE PRECIPITATION FOCUSING ON THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE STATE. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... WEATHER SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SIGNIFICANT WEATHER CONDITIONS ACCORDING TO STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES. ROGOWSKI FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT 257 PM MDT TUE APR 5 2011 UTZ001>016-019>021-517-518-WYZ021-061300- 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- 257 PM MDT TUE APR 5 2011 ...COLD AND WET WEATHER INTO THE COMING WEEKEND... CLOUDY...COLD AND WET CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TOMORROW INTO THE COMING WEEKEND ACROSS THE REGION. TEMPERATURES WILL BE 10 TO 20 DEGREES BELOW NORMAL DURING THIS TIME PERIOD...MAKING IT FEEL MORE LIKE MID TO LATE FEBRUARY THAN EARLY APRIL. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE ACROSS NORTHERN UTAH TONIGHT...AND ACROSS CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN UTAH TOMORROW. THIS WILL BRING THE FIRST PERIOD OF WET WEATHER...WITH MAINLY RAIN IN THE VALLEYS AND LIGHT TO MODERATE AMOUNTS OF MOUNTAIN SNOW. TEMPERATURES WILL CONTINUE TO COOL THURSDAY WITH THE ARRIVAL OF A SECOND COLD FRONT FROM THE WEST...WITH SNOW LEVELS FALLING TO THE VALLEY FLOOR BEGINNING THURSDAY NIGHT. PERIODS OF SNOW...AT TIMES MIXED WITH RAIN...WILL BE LIKELY IN THE VALLEYS BETWEEN THURSDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. THE STORM SYSTEM WILL FINALLY PULL OUT OF THE REGION SATURDAY NIGHT. SEVERAL FEET OF SNOWFALL CAN BE EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS. LISTEN TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO OR YOUR LOCAL MEDIA FOR THE LATER UPDATES ON THIS SITUATION...INCLUDING POTENTIAL WATCHES AND WARNINGS. ROGOWSKI FOR MORE INFORMATION FROM NOAA/S NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE VISIT... HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/SALTLAKECITY (ALL LOWER CASE)
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Maximum recorded wind gusts included 64 mph at the I-80 at Milepost 1 sensor, and 59 mph at Wendover Peak.
The sensor in Lehi recorded a maximum wind gust of 59 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, April 2011
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: 301688, 301690.