Winter Storm and High Wind in Utah, March 5 to 8, 2011

Name: Winter Storm and High Wind in Utah, March 5 to 8, 2011
Start: 2011-03-05T22:00
End: 2011-03-08T11:00
Location: Utah

March 5 to 8, 2011 · NWS SLC · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A series of moist Pacific storm systems brought widespread precipitation to much of the state of Utah. Heavy snowfall occurred in both the mountains and valleys of both northern and southern Utah.

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 10

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 series of moist Pacific storm systems brought widespread precipitation to much of the state of Utah. Heavy snowfall occurred in both the mountains and valleys of both northern and southern Utah.

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 Mar 5, 9:29 PM MST, 31 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Mar 5, 9:29 PM MST, 31 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
929 PM MST SAT MAR 5 2011

.SYNOPSIS...A MOIST WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL BRING PRECIPITATION
TO MAINLY NORTHERN UTAH THIS WEEKEND. AN ENERGETIC PACIFIC STORM
SYSTEM WILL SETTLE INTO THE GREAT BASIN EARLY IN THE COMING
WEEK...PRODUCING WIDESPREAD SNOW ACROSS MUCH OF THE REGION.

&&

.DISCUSSION...THE LEADING EDGE OF THE DEEP LAYER MOISTURE PLUME
REACHED UTAH LATE THIS AFTERNOON. PRECIP ALONG THIS LEADING EDGE
HAS FORMED OVER THE FAR NRN MOUNTAINS EARLY THIS EVENING.
INDICATIONS ARE THAT AT LEAST AN INCH OR TWO HAS ALREADY FALLEN IN
THE MOUNTAINS...SO HAVE BOOSTED ACCUMULATIONS THROUGH NRN WASATCH
RANGE THIS EVENING.

THE LATEST 00Z GUIDANCE FROM THE NAM AND GFS STILL HOLDING ON TO A
FLAT SHORTWAVE RACING EAST ACROSS NRN UTAH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. WEAK
DYNAMIC AND THERMALLY GENERATED LIFT WORKING ON THE RATHER MOIST
AIRMASS ALREADY IN PLACE SHOULD RESULT IN WIDESPREAD PRECIP SUNDAY
AFTERNOON/EVENING UP NORTH...WITH AREAS OF HEAVY SNOWS POSSIBLE
ALONG THE WINDWARD SLOPES OF THE WASATCH RANGE.

A BRIEF BREAK IN PRECIP COULD DEVELOP LATE SUNDAY NIGHT BETWEEN
THE SUNDAY SHORTWAVE AND THE NEGATIVE-TILT TROUGH MOVING SE INTO
THE GREAT BASIN BY MONDAY. MODELS RUNS THE PAST DAY OR SO HAVE
BEEN SHOWING A TROUGH WITH A BIT LESS MOMENTUM WORKING IN BEHIND
THE TROUGH...AND A SOMEWHAT WEAKER BAROCLINIC STRUCTURE WITH ONLY
MODEST FGEN MONDAY AFTERNOON. STILL...CONSIDERING THE ORIGIN OF
THE MOISTURE FROM THE LOW LATITUDE CENTRAL PACIFIC AND MODEST
LIFT FROM TROUGH DYNAMICS AND THERMAL ADVECTION...THIS TROUGH
SHOULD GENERATE WIDESPREAD PRECIP...WITH SUBSTANTIAL SNOW
ACCUMULATIONS INTO NRN/CNTRL MOUNTAINS AND ADJACENT WRN VALLEYS.
CURRENT WARNINGS IN EFFECT FOR THE NRN MOUNTAINS LOOK FINE...WITH
THE ANTICIPATION THAT ADDITIONAL WINTER WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS WILL BE
NECESSARY AS THE STORMS TRACK BECOMES MORE CERTAIN.

EARLIER UPDATE ISSUED TO INCREASE OVERNIGHT TEMPS IN THE NWRN
VALLEYS ALONG WITH MODESTLY HIGHER SNOW AMOUNTS FOR THE FAR NRN
MOUNTAINS.

&&

.AVIATION...A WEAK SURFACE BOUNDARY IN VICINITY OF THE SLC TERMINAL
COULD TEMPORARILY ALLOW THE SURFACE WINDS TO BE NORTHERLY THROUGH
05Z. HOWEVER...THE PREVALENT WIND DIRECTION SHOULD BE SOUTH
THROUGHOUT THE NIGHT. CEILINGS HAVE A 30 PERCENT CHANCE OF LOWERING
BELOW 7000 FT AGL THROUGH 11Z.

&&

.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 4 PM MST TUESDAY FOR UTZ007>009.

WY...NONE.
&&

PUBLIC...CONGER
AVIATION...STRUTHWOLF

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, Mar 5, 3:15 PM MST, 6 hours 45 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
315 PM MST SAT MAR 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-
315 PM MST SAT MAR 5 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF
UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

AN INCREASINGLY MOIST WESTERLY FLOW ALOFT WILL PREVAIL ACROSS THE
OUTLOOK AREA TODAY. BY LATE TONIGHT LIGHT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO
DEVELOP ACROSS THE HIGHER TERRAIN OF NORTHERN UTAH.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY

A WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL CROSS THE REGION SUNDAY...BRINGING
VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW ACROSS THE NORTHERN HALF OF THE
AREA.

A STRONGER PACIFIC SYSTEM WILL SPREAD PRECIPITATION INTO THE
MAJORITY OF THE OUTLOOK AREA MONDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT.
PRECIPITATION WILL BEGIN AS VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW...WITH
RAIN CHANGING OVER TO SNOW ACROSS THE VALLEYS MONDAY AFTERNOON
INTO MONDAY EVENING.  SIGNIFICANT SNOW AMOUNTS ARE LIKELY IN THE
MOUNTAINS AND ARE POSSIBLE ACROSS SOME OF THE NORTHERN AND WESTERN
VALLEYS BY EARLY TUESDAY. PLEASE REFERENCE THE WINTER WEATHER AND
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENTS 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)

Event by event

9 winter storm, 1 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Wasatch Mountains I-80 North

When: March 5, 10:00 PM MST to March 8, 8:00 AM MST
Where: Wasatch Mountains I-80 North forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Snowbasin Resort received a storm total of 23 inches of new snow.

Winter Storm, Wasatch Mountains South of I-80

When: March 5, 10:00 PM MST to March 8, 10:00 AM MST
Where: Wasatch Mountains South of I-80 forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Storm totals included 38 inches of new snow at Alta Ski Lifts, 38 inches at Solitude Mountain Resort, and 32 inches at Brighton Resort.

Winter Storm, Southwest Utah

When: March 7, 7:00 AM MST to 11:00 PM MST
Where: Southwest Utah forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Beaver received 9 inches of snow, and 6 inches of new snow was reported near Cedar City.

Winter Storm, Central Mountains

When: March 7, 8:00 AM MST to March 8, 5:00 AM MST
Where: Central Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL

Pine Creek SNOTEL received 1.90 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 25 inches of new snow.

Winter Storm, Southern Mountains

When: March 7, 8:00 AM MST to March 8, 5:00 AM MST
Where: Southern Mountains forecast zone
Reported by: SNOTEL

The Kolob SNOTEL received 1.50 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation for the storm, or approximately 20 inches of new snow.

Winter Storm, Salt Lake and Tooele Valleys

When: March 7, 2:00 PM MST to March 8, 11:00 AM MST
Where: Salt Lake and Tooele Valleys forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee

Storm totals across the Salt Lake Valley included 16 inches of snow in Cottonwood Heights and Upper Millcreek, 14 inches in Olympus Cove, 13 inches in Sandy, and 11 inches in the Upper Avenues and Holladay.

Winter Storm, Northern Wasatch Front

When: March 7, 2:30 PM MST to March 8, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Northern Wasatch Front forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee

Bountiful Bench received 15 inches of new snow for the storm. Other totals across the northern Wasatch Front included 10 inches in Bountiful and 9 inches in Centerville.

Winter Storm, Southern Wasatch Front

When: March 7, 2:30 PM MST to March 8, 9:00 AM MST
Where: Southern Wasatch Front forecast zone
Reported by: NWS Employee

Suncrest received 9 inches of new snow, while Alpine received 7 inches.

Winter Storm, Cache Valley/Utah

When: March 7, 4:30 PM MST to March 8, 6:00 AM MST
Where: Cache Valley/Utah forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Storm total snowfall across the Cache Valley included 7 inches in North Logan, and 6 inches in Logan and Providence.

High Wind, Great Salt Lake Desert and Mountains

When: March 7, 6:30 PM MST to March 8, 3:15 AM MST
Where: Great Salt Lake Desert and Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Department of Highways

Both the Wendover Peak sensor and the I-80 at Milepost 1 sensor recorded several hours of strong winds, with peak gusts of 63 mph at Wendover Peak and 62 mph at I-80 at Milepost 1.

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Utah in 2011 Every state in 2011 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, March 2011

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: 292362, 292364, 292373, 292375, 292376, 292370, 292367, 292372, 292377, 292388.