A potent Pacific storm system moved through Utah on January 21st and 22nd. Gusty winds were observed both ahead of and behind the strong cold front.
Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.
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 potent Pacific storm system moved through Utah on January 21st and 22nd. Gusty winds were observed both ahead of and behind the strong cold front. Flooding, again due to heavy rain on top of frozen ground, was observed in the Wasatch mountain valleys. Heavy snowfall was also observed in the higher elevations across much of Utah, as well as the benches of the northern Wasatch Front behind the cold front.
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 20, 9:48 PM MST, 2 hours 12 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
948 PM MST FRI JAN 20 2012
.SYNOPSIS...THE NEXT IN A SERIES OF MOIST PACIFIC STORMS WILL MOVE
INTO THE AREA LATE TONIGHT...AND IMPACT MUCH OF UTAH THROUGH
SATURDAY NIGHT. THERE WILL BE A BREAK IN THE WEATHER SUNDAY...WITH
ANOTHER STORM LIKELY EARLY NEXT WEEK.
&&
.DISCUSSION...THE NEXT PACIFIC TROUGH CURRENTLY ALONG THE WEST
COAST WILL MOVE INTO THE WESTERN GREAT BASIN SATURDAY....THEN
SWEEP EAST THROUGH UTAH LATE SATURDAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
AHEAD OF THIS TROUGH A NEAR 700MB WARM FRONT ARCING ACROSS NORTHERN
UTAH THIS EVENING IS PRODUCING A BROAD AREA OF LIGHT OVERRUNNING
PRECIP ACROSS FAR NORTHERN AND POINTS NORTH AND WEST. THIS
OVERRUNNING PATTERN WILL PERSIST ACROSS THE NORTH INTO EARLY
SATURDAY MORNING...THEN YIELD TO A COLD FRONT SWEEPING THROUGH THE
REGION AROUND MIDDAY SATURDAY.
GOOD POTENTIAL EXISTS FOR HIGH WINDS ACROSS PORTIONS OF
WESTERN...SOUTHERN AND EAST CENTRAL UTAH AHEAD OF THIS COLD FRONT
GOOD CONTRAST BETWEEN AIRMASSES ALONG THE FRONT COMBINED WITH
50-70KT NEAR 700MB WINDS COULD RESULT IN AN HIGH WIND EVENT. THIS
EVENT WOULD BE DEFINED MAINLY BY STRONG GUSTS RESULTING FROM
DOWNWARD MOMENTUM TRANSFER AHEAD OF THE COLD FRONT.
GOOD BAROCLINIC STRUCTURE IS EVIDENT IN THIS TROUGH WITH WESTWARD
TILT TO THE COLD ALOFT BEHIND THE LOW-LEVEL COLD ADVECTION. STRONG
LIFT RESULTING FROM THE FAVORABLE STRUCTURE OF THE TROUGH WILL
PRODUCE WIDESPREAD AND LIKELY HEAVY PRECIP AHEAD OF THE TROUGH
AXIS SATURDAY AFTERNOON/EVENING. MOUNTAIN LOCATIONS AND MUCH OF
SOUTHWEST WYOMING WILL TURN BACK TO ALL SNOW AS THE MORE INTENSE
PRECIP REACHES THE NORTH. THE LOWER NORTHERN VALLEYS WILL BE A BIT
TRICKIER AS TO WHEN RAIN CHANGES TO SNOW. INTENSE PRECIP WILL
LIKELY DRIVE SNOW LEVEL DOWN QUICKLY LATE SATURDAY...THOUGH AREAS
WHERE PRECIP REMAINS LESS INTENSE WILL EXPERIENCE A SLOWER
TRANSITION OR MAY STAY AS A RAIN/SNOW MIX THROUGH THE EVENT.
TRAILING COLD AIR INSTABILITY IN THE CORE OF THE TROUGH WILL KEEP
SHOWERY PRECIP GOING LATE SATURDAY NIGHT...WITH A DECENT AMOUNT OF
ACCUMULATING SNOW IN THE NORTHERN/CENTRAL MOUNTAINS IN THE EARLY
SUNDAY MORNING.
SHORTWAVE RIDGING SUNDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH EARLY MONDAY BE FOLLOWED
BY WHAT LOOKS TO BE THE LAST PACIFIC TROUGH MOVING THROUGH UTAH
MONDAY NIGHT. THIS NEXT TROUGH WILL LIKELY SPLIT AS IT MOVES
THROUGH THE REGION...RESULTING IN SUBSTANTIALLY LESS PRECIP THROUGH
EARLY TUESDAY. HIGH PRESSURE ALOFT WILL FOLLOW FOR THE MIDWEEK
PERIOD...THEN FLATTEN AS THE WESTERLIES BEGIN TO SAG SOUTH AGAIN
TOWARDS THE END OF THE WEEK.
NO UPDATES PLANNED THIS EVENING.
&&
.HYDROLOGY...RAIN AHEAD OF THE APPROACHING TROUGH BEGINNING LATER
TONIGHT/SATURDAY WILL FIND THE SAME FROZEN GROUND THAT PREVENTED
INFILTRATION OF RUNOFF LAST NIGHT. COULD EASILY SEE MINOR FLOODING
ONCE IN THE LOW-LYING AREAS AS PRECIPITATION RATES PICK UP THROUGH
SATURDAY. HAVE ISSUED SELECT FLOOD ADVISORIES THROUGH THE WEEKEND
FOR NORTHERN VALLEY LOCATIONS ON THE EAST SIDE OF THE WASATCH...AND
THROUGH THE CACHE VALLEY. FLOOD PROBLEMS WILL ABATE AS COLDER AIR
MOVES IN AND PRECIP EITHER ENDS OR CHANGES TO SNOW LATE IN THE
WEEKEND.
&&
.AVIATION...SURFACE WINDS AT THE SLC TERMINAL WILL INCREASE FROM THE
SOUTH THROUGH TONIGHT...WITH A 30 PERCENT CHANCE THAT WIND GUSTS
REACH 30 MPH BEFORE 12Z. CEILINGS WILL LOWER THROUGH TONIGHT AS
SHOWERS FILL IN FROM THE NORTH. WHILE CEILINGS ARE EXPECTED TO DROP
BELOW 7000FT BETWEEN 03Z AND 06Z...THERE IS A CHANCE THAT CEILINGS
WILL REMAIN ABOVE THAT LEVEL THROUGH THE OVERNIGHT HOURS.
&&
.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 5 AM TO 10 PM MST SATURDAY FOR
UTZ013-020-021.
WINTER STORM WARNING UNTIL 11 AM MST SUNDAY FOR UTZ007>010.
HIGH WIND WARNING FROM 5 AM TO 7 PM MST SATURDAY FOR
UTZ003-005-014>016.
WIND ADVISORY FROM 11 AM TO 10 PM MST SATURDAY FOR UTZ019.
WY...WINTER STORM WARNING FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO 11 AM MST SUNDAY FOR
WYZ021.
&&
PUBLIC/HYDROLOGY...CONGER
AVIATION...SEAMAN
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 605 AM MST FRI JAN 20 2012 UTZ001>016-019>021-517-518-WYZ021-211330- 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- 605 AM MST FRI JAN 20 2012 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT PERIODS OF VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL CONTINUE ACROSS NORTHERN UTAH THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS. ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS CAN BE EXPECTED ACROSS THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS. MODESTLY LOWER SNOW LEVELS WILL ALSO BRING SOME SNOW TO THE HIGHER VALLEYS ACROSS FAR NORTHERN UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...BUT ACCUMULATIONS WILL REMAIN VERY LIGHT. A BRIEF BREAK IN THE WEATHER WILL DEVELOP THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. HOWEVER...VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW WILL REDEVELOP ACROSS NORTHERN UTAH LATE TONIGHT AHEAD OF THE NEXT APPROACHING STORM SYSTEM. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY THE NEXT SYSTEM TO REACH THE GREAT BASIN SATURDAY WILL BE COLDER AND MORE ENERGETIC AS IT MOVES ACROSS UTAH SATURDAY THROUGH EARLY SUNDAY. WIDESPREAD VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW EARLY IN THIS STORM WILL TURN TO SNOW AT MOST ELEVATIONS AS COLDER AIR PUSHES EAST ACROSS THE AREA SATURDAY EVENING. THIS WEATHER SYSTEM WILL ALSO BRING THE FIRST SIGNIFICANT PRECIPITATION OF THIS STORM CYCLE TO THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE STATE. SIGNIFICANT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE EXPECTED IN THE MOUNTAINS...ESPECIALLY ACROSS NORTHERN UTAH. THE WASATCH MOUNTAIN VALLEYS AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING COULD POTENTIALLY SEE SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATIONS AS WELL. MOST OTHER VALLEY AREAS ARE EXPECTED TO SEE GENERALLY LIGHT AMOUNTS. IN ADDITION TO THE PRECIPITATION...THE STORM WILL LIKELY BRING STRONG WINDS TO THE AREA ON SATURDAY. THE MOST PRONE AREAS WILL BE ALONG THE RIDGELINES AND IN THE VALLEYS OF SOUTHERN UTAH. ANOTHER BREAK IN PRECIPITATION SUNDAY NIGHT WILL BE FOLLOWED BY A SECOND COLD PACIFIC STORM FOR LATE MONDAY THROUGH MONDAY NIGHT. THIS FEATURE WILL PRODUCE WIDESPREAD SNOW INTO EARLY MONDAY EVENING. HIGH PRESSURE BUILDING INTO THE INTERIOR WEST WILL FINALLY BRING AN END TO THIS STORM CYCLE BY MIDWEEK. .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) FOR INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL TRAVEL IMPACTS VISIT... HTTP://WWW.COMMUTERLINK.UTAH.GOV/ROADWEATHERFORECAST.ASPX
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
7 winter storm, 6 high wind, 2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowbasin Resort Company received a storm total of 23 inches of new snow at their mid-bowl location.
Storm totals included 29 inches of new snow at Solitude Mountain Resort, 25 inches at both Brighton Resort and Alta Ski Lifts, and 24 inches of new snow at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort.
The Trial Lake SNOTEL received 2.10 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 24 inches of new snow.
Strong southerly winds developed across the Salt Lake and Tooele valleys on the morning of January 21st, then rapidly decreased when precipitation began. Maximum wind gusts included 72 mph at the Flight Park South sensor near Point of the Mountain, 68 mph at South Mountain, 66 mph at Stockton Bar, 62 mph at Vernon Hill, and 59 mph at the Court H sensor near Tooele.
Strong wind gusts occurred across the Great Salt Lake Desert both ahead of and behind the cold front. Maximum wind gusts included 71 mph at the Rosebud RAWS, 60 mph at the SR-30 at Curlew sensor, 59 mph at Durand Road, and 58 mph at Simpson Springs and Camel Back Mountain.
Eagle Point received 12 inches of new snow in less than 12 hours during the heaviest snowfall. In addition, the Kolob SNOTEL received a storm total of 2.00 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 20 inches of new snow.
Maximum wind gusts in West Central Utah included 73 mph at the US-6 at Eureka sensor and 63 mph at the Delta Bus Garage.
The Mammoth-Cottonwood SNOTEL received 2.00 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 20 inches of new snow.
The Pine Creek SNOTEL received 2.20 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 22 inches of new snow.
More heavy rainfall occurred across the Ogden Valley, causing isolated flooding incidents. Water flowed across several roadways, and six homes near the Wolf Mountain ski resort experienced flooding.
Storm total snowfall across the northern Wasatch Front included 9 inches at Bountiful Bench, 7 inches in Bountiful and South Ogden, and 6 inches at Northeast Ogden Bench and Brigham City.
The St. George RAWS recorded a maximum wind gust of 58 mph.
The Telegraph Flat RAWS recorded a maximum wind gust of 61 mph.
Heavy rain caused flooding in and around the town of Morgan, Utah, with the most damage occurring along Morgan Valley Drive. Four residential basements were flooded in this area, and water flowed over some roadways.
The Bullfrog Marina sensor recorded a maximum wind gust of 58 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2012Every state in 2012This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 2012
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: 362803, 362804, 362806, 363131, 363132, 362798, 363133, 362807, 362799, 363363, 362801, 362802, 363139, 363362, 363143.