A Pacific trough brought significant snowfall to the eastern Uinta Mountains of northeast Utah.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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 GJT wrote it up.
A Pacific trough brought significant snowfall to the eastern Uinta Mountains of northeast 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 Grand Junction, CO wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 6, 9:03 PM MST, 5 hours 57 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
903 PM MST FRI JAN 6 2012
.SHORT TERM /TODAY THROUGH SUNDAY NIGHT/...
LATEST VIS IMAGERY SHOWS RELATIVELY CLEAR SKIES ACROSS THE CWA THIS
AFTN WITH TEMPS REMAINING WELL-ABOVE NORMAL FOR THIS TIME OF YEAR.
MODELS CONTINUE TO INDICATE 100+ KT JET WILL DROP DOWN FROM WRN
CANADA LATER TONIGHT INTO TOMORROW DIGGING A SHORTWAVE THRU THE
REGION. H5 TEMPS APPROX -28C AND H7 TEMPS OF APPROX -12C INDICATE
THIS SYSTEM HAS DECENT UPPER LEVEL SUPPORT BUT NOTHING TO WRITE
HOME ABOUT. QG VERTICAL VELOCITIES ALONG WITH FRONTOGENETIC FORCING
WILL BE THE MAIN DYNAMICS ASSOD WITH THIS SYSTEM. AVAILABLE
MOISTURE WILL ALSO BE ON THE LOW SIDE SO THE GOING ADVISORIES LOOK TO
BE SPOT-ON. HAD A LOOK AT SAN JUANS AND UNCOMPAHGRE PLATEAU BUT
AMOUNTS APPEAR TO STAY IN THE 3 TO 5 INCH RANGE SO HELD OFF ON
ADDING ANY ZONES THOUGH THEY WILL NEED TO BE WATCHED AS THE FRONT
MOVES THROUGH.
SO FOR THE REMAINDER OF TODAY...EXPECT MOSTLY CLEAR SKIES AND WARM
TEMPERATURES CONTINUING. OVERNIGHT...CLOUDS WILL INCREASE WITH SNOW
STARTING FOR THE ERN UINTAS IN UT TOMORROW MORNING WITH SNOW
OVERSPREADING MUCH OF THE NRN MTNS BY NOON. AS THE DAY PROGRESSES...
SNOW WILL DROP SOUTHWARD. BEST DYNAMICS CONTINUE TO BE ALONG AND
JUST BEHIND THE FRONT SO EXPECT SNOWFALL TO PICK UP AS FRONT MOVES
THROUGH. BY SUNDAY MORNING...MOST OF THE ACTIVITY WILL HAVE ENDED
AS ENERGY PUSHES THE FRONT SOUTH AND TO THE EAST. STILL...SOME
SHOWERS MAY LINGER FOR THE SAN JUANS THROUGH NOON. CLEARING
CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL FOR THE REMAINDER OF THE DAY AS HIGHS REACH
NEAR NORMAL.
.LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY/...
DRY AND ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES ARE THE GENERAL THEME THROUGH NEXT
WEEK...BUT WITH A HINT OF A CHANGE BEYOND THAT. A PERSISTENT
LONGWAVE RIDGE REMAINS IN PLACE OVER THE INTER-MTN WEST THROUGH
THE NEW WEEK.
SUNDAY NIGHT THE RIDGE BECOMES POSITIVELY TILTED STRETCHED FROM
CENTRAL CALIFORNIA INTO NE MONTANA. THE CLOSED LOW EXITING NM TO
THE EAST MAY PRODUCE SOME LIGHT SNOW NEAR WOLF CREEK PASS OVERNIGHT.
AFTER A COLD NIGHT...TEMPERATURES WILL CLIMB ABOVE NORMAL ESPECIALLY
ON THE SLOPES. VALLEYS WILL BE TRAPPED IN STRONG INVERSIONS.
THE RIDGE GETS FLATTENED ON TUESDAY AS THE NEXT OPEN WAVE APPROACHES
FROM THE NW. THE COLD FRONT PASSES TUESDAY NIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY
MORNING WITH THE TROUGH PASSAGE IN THE AFTERNOON. THE BEST QG
FORCING BRUSHES THE NORTHERN FORECAST AREA BEFORE DROPPING ONTO THE
EASTERN PLAINS. THIS WILL FAVOR THE NORTHERN MTNS WITH ONLY LIGHT
SNOWFALL. TEMPERATURES DROP CLOSER TO NORMAL BEHIND THE FRONT.
THURSDAY-FRIDAY THE WESTERN RIDGE REBOUNDS. THE EC KEEPS THE
FAMILIAR POSITIVE TILT THAT EFFECTIVELY SHIELDS US FROM SNOW-MAKING
STORMS. THE GFS IS MORE NEGATIVELY TILTED WHICH WOULD FAVOR STORMS
BEING ABLE TO BREAK THROUGH THE RIDGE.
BEYOND THE 7 DAY FORECAST CONFIDENCE LOWERS. NEXT WEEKEND THE EC
HAS ANOTHER TROUGH PASSAGE WHILE THE GFS HANGS ONTO A RIDGE. BUT
EARLY NEXT WEEK THE GFS HAS CONSISTENTLY PRODUCED A FLATTER FLOW
ALOFT AND COLDER TEMPERATURES FOR THE REGION. SO THERE ARE HIGHLY
UNCERTAIN HINTS OF A PATTERN CHANGE NEXT WEEK...WISHFUL THINKING AT
THIS POINT.
&&
.AVIATION /FOR 06Z TAF ISSUANCE/...
VFR CONDITIONS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH TONIGHT. BUT CEILINGS AND AREAS
OF MVFR CEILINGS WILL FORM AFTER 12Z SATURDAY AS SNOW SHOWERS FORM
OVER THE NORTHERN AND CENTRAL MOUNTAINS. AFTER 18Z...A COLD FRONT
WORKS INTO THE I-70 CORRIDOR...WITH AREAS OF MVFR CIGS AND VSBY
EXPECTED ALONG WITH OCCASIONAL IFR CONDITIONS. MTN TOPS WILL BECOME
OBSCURED BY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE THAT WAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.
&&
.GJT WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
CO...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM NOON SATURDAY TO NOON SUNDAY
FOR ZONES 003-009-010-012
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO NOON SUNDAY
FOR ZONES 004-013.
UT...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 AM SATURDAY TO NOON SUNDAY
FOR ZONES 023.
&&
SHORT TERM...TGR
LONG TERM....JOE
AVIATION.....TGJTThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snowfall ranged from 4 to 6 inches across the northwest portion of the area.
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: 355503.