A potent winter storm moved through Utah on January 20 and 21, bringing heavy snow to much of the state.
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 winter storm moved through Utah on January 20 and 21, bringing heavy snow to much of the state.
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, 10:36 AM MST, 2 hours 24 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT 1036 AM MST Fri Jan 20 2017 .SYNOPSIS...The active weather pattern will continue across the region, with a series of weather systems crossing the area through the first half of next week. && .DISCUSSION...H5 analysis indicates a weak perturbation over northern Utah lifting northeast attm, this in advance of a progressive trough impacting coastal CA. This subtle feature combined with favorable vertical profiles allowed for organization of a narrow band of moderate snow and snow showers along the Wasatch Front over the last few hours, and efficient crystal growth yielded a quick half inch to an inch many areas in the north. HRRR 1km suggests this band will continue to lift northeast and dissipate through midday allowing a brief break from precip and potentially a partial break in cloud cover. Earlier update increased PoPs along the Wasatch Front this morning, and cancelled the dense fog advisory (as visibilities improved quickly after sunrise). Upstream the next short wave of a series is currently tracking southeast across CA and remains quite progressive due to being coincident with a strong NW-SE upper jet poised to spread into the desert southwest. A broad area of upper diffluence extends downstream of this wave, and can be noted by expansion of a mid/upper level cloud shield over Nevada in IR imagery. This is currently just now nosing into the southern/western portions of the state where clouds and light mtn precip are again filling in. Models continue to agree that the track of this wave will carry the bulk of the energy across the lower Colorado River Valley into the desert Southwest late today through tomorrow morning, shifting this broad diffluent area overhead. Deep moisture advection will creep northeast within this sector overspreading the area within modest SW flow aloft. Hi- res guidance suggests precip will expand rapidly from SW-NE later this afternoon becoming areawide tonight, with focused QPF areas south of the I-70 corridor. Passage of the mid level trough axis tomorrow will likely enhance snowfall rates along the Wasatch Front/I-15 corridor tomorrow morning into the afternoon, with modestly unstable northwest flow in wake lasting into the early evening hours. Will be addressing any need for highlights this shift, as bulk of precip across the area will be falling as snow, outside of modest rain potential across the south/southwest...especially Dixie. Previous discussion below. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...As has been the case the last few model runs, global models continue to indicate a lull in the action Sunday morning. The next system will begin to impact the area Sunday afternoon as a strong 160kt+ jet max takes aim on Utah. Upper level diffluence combined with deep southwesterly flow and associated warm air advection will provide more than sufficient lift for precipitation across portions of Utah. The main locations to see the highest precipitation rates will be portions of southern Utah experiencing enhanced upslope flow and mountain areas of Utah favored in southwesterly flow. Locations such as Cedar City and the Salt Lake Valley will likely be shadowed until the cold front arrives. The cold front associated with the digging trough is expected to cross the state Monday into early Tuesday. Expect an enhanced area of precipitation near and behind this cold front. A large and somewhat diffuse trough will remain across the West through at least Thursday. This will keep deep, moist and unstable north to northwesterly flow in place. Expect at least mountain areas to continue to see snow showers from Tuesday through Thursday. Upper level ridging will finally build into the area by Friday bringing a break to the action through at least the early part of the weekend. && .AVIATION...Ceilings at the SLC terminal have lifted above 3kft as of 17Z, but there is an 80 percent chance they will remain below 7000 feet through most of the day. Visibilities will likely also remain below 6SM through the day. Winds could be light and variable at times today, but southerly is the only direction that winds should exceed 7 knots through 03Z. && .SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UT...None. WY...None. && DISCUSSION...Merrill/Schoening PREVIOUS DISCUSSION...Kruse For more information from NOAA's National Weather Service visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity For frequently asked questions about the Area Forecast Discussion visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity/general/afd_faqs.php
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT 422 AM MST FRI JAN 20 2017 UTZ001>016-019>021-517-518-WYZ021-211200- 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- 422 AM MST FRI JAN 20 2017 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE WESTERN TWO THIRDS OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT AREAS OF FOG WILL CONTINUE INTO THE MORNING HOURS ACROSS MANY NORTHERN AND CENTRAL VALLEYS. THIS FOG IS THE MOST DENSE ACROSS THE SALT LAKE AND TOOELE VALLEYS AS WELL AS THE NORTHERN WASATCH FRONT. THIS FOG IS EXPECTED TO DISSIPATE BY LATE MORNING. VALLEY RAIN AND MOUNTAIN SNOW IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD INTO FAR SOUTHWEST UTAH LATE THIS AFTERNOON. THIS PRECIPITATION IS EXPECTED TO SPREAD ACROSS THE REMAINDER OF THE OUTLOOK AREA TONIGHT. SNOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN IN THE 3500 TO 4000 FOOT RANGE...WITH A FEW INCHES OF ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE IN THE HIGHER TERRAIN OVERNIGHT. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY SNOW WILL CONTINUE ALONG THE I-15 CORRIDOR FROM OGDEN SOUTH TO CEDAR CITY...AS WELL AS ALONG THE ADJACENT HIGHER TERRAIN INTO THE MORNING HOURS SATURDAY. A BRIEF BREAK IN THE WEATHER IS EXPECTED SATURDAY NIGHT INTO SUNDAY MORNING...BEFORE THE NEXT SYSTEM ARRIVES SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THIS SYSTEM WILL BRING SNOW TO MUCH OF THE AREA THROUGH THE FIRST HALF OF NEXT WEEK...WITH SIGNIFICANT ACCUMULATION POSSIBLE IN THE MOUNTAINS. .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 FOR INFORMATION ON POTENTIAL ROAD TRAVEL IMPACTS VISIT... HTTP://WWW.UDOTTRAFFIC.UTAH.GOV/ROADWEATHERFORECAST.ASPX
6 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Brian Head Resort received 17 inches of new snow during the event. In addition, Kolob SNOTEL received 2.30 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation, or approximately 25 inches of snow.
New Harmony received a storm total of 15 inches of snow.
Storm totals in the southern Wasatch Front included 12 inches of snow in Alpine, 9 inches in Lehi, and 7 inches in Eagle Mountain.
Storm total snowfall included 28 inches at Alta Ski Area, 23 inches at Brighton Resort, and 17 inches at Park City Mountain Resort.
The heaviest snow in the Salt Lake Valley occurred on the benches, including storm total reports of 16 inches in eastern Cottonwood Heights, 15 inches in eastern Sandy, 13 inches at the Upper Avenues, and 12 inches at the University of Utah. Totals closer to the valley floor were lower, in part due to initially higher snow levels, but were still notable. These totals included 8 inches in South Salt Lake and 6 inches at Salt Lake City International Airport.
Storm total snowfall reports included 16 inches on the Bountiful Bench, 11 inches in Layton, 10 inches in Centerville, and 8 inches in South Ogden.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, January 2017
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: 677085, 677078, 677059, 677068, 677057, 677051.