Downslope high winds occurred in the western Uinta Basin and Castle Country.
Every event with a place to put it; 2 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 SLC wrote it up.
Downslope high winds occurred in the western Uinta Basin and Castle Country.
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 4, 9:45 PM UTC, 6 hours 5 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
345 PM MDT Mon Apr 4 2022
.SYNOPSIS...A tight pressure gradient will set up over much of the
Pacific Northwest to bring very strong winds across the region
through Tuesday. High pressure gradually build back into the
region beginning Wednesday.
&&
.SHORT TERM (Through 12Z Wednesday)...An deepening area of low
pressure over Canada will track into Montana tomorrow and interact
with strong high pressure to our southwest to create a tight
pressure gradient across the Pacific Northwest. An elongated
150+kt jet streak is tracking through this widespread area,
extending across the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah.
This will assist in bringing in potent AR moisture into our area
tonight into tomorrow. Rain and snow remains in the forecast,
primarily impacting the northern Utah mountains and the Uinta
Mountains. A cold front is noted out of ahead of this jet streak,
which will drop snow levels. The precipitation will start off as
rain in valley locations with snow in the mountains with snow
levels expected to drop to valley floors in northern Utah
overnight tonight into tomorrow morning along the Wasatch Front.
This means there is a very short period of opportunity for snow
showers in the valleys. It is unlikely that any snow will
accumulate though it is possible snow will accumulate on area
benches. Otherwise, snow amounts on northern Utah mountains and
are forecast to range between 3 and 7 inches with the Uintas
between 6 and 10 inches. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect
for this area through midnight Tuesday night. Snow is expected to
peak in intensity during the overnight hours tonight through
Tuesday morning and gradually improve Tuesday afternoon, with only
light snow showers possible.
Very strong winds of 40 to 60 mph are already noted across
portions of northern Utah and southwest Wyoming, including along
I-80. These are all winds ahead of the frontal passage. Look for
these winds to shift along the Idaho/Utah border near midnight
with the frontal boundary tracking southward during the overnight
hours. This places the wind shift along the Wasatch Front after
midnight and before sunrise. Wind gusts for the Salt Lake Valley
are forecast to peak briefly around 40 mph. For Castle Dale, we
are seeing around a 60% chance of wind gusts greater than 75 mph
and around 90% of this same speeds for select canyons in Castle
Country. As a result of these expected downslope winds, this
previous wind advisory for this area has been upgraded to a High
Wind Warning. Some of the other areas expected to see the
strongest winds tomorrow include Duchesne and southwest Wyoming.
These area also are under a High Wind Warning. Wind Advisories
continue or remain in effect for Bear Lake, Bear River Valley,
Utah Valley, Bryce Canyon, E Box Elder Country, Cache Valley, San
Rafael Swell, Great Salt Lake Desert and Mountains, Wasatch
Mountains North of I-80 and the Central Mountains.
.LONG TERM (After 12Z Wednesday)...The period will commence with
continuing NW flow that will keep temperatures below average for
Wednesday. Gusty, but lighter, winds will remain on Wednesday
across southern Utah and Castle country as a result of downsloping
and gap enhancement. By Thursday high pressure will start to
dominate and temperatures will quickly rise >10 degrees above
average for Friday and Saturday. This ridge will be short-lived as
a trough to the north will deepen further south pushing much
cooler air into the area by Sunday. Confidence is increasing in
the potential for a significant storm by Monday/Tuesday of next
week as the aforementioned trough continues to dig over the
western CONUS.
A large amplitude ridge will build into the Great Basin region on
Thursday with the axis centered over Utah/SW Wyoming by Friday. As a
result, skies will remain mostly cloud-free and temperatures will
increase ~10 degrees each day and peak by Friday and Saturday with
highs in most valley locations north of Washington County in the low-
to-mid 70s. St. George will flirt with temperatures near 90 degrees.
Clouds will begin to filter in on Saturday ahead of a deepening
trough, however temperatures will remain warm.
Guidance is in fairly good agreement on the depth and position of
this deepening trough. ~80% of members have this trough digging over
the western CONUS by Sunday. This should usher in temperatures ~10-
15 degrees cooler along with increasing cloud coverage and gusty
winds out of the west, especially for southern and eastern Utah.
~70% of members continue the trend of a deepening trough on Monday
along with temperatures continuing to gradually fall. As the trough
deepens, westerly flow will likely shift to a more southwesterly
flow regime ushering in moisture to the region. Precipitation could
be significant and long lived given the slow progression of the
impending trough that is being advertised.
&&
AVIATION...KSLC...A pair of cold fronts will move across the
terminal through tonight, making for a difficult wind forecast.
Latest high-resolution models suggest a higher probability (60-70%)
of the southerly wind shift this evening that was referenced in the
earlier forecast discussion, and have reflected this change in the
latest TAF, where we bring winds back to a southerly direction at
00Z. This will be short-lived as the main cold front will force a
wind direction to the W-NW around 06Z, with a gradual shift to the
NW or NNW by 12Z. Sfc gusts around 25kts are likely during this
time. Gusty and erratic winds with higher gusts are possible in
the vicinity of showers tonight. Forecast soundings indicate WNW
winds at 2kft will increase to 40-45kts between 03-08Z, leading to
at least marginal wind shear. Showers are forecast between 09Z-
16Z, leading to category reductions to MVFR. Heavier showers
and/or a mix or change to SN will force brief reductions to IFR.
There is ~40% probability of this occurrence. Showers will end by
mid-morning, and categories will return to VFR. NNW winds of
10-20kts with occasionally higher gusts then expected through the
day.
REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...A cold front will move through
northern Utah and SW Wyoming tonight and through central Utah
Tuesday morning. This will bring a period of rain and snow showers
to northern UT and SW Wyoming from this evening through tomorrow
morning, with MVFR to occasional IFR conditions and mountain
obscuration, especially near/along the ID and WY borders. VFR
conditions expected by Tuesday afternoon across the airspace.
Strongest winds are expected across northern/central UT, SW Wyoming
and wind-prone locations of central Utah. Across SW Wyoming, SW-W
sfc gusts expected to reach 50 to 60kts from 00Z this evening into
Tuesday evening, strongest between 03Z this evening to 15Z Tuesday.
Some valley locations that do not realize the strongest sfc winds
will reach wind shear criteria from late this evening through
tonight.
&&
.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...Wind Advisory from 6 PM this evening to noon MDT Tuesday for
UTZ106.
Wind Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for
UTZ107-109.
Wind Advisory until 6 PM MDT Tuesday for UTZ101-103-110.
Wind Advisory from 6 AM to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for UTZ127.
High Wind Warning until midnight MDT Tuesday night for UTZ114.
Winter Weather Advisory from 6 PM this evening to midnight MDT
Tuesday night for UTZ112.
Wind Advisory from 6 PM this evening to midnight MDT Tuesday
night for UTZ117-121.
High Wind Warning from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM MDT Tuesday for
UTZ120.
WY...High Wind Warning until midnight MDT Tuesday night for WYZ021.
&&
SHORT TERM...NDeSmet
LONG TERM...Mahan
AVIATION...ADeSmet
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.phpThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Peak wind gusts included 71 mph at Fremont Junction, 69 mph at Orangeville Agrimet, 64 mph at Ferron Agriment, and 60 mph at Huntington Agrimet.
The Utah Department of Transportation US-40 at Starvation Reservoir RWIS recorded a peak wind gust of 62 mph. Additionally, the US-40 at milepost 105 Myton automated weather station recorded a peak wind gust of 59 mph.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, April 2022
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: 1023473, 1023472.