Heavy snow impacted the Wasatch Mountains of northern Utah.
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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.
Heavy snow impacted the Wasatch Mountains of northern 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 Salt Lake City, UT wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Mar 8, 11:57 AM UTC, 3 hours 3 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
457 AM MST Tue Mar 8 2022
.SYNOPSIS...A developing storm system will push south into
northern Utah this morning, then track south across the area
through Thursday. Some of the coldest temperatures of the season
can be expected Thursday and Friday mornings. High pressure and a
warming trend will return for the weekend, with the potential for
more active weather late Sunday.
&&
.SHORT TERM (Through 12Z/5AM Thursday)...As a departing shortwave
trough moves well off to the east and the parent longwave parked
over the upper midwest begins to lift, the next system will
amplify southward down its western edge. This wave will initially
tap into moist air over the Pacific Northwest. While lacking
particularly interesting jet-level dynamics, warm air advection
and increasing mid-level flow will kick off snow showers in the
Bear River Range early this morning and gradually spread over the
northern mountain region. As the first incoming shortwave trough
nears, large-scale forcing will improve, bringing valley areas
into the mix with snow showers beginning as early as mid-morning.
Snow showers will spread over the remainder of the Wasatch Front
early in the afternoon, with snowfall becoming steady and rates
quickly picking up through the evening. The initially dry low
level environment and warm surfaces may limit accumulations until
after sunset. Worth noting that recent runs of the CAMs bring
heavier snowfall rates into the northern Wasatch Front and Cache
Valley sooner, raising concerns for impacts to the tail end of
today's evening commute.
As the trough progresses southward, strong synoptic scale lift
will be bolstered by the development of a baroclinic zone ahead
of the trough axis. Snowfall rates will peak around midnight, with
a second period of heavier rates likely to impact the Wednesday
morning commute along the Wasatch Front. The existing advisories
along the Wasatch Front stand as such, with the expectation to
meet criteria on the high end with widespread totals of 2-6",
especially on the eastern benches where locally higher totals of
4-8" are possible. Though currently in the low confidence realm, could
see some lake effect development both Wednesday and Thursday
mornings impacting the Salt Lake Valley providing additional
accumulations.
With greater confidence that low lying areas throughout central
Utah will see periods of productive snowfall impacting peak travel
times, have issued advisories for eastern Juab and Millard
Counties as well as the Sanpete Valley. These areas should do
well given the near westerly mid-level flow for a brief period
before the system loses support of its Pacific Northwest moisture
tap Wednesday evening. Precipitation will taper off to showers
Wednesday night for northern Utah, ending first across the
northern valleys as the trough dives south and the primary area of
concern shifts towards the southern mountains. While a brief
period of favorable dynamics exists as the system pushes through
southern Utah, the drying airmass and decaying baroclinic zone will
struggle to support much more than a few inches of snowfall
accumulation for the southern mountains on orographic forcing,
with little more than a trace to 1" possible for the southern
valleys.
Precipitation all but wraps up Thursday morning with strong
subsidence and the introduction of a much colder arctic airmass.
With fresh snow on the ground and clouds dissipating towards
sunrise, some of the coldest temps of the year (and potentially
the 2021-2022 winter season) are expected. Northern and central Utah
will see Thursday morning's minimum temperatures in the single
digits to low teens push 25 degrees below climatological averages,
while the Bear River Valley and Uinta County Wyoming steal the
show in the low teens below zero. The ECMWF lags the GFS some,
delaying the coldest air to Thursday afternoon, which could bring
these up closer to 0F. Meanwhile, southern Utah will run slightly
less extreme mins, with widespread areas of 10-15 degrees below
the seasonal norms.
&&
.LONG TERM (After 12Z/5AM Thursday)...A very cold upper level
trough will be shifting south and east across the Great Basin at
the start of the long term forecast period. A portion of the
guidance suggests 700mb temperatures across northern Utah could be
as cold as -20C. Depending on a variety of factors, such as snow
cover and amount of clearing, Friday morning could be quite cold
in many locations. With strong cold air advection and northerly
700mb flow across the gaps in Washington County, gusty winds can
be expected near Black Ridge Canyon and the Beaver Dam Mountains
Thursday into Friday morning.
Northwesterly flow will build into the area Friday, with strong mid-
level warm air advection. 700mb temperatures are expected to reach
near 0C by Saturday afternoon. This rapid warming over valley cold
pools may increase haze in some of the smaller northern basins with
snow cover.
Deterministic and ensemble guidance continues to show a relative
bimodal distribution to any potential precipitation Sunday into
Monday. The GEFS continues to suggest a digging shortwave will cross
northeastern Utah by Sunday evening, bringing another round of
precipitation to at least northern Utah. The EPS on the other hand
shifts this shortwave will to the east of the area, with the ridge
remaining in place across Utah. Notably, several members of the GEFS
have shifted toward the EPS solution with the latest runs compared
to earlier runs.
Regardless, all of the guidance rebuilds the ridge over the Interior
West early next week followed by another potential system Tuesday
(though there is a wide range of solutions at this time for this
system ranging from largely dry to a modest event with a relatively
strong cold front).
&&
.AVIATION...KSLC...Lowering ceilings can be expected as the next
system begins to impact northern Utah. Ceilings near 4500-5000 feet
are expected to develop between 13-14Z. Light snow may begin to
impact the terminal as early as 20Z, with a heavier band of snow
expected after 02Z. Periodic IFR to LIFR conditions can be expected
with this band through at least 12Z Wednesday.
REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...A broad area of lower ceilings
near or below 5000 feet AGL with light snow will move into the
northern half of the state this morning into this afternoon,
gradually shifting south tonight into Wednesday morning. Periodic
restrictions to IFR to LIFR can be expected with any snow.
&&
.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...Winter Weather Advisory from 11 PM this evening to 5 PM MST
Wednesday for UTZ102-105-106.
Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 11 AM MST
Wednesday for UTZ103-104-107.
Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 5 PM MST
Wednesday for UTZ109.
Winter Weather Advisory from 11 AM this morning to 11 PM MST
Wednesday for UTZ108-112-113-117.
Winter Storm Warning until 5 PM MST Wednesday for UTZ110.
Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 11 PM MST
Wednesday for UTZ116-118.
Winter Storm Warning from 11 AM this morning to 5 PM MST
Wednesday for UTZ111.
WY...Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 5 PM MST
Wednesday for WYZ021.
&&
Wessler/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.phpThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Storm total snow accumulations included 27.6 inches at Alta Ski Area, and 22 inches at Brighton Resort.
Storm total snow water equivalents included 1.4 to 2.2 inches, or approximately 18 to 32 inches of snow, at Farmington, Tony Grove Lake, Lookout Peak, Louis Meadow, Parrish Creek, Horse Ridge, and Monte Cristo SNOTELs. In addition, Powder Mountain officials reported 17 inches of snow.
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, March 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: 1015106, 1015107.