A winter storm moved through bringing another period of snowfall to much of Utah in mid to late March, though warning criteria snowfall was limited.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 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.
A winter storm moved through bringing another period of snowfall to much of Utah in mid to late March, though warning criteria snowfall was limited.
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 19, 2:39 AM MST, 9 hours 21 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
339 AM MDT Sun Mar 19 2023
.SYNOPSIS...High pressure will shift east of the area today as a
series of significant storm systems impact the area late Sunday
through Thursday. The active pattern is expected to continue
through the remainder of the week.
&&
.SHORT TERM (Through 12Z Tuesday)...High pressure is centered over
Utah and southwest Wyoming this morning as a relatively moist
storm system moves onshore along the Pacific coast. The ridge axis
will shift east of the area this afternoon as the trough moves
into the Great Basin. Southerly flow will bring a continued
warming trend across much of the area, with maxes today expected
to approach seasonal normals. The main exception to this will be
over southwest Utah, as increasing cloud cover ahead of the trough
will limit warming.
This Pacific storm system will then make its way across the area
tonight through early Tuesday. Initially precipitation will be in
a southwest flow/warm advection regime, with moisture and
instability initially sliding in southwest Utah during the early
evening before spreading across the remainder of Utah and
southwest Wyoming late evening through the overnight hours.
Periods of snow, heavy at times, will continue in this regime into
Monday afternoon, with the periods of heaviest precipitation
primarily dictated by individual shortwaves in the flow. Valley
rain/mountain snow is anticipated, with snow levels primarily in
the 5,500 to 6,500 foot range in the southerly flow. With the
arrival of the main trough and associated cold front Monday
evening, snow levels will trend downward and the flow will move to
more of a west to northwest flow. With the main trough expected
to primarily take a track across northern Utah, southern Utah
precipitation will end Monday night, with showers lingering into
Tuesday morning across northern Utah.
Given the relatively long window for heavy precipitation with
ample moisture and instability, snow accumulations will be
significant for mountain locations across Utah. There is some
concern that snow totals in the going forecast are a bit inflated
due to relatively high snow ratios in the guidance, but even if
some of that is present totals still look to be more than
enough to result in significant travel impacts. As a result, and
after coordination with our partners in transportation, have
upgraded going Winter Weather Advisory to a Winter Storm Warning.
One potentially problematic area of the forecast is precipitation
type across the Wasatch Back, and have concern that the area will
see more snow currently in the forecast if higher rates impact
precipitation type, particularly in the Park City area. With the
first trough exiting, the area will see a lull in the action
beginning Tuesday morning.
.LONG TERM (After 12Z Tuesday)...The long term period will be active
across the entire region with on and off precipitation for most of
the week. Additionally, temperatures will trend colder throughout
the week. To start, a deepening trough moving into the Great Basin
will pair with highly anomalous moisture to create widespread
precipitation late Tuesday through Wednesday. Precipitation tapers,
but does not completely shut off on Thursday, before another trough
with Siberian origins brings more widespread precipitation and
temperatures 15-20 degrees below average. Given the continental
polar nature of the airmass dry air will move in towards the end of
the period.
Guidance is in good agreement on the upcoming train of storms. Only
subtle differences in timing and storm track exist, but overall the
consensus remains for a wet and cold forecast followed by a drying
trend with frigid air settling in.
To begin the period, a transient ridge will bring a brief lull in
precipitation between the exiting storm and incoming storm. By
Tuesday evening southwesterly flow ahead of a deep trough and
surface low pressure making landfall in California will ramp up.
With a strong 150+kt jet across the desert SW there is a high chance
(80%) winds across southern Utah will gust to advisory levels across
mountains and valleys on Wednesday morning. Additionally, a moisture
plume associated with a landfalling atmospheric river over northern
Mexico and Arizona will push into southern Utah. Given the strong
jet dynamics, potent trough, baroclinic zone, and high moisture
content widespread precipitation in the form of valley rain and
mountain snow will spread into Utah/SW Wyoming from south to north
late Tuesday into Wednesday. Southwesterly flow will benefit areas
that are favored in this regime. Snow levels will drop as cold air
moves in. H7 temperatures approach -10C with the probability of snow
across southern Utah valleys (except lower Washington County)
nearing 80-85% overnight Tuesday. Snow probs across northern Utah
valleys are in the 40-70% range by Wednesday morning.
Overall QPF amounts in the 25th-75th percentile with this first
storm are 0.3-0.8". Valleys that do well in SW have a greater chance
of being closer to the upper percentile, whereas areas that tend to
get shadowed in this flow will be on the lower end. The same goes
for mountain locations with QPF values in the 0.75-2.00" range.
As the trough axis moves to the east of our area zonal flow combined
with remaining moisture will keep orographic precipitation ongoing
Thursday.
Guidance is in much better agreement with the storm to follow on
Friday. An airmass that originates in Siberia will be dislodged as a
large ridge builds over Alaska. This airmass will arrive across the
PNW on Friday bringing H7 temperatures in the -12 to -16C range to
the Great Basin by the weekend along with much drier air. Ahead of
this airmass northwest flow and lingering moisture will bring snow
to valley and mountain locations across the region. This
precipitation will shut off by the end of the weekend as the
aforementioned dry airmass continues to settle into the western
CONUS.
.AVIATION...KSLC...VFR conditions will prevail throughout the period
for the KSLC terminal. Winds will stay southerly and gradually
increase throughout the day ahead of our next storm. High clouds
build in with gradually lowering CIGs. CIGs could approach mountain
obscuration levels after 00Z, but dry conditions will remain.
.REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...VFR conditions will prevail
across northern Utah with VFR conditions transitioning to MVFR/IFR
in southern Utah during the afternoon. Southerly winds will increase
ahead of another storm. CIGs will drop from south to north creating
mountain obscuration by the afternoon with low elevation rain
showers/high elevation snow showers developing across southern Utah
after 21Z.
&&
.AVIATION...KSLC...VFR conditions will prevail throughout the period
for the KSLC terminal. Winds will stay southerly and gradually
increase throughout the day ahead of our next storm. High clouds
build in with gradually lowering CIGs. CIGs could approach mountain
obscuration levels after 00Z, but dry conditions will remain.
.REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...VFR conditions will prevail
across northern Utah (exception being KLGU as patchy fog lingers in
the morning) with VFR conditions transitioning to MVFR/IFR in
southern Utah during the afternoon. Southerly winds will increase
ahead of another storm. CIGs will drop from south to north creating
mountain obscuration by the afternoon with low elevation rain
showers/high elevation snow showers developing across southern Utah
after 21Z.
&&
.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...Winter Storm Warning from 9 PM this evening to 3 AM MDT Tuesday
for UTZ110>113-117.
Winter Storm Warning from 3 PM this afternoon to 9 PM MDT Monday
for UTZ125.
WY...None.
&&
SHORT TERM...Traphagan
LONG TERM/AVIATION...Mahan
For more information from NOAA's National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/saltlakecityThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Several SNOTEL stations including Widtsoe #3, Brian Head, and Big Flat recorded 1.4 to 2.8 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 18 to 36 inches of snow.
Several SNOTEL stations including GBRC Meadows, Buck Flat, and Pine Creek recorded 1.4 to 1.7 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 18 to 22 inches of snow.
Several SNOTEL stations including Indian Canyon, Timberline, and Mammoth-Cottonwood recorded 1.0 to 1.9 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 12 to 24 inches of snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Utah in 2023Every state in 2023This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, March 2023
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: 1088558, 1088557, 1088556.