Heavy Snow and Winter Weather in Utah, January 6 to 8, 2024

At approximately 1:20 am MST on 1/6, an incident was reported to law enforcement of an accident involving an F-150 pickup truck travelling on southbound I-15 near milepost 81, just north of Paragonah. Utah State Highway Patrol concluded that the driver lost control of the vehicle on black ice, causing the vehicle to spin left into the median, roll over, and eject all three occupants of the vehicle before coming to rest on its side blocking the northbound lanes of the interstate. Of the three occupants, an adult female (age 26) died at the scene, an injured adult male (age not specified) was transported to the hospital via ground transportation, and an injured female infant (age 1) was transported to the hospital via helicopter transportation. The occupants were reported to not be wearing seatbelts, which in turn was deemed a likely contribution to the severity of the crash. Despite both the adult male and infant female being described as in critical condition for a period following the accident, both are reported to have recovered. The northbound lanes of I-15 near the crash site were closed for approximately 2.5 hours following the incident in order to allow Utah Highway Patrol to conduct the investigation.

A combination of COOP observers, CoCoRaHS observers, and public reports included snowfall amounts of approximately 6 to 12 inches of snow. Some selected snowfall reports include 6.0 inches at 1 E Ogden, 9.0 inches at Fruit Heights, and 12.0 inches at 1 NE Pleasant View. The majority of this snow fell from the evening of 1/6 through the morning of 1/7, with lighter lingering snow persisting around the area through early 1/8.

A COOP observer located in Scipio reported storm total snowfall of 6.0 inches.

Several SNOTEL stations including Rees Flat, Pickle Keg, and Rockwood GS recorded from 0.9 to 1.7 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 16 to 31 inches of snow.