High Wind in Utah, April 21 to 22, 2026

Name: High Wind in Utah, April 21 to 22, 2026
Start: 2026-04-21T23:20
End: 2026-04-22T05:30
Location: Utah

April 21 to 22, 2026 · NWS SLC · 4 events in 4 counties and zones

A strong system moved across the Great Basin into northern UT with a strong cold front sweeping through the area starting in the extreme late evening hours of 4/21/26, persisting into the early morning hours of 4/22/26. Numerous strong wind gusts were observed across northern UT, particularly across most valley locations.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 4 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 4

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS SLC wrote it up.

What forecasters said that day

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 21, 9:30 PM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

Gusty south to southwest winds up to 50 mph will impact most eastern valleys 10 AM to 6 PM Wednesday.
Strong northwest winds up to 55 mph will develop behind the cold front across Castle Country near and along the SR-10 corridor after 1 PM and continue through 5-6 PM Wednesday.
Northern valley rain up to around 0.25" and northern mountain snow of around 2 to 6 inches (locally higher over the Bear River Range) will occur between Wednesday morning and Thursday evening.
Freezes will impact central and southwest Utah valleys Wednesday night into Thursday morning, expanding to include eastern Box Elder County Thursday night into Friday morning.

Area forecast discussion, Apr 21, 9:30 PM MST, 1 hour 50 minutes before

Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
1030 PM MDT Tue Apr 21 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Gusty south to southwest winds up to 50 mph will impact most
  eastern valleys 10 AM to 6 PM Wednesday.

- Strong northwest winds up to 55 mph will develop behind the cold
  front across Castle Country near and along the SR-10 corridor after
  1 PM and continue through 5-6 PM Wednesday.

- Northern valley rain up to around 0.25" and northern mountain
  snow of around 2 to 6 inches (locally higher over the Bear River
  Range) will occur between Wednesday morning and Thursday
  evening.

- Freezes will impact central and southwest Utah valleys Wednesday
  night into Thursday morning, expanding to include eastern Box
  Elder County Thursday night into Friday morning.

&&

.DISCUSSION...An upper low is currently noted off the OR/CA coast.
Meanwhile, a shortwave trough rotating around the low is ejecting
across the central/southern Sierra Nevada. Downstream of this
trough, Utah remains under a warm and fairly dry southwesterly
flow aloft. Gusty winds were prominent today especially across the
western valleys, with many gusts in the 40 to mid-50 mph range.
Ahead of the approaching trough, winds will remain at least
locally gusty through the night, but otherwise should weaken
somewhat as they decouple.

The trough will eject across northwest Utah, pushing a cold front
through the forecast area early Wednesday morning through Wednesday
afternoon. Winds are expected to remain gusty across southern and
eastern Utah ahead of the frontal passage Wednesday, then favored
downslope areas such as the eastern Uinta Basin and Castle Country
are expected to continue to see gusty winds behind the cold front.

Precipitation will fill in behind the front, but limited to northern
Utah and southwest Wyoming north of the associated upper jet.
However, hi-res guidance suggests precipitation to be fairly
showery, so amounts are not expected to be very significant
overall, especially south of areas near the Idaho border. Showery
precipitation will continue into Thursday, as the aforementioned
upper low is forecast to shear apart and ripple through in pieces.
While cooler air will settle into the area, snow levels will
remain off most valley floors, bottoming out near 6kft. Snow
amounts are likely to remain below advisory criteria for most
mountain areas, except perhaps along the highest ridgelines,
which should have little impact.

As clouds scatter out Wednesday night, good radiative cooling will
allow overnight temperatures to cool efficiently. As such, expect
freezing temperatures especially across the valleys of central
through southwest Utah Wednesday night/Thursday morning and
potentially again the following night. This will have an impact on
early season agriculture.

Another shortwave trough is expected to dive south through ID and
western MT, arriving at the doorstep of northern Utah by Thursday
evening. Latest models don't have it going farther south than that,
limiting the chances for precipitation on Friday. The pattern
becomes active again late Saturday into next week. The next trough
arriving from the southwest looks to bring potentially more
widespread precipitation to the area Saturday night into Sunday.
Beyond that, the large-scale pattern becomes more complex, but
cluster analysis of model ensembles lean towards overall
troughiness near the West Coast.

&&

.AVIATION...KSLC...VFR conditions will persist for the KSLC terminal
through the period. Southerly flow will persist overnight with gusty
conditions west/northwest winds behind a cold front between 13 and
15Z. Scattered showers will remain possible (30% chance) throughout
the day with intermittent mountain obscuration.

.REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...VFR conditions will persist
for the entire airspace through the period. Gusty southerly winds
will persist for most terminals overnight before a cold front moves
through the region tomorrow morning transitioning winds to a
west/northwest flow. Scattered showers will exist throughout the day
for the northern airspace with dry conditions across the southern
airspace.

&&

.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...Freeze Warning from 10 PM Wednesday to 10 AM MDT Thursday for
     UTZ114>116-118>120-122.

     Wind Advisory from noon to 6 PM MDT Wednesday for UTZ120.

     Wind Advisory from 9 AM to 6 PM MDT Wednesday for UTZ121-128>131.

WY...None.
&&

Cheng/Mahan

For more information from NOAA's National Weather Service visit...
http://weather.gov/saltlakecity

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 high wind. Local standard time, as filed.

High Wind, Salt Lake Valley

When: April 21, 11:20 PM MST to April 22, 5:30 AM MST
Where: Salt Lake Valley forecast zone
Measured: 60 kt (69 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 40.668, -111.924 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A strong cold front traversed across northern UT in the early morning hours bringing numerous wind gusts in excess of 58mph at sites such as UDOT I-15 at I-80, Monroe Canyon, and UDOT I-80 at MP 107. The highest observed wind gust within this forecast zone was measured to be 69mph at the UDOT I-80 at MP 107 site.

High Wind, Tooele and Rush Valleys

When: April 21, 11:30 PM MST to April 22, 1:50 AM MST
Where: Tooele and Rush Valleys forecast zone
Measured: 61 kt (70 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 40.449, -113.131 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A strong cold front traversed across northern UT in the early morning hours bringing numerous wind gusts in excess of 58mph at sites such as South Mountain, UDOT SR-201 at I-80, and Pacificorp Kennecott Rd. Lake Point. The highest observed wind gust within this forecast zone was measured to be 70mph at the South Mountain site.

High Wind, Great Salt Lake Desert and Mountains

When: April 22, 12:00 AM MST to 3:45 AM MST
Where: Great Salt Lake Desert and Mountains forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 40.689, -112.452 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A strong cold front traversed across northern UT in the early morning hours bringing numerous wind gusts in excess of 58mph at sites such as Hat Island, UDOT I-80, UDOT I-80 at MP 1, and I-80 at MP 40 Knolls. The highest observed wind gust within this forecast zone was measured to be 67mph at the Wendover Peak site.

High Wind, Northern Wasatch Front

When: April 22, 4:50 AM MST to 5:00 AM MST
Where: Northern Wasatch Front forecast zone
Measured: 58 kt (67 mph) measured gust
Reported by: Mesonet
Coordinates: 41.131, -112.012 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

A strong cold front traversed across northern UT in the early morning hours bringing numerous wind gusts in excess of 58mph to Davis county, particularly the Syracuse, UT area where a peak gust to 58mph was measured at the University of Utah Syracuse site.

What these are

High Wind: Sustained non-thunderstorm winds of 40 mph or more for an hour, or gusts of 58 mph or more.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Utah in 2026 Every state in 2026 This day in weather history Warnings in Utah, April 2026

Sources

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: 1335380, 1335376, 1335372, 1335378.