Utah, 2026

Heavy Snow in Utah, February 19 to 20, 2026

February 19 to 20, 2026 · NWS SLC · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

Following a widespread potent winter weather system, a trailing impulse brought another round of snow and associated impacts to some areas across southern Utah.

Where it happened

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.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
2

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.

Following a widespread potent winter weather system, a trailing impulse brought another round of snow and associated impacts to some areas across southern Utah.

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 Feb 19, 4:19 AM MST, 8 hours 42 minutes earlier. Its key messages:

  • Valley and mountain snow will start Thursday afternoon and continue into Friday, with the majority of snow accumulation in southern Utah.
  • High pressure will build in Friday, with dry and warmer conditions into early next week.
Area forecast discussion, Feb 19, 4:19 AM MST, 8 hours 42 minutes before
Area Forecast Discussion
National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT
419 AM MST Thu Feb 19 2026

.KEY MESSAGES...

- Valley and mountain snow will start Thursday afternoon and
  continue into Friday, with the majority of snow accumulation in
  southern Utah.

- High pressure will build in Friday, with dry and warmer
  conditions into early next week.

&&

.DISCUSSION...Southwest Wyoming and Utah are in nearly zonal flow
as one storm system has tracked to the east and another tracks in
from the west. The longwave trough to the west will track inland
Thursday, transitioning flow to the southwest. There is good
agreement that the track on this storm system will be further
south, with a track near the Nevada, Arizona, and Utah border. The
prior storm system brought sufficient cold air advection for snow
to almost all valleys, and with this being another cold trough,
precipitation will be exclusively snow for all but lower
Washington County and Lake Powell, where snow will mix in.

Hi-resolution models are in good agreement on the low pressure
tracking near, but north of, the Utah and Arizona border.
Precipitation will track into southwest Utah around 1 p.m. and
expand north and east into Friday. The southern mountains will
likely get the most snow accumulation, as this will be where the
most moisture advection will be and much of the terrain gets
upslope orographic enhancement with southwest flow. Valleys of
southern Utah will get snow, with south-central towns like
Hildale, Orderville, Kanab, and Escalante to get 4-10 inches of
snow accumulation. Winter Storm Warnings go into effect Thursday
for those locations. Winter Storm Warnings are also in effect for
Zion National Park and the Central Mountains. Winter Weather
Advisories are in effect for other portions of Utah, including the
San Rafael Swell and Castle Country, where upslope orographic
enhancement from the south will boost snowfall.

As the trough tracks east, flow will transition to northwest
early Friday, with a drying trend fast due to downslope flow and
synoptic conditions drying.

The main uncertainty is northward extent of the low and how much
snow will reach the northern mountains and the urban corridor of
northern Utah. The most likely scenario is for snow accumulation
that is lower than headline criteria from Thursday night into
Friday.

High pressure will build in Friday and last into at least early
next week. Ensembles bring a longwave trough from off the west
coast of Canada to off the coast of the PacNW, but there is low
confidence when that would eject inland. There will be a warming
trend through then, with valleys warmer than normal for the end
of the weekend and into the week.

&&

.AVIATION...KSLC...VFR conditions will persist for the KSLC terminal
through the period. Mostly dry and stable conditions will continue
with mid level clouds leading to intermittent mountain obscuration.
Otherwise, winds will remain out of the south. Isolated snow showers
will approach from the southwest late in the day, but likely (70%
chance) remaining south of the terminal.

.REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...VFR conditions will persist
for most of the airspace through the overnight and first half of the
day. Mostly dry and stable conditions will transition to snow
showers moving in from southwest to northeast by mid afternoon. This
will create MVFR/IFR conditions across the south and central
airspace along. Elsewhere, just mid level clouds and mountain
obscuration. Winds will remain light and variable.

&&

.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
UT...Winter Storm Warning until 5 AM MST early this morning for
     UTZ108-110>113-117.

     Winter Weather Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 6 PM MST
     Friday for UTZ113.

     Winter Weather Advisory from 5 PM this afternoon to 6 PM MST
     Friday for UTZ116-118-119.

     Winter Storm Warning from 5 PM this afternoon to 6 PM MST Friday
     for UTZ117.

     Winter Weather Advisory from 6 PM this evening to 9 AM MST
     Friday for UTZ120-121-129-130.

     Winter Weather Advisory from 3 PM this afternoon to 9 AM MST
     Friday for UTZ122-126-127.

     Winter Storm Warning from 3 PM this afternoon to 9 AM MST Friday
     for UTZ124-128.

     Winter Storm Warning from 1 PM this afternoon to 9 AM MST Friday
     for UTZ125.

WY...None.
&&

PUBLIC...Wilson
AVIATION...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

2 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Southern Mountains

When
February 19, 1:01 PM MST to February 20, 8:00 AM MST
Where
Southern Mountains forecast zone
Reported by
SNOTEL
Coordinates
37.900, -112.342 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Several SNOTEL stations including Sun Ranch, Little Grassy, and Kolob recorded from 1.0 to 2.1 inches of snow water equivalent, resulting in approximately 13 to 29 inches of snow. 16 inches of snow was also reported in Duck Creek Village.

Heavy Snow, South Central Utah

When
February 19, 3:01 PM MST to February 20, 8:59 AM MST
Where
South Central Utah forecast zone
Reported by
COOP Observer
Coordinates
37.473, -112.279 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Combination of COOP reports and other observations showed snowfall measurements including 10 inches in Orderville, 10 inches in Kanab, 8.7 inches in Kodachrome Basin Park, and 7 inches in Tropic.

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Utah in 2026Every state in 2026This day in weather historyWarnings in Utah, February 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: 1306393, 1306395.