Winter storm moves through northern Utah, ‘overpasses could turn icy in haste’



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SALT LAKE CITY – The National Weather Service has issued a few winter weather advisories ahead of another storm that could provide more than a foot of snow in the Wasatch Mountains and northern Utah from Friday night to Saturday.

Several inches of snow are also expected to be dumped in some of the region’s valleys and impact areas in central Utah.

Closures

Utah Department of Transportation said on twitter shortly before 9:00 pm, this westerly 1-84 was closed at the Utah-Idaho border; UDOT’s traffic website showed the motorway to be open again from 10 p.m.

State Route 210 at Big Cottonwood Canyon will be closed for uphill traffic at 12:30 p.m. Saturday and will be closed for downhill traffic at 1:00 a.m. for UDOT avalanches and security screening. The roads will reopen at 8 a.m. on Saturday.

Traction laws

Traction laws are in effect in Big Cottonwood and Little Cottonwood Canyons in Salt Lake County starting at 7 p.m. Friday. Traction devices such as snow tires or chains are required on all vehicles in both directions for national roads 210 and 190, according to UDOT.

All vehicles traveling I-80 through Parley’s Canyon are required to have traction devices. Eastbound drivers can stop and put chains on the right side of the road at milepost 129 and westbound drivers can put chains at milepost 146 on the right side, UDOT said on Twitter.

Traction laws are also in place Sardine Canyon in Cache County on US 91 in both directions, between milepost 2 and milepost 17. National Weather Service meteorologists said earlier Friday that the storm would cause a “dangerous journey” through higher passes like Logan Canyon.

Time

Northern Utah and Front Wasatch

Heavy snow showers sweep through central and northern Wasatch Front until 10 p.m. Friday, National Weather Service said on twitter. The cold front of the storm caused the temperature to drop in the 1920s and, although the roads remained wet, they could quickly become icy and drivers are advised to exercise caution, especially as “overpasses could become icy in a hurry, ”the NWS said.

The latest storm is part of a system moving from the Pacific Northwest, according to KSL meteorologist Grant Weyman. Flurries arrived in northern Utah and around the Wasatch front on Friday morning in a smaller storm than what was to follow.

Stronger stuff is expected late Friday night through Saturday. The weather service’s winter weather advisories, which were first issued Thursday and updated Friday, will go into effect Friday afternoon and last until Saturday evening. An advisory says snow accumulations are expected to reach 10 to 20 inches in the Wasatch Mountains north and south of I-80 and in the western Uinta Mountains, with “locally higher amounts” possible in some areas.

“Winter driving conditions can be expected on all higher elevation roads, particularly in the upper Cottonwood Canyons, on I-80 near the summit of Parley and Logan Pass from Friday evening to Saturday. “, indicates the alert.

Possible wind gusts could be associated with the storm, but the weather service removed a warning of negative 25-degree wind chills in an update to its winter weather advisory on Friday.

Wasatch Mountain Valleys

A second winter weather advisory was issued for the Wasatch Mountain Valleys – the Heber City, Huntsville and Park City areas – which also went into effect from late Friday afternoon through Saturday evening. The weather service said travel could be affected along the Wasatch front on Saturday morning.

The agency predicted 3-6 inches of snowfall in these areas, with “locally higher” amounts possible in the Ogden Valley. The alert added that the mountain valleys south of I-80 could receive 3-6 inches of snow; parts of the Ogden Valley could receive more than 6 to 8 inches of snow from the storm.

The National Weather Service posted an image showing the snow totals expected from the storm on Sunday morning, which is roughly when the storm will have already passed. In addition to the areas listed in the advisory, cities like Brigham City, Logan, Nephi, Ogden, Provo, Salt Lake City and Tooele are expected to receive 1 to 3 inches of snow.

Central Utah

A third advisory was issued Friday morning for higher elevation areas of central Utah, including places like Cove Fort, Fish Lake, Koosharem and Scofield, which went into effect at 8 p.m. Friday and lasts for the major Saturday party. He says some areas can receive 4 to 10 inches of snow.

“We can expect occasional winter driving conditions, particularly along US 6 from Spanish Fork Canyon to north of Price and the highest peaks of I-70,” he said. he declares.

All three advisories encourage motorists to “slow down and use caution when moving”.

The storm is not expected to bring the state’s snowpack numbers down to average, but should at least help the number continue to advance. Utah’s snowpack was 77% of normal at this time of year on Friday morning, according to SNOTEL data.

The extra snow could also pose avalanche problems after the threat became less severe than last week. As of 8 a.m. Friday, most of Utah’s mountains were at “moderate” or “considerable” risk of avalanches, according to the Utah Avalanche Center. Avalanche danger has been moved to “high” for the mountains near Logan.

Meanwhile, the forecast is for better weather in March. Temperatures along the Wasatch front are expected to return to the 1940s and even down to the 1950s by midweek, Weyman said.

Full forecasts for parts of Utah can be found at the KSL Weather Center.

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