The Southern Rockies are about to get a healthy helping of snow.  It’s gonna be a great weekend in Utah, Southwest Colorado, and New Mexico.

– Utah is forecast to get 12-18″ of snow between today and Jan. 31st.

– New Mexico is forecast to get 12-16″ of snow tonight through Saturday.

– Southwest Colorado is forecast to get 6-12″ of snow Friday and Saturday.

NOAA’s UT, CO, & NW ADVISORIES:

UTAH:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SALT LAKE CITY UT
933 PM MST THU JAN 29 2015

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 PM MST
SATURDAY ABOVE 6500 FEET...

* AFFECTED AREA...THE MOUNTAINS OF CENTRAL AND SOUTHERN UTAH AND
  THE SAN RAFAEL SWELL ABOVE 6500 FEET.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...STORM TOTALS OF 5 TO 10 INCHES ACROSS
  MOST OF THIS AREA WITH AMOUNTS OF 12 TO 18 INCHES AT THE
  HIGHER ELEVATIONS ABOVE ABOUT 8500 FEET.

* TIMING...SNOW WILL DEVELOP TONIGHT ACROSS THESE AREAS AND
  BECOME WIDESPREAD BY FRIDAY MORNING. SNOW WILL CONTINUE HEAVY
  AT TIMES THROUGH FRIDAY NIGHT THEN TAPER OFF FROM THE NORTH
  SATURDAY.

* SNOW LEVELS...STARTING OUT AROUND 7000 FEET TONIGHT AND
  LOWERING TO AROUND 6500 FEET ON FRIDAY.

NEW MEXICO:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALBUQUERQUE NM
1025 PM MST THU JAN 29 2015

...HEAVY SNOW EVENT STILL EXPECTED FOR NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW
MEXICO LATE TONIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY...

.A SLOW MOVING PACIFIC STORM SYSTEM WITH MOIST/SUBTROPICAL AIR
AHEAD OF IT WILL INTERACT WITH A COOLER LOW LEVEL AIR MASS OVER
NORTHERN AND CENTRAL NEW MEXICO TO CREATE A MIX OF RAIN/SNOW AND
EVEN THE POSSIBILITY OF SLEET MIXING IN AT TIMES IN SOME LOCALES.
SNOW ACCUMULATION LEVELS WILL VARY AS THIS EVENT PROGRESSES AND
ALSO BETWEEN THE AFTERNOON AND NIGHTIME HOURS. EXPECT A
SIGNIFICANT SNOW GRADIENT BETWEEN THE LOWER AND UPPER ELEVATIONS
OF THE FORECAST ZONES.

...WINTER STORM WARNING NOW IN EFFECT FROM 2 AM FRIDAY TO 5 PM
MST SATURDAY...

THE WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW IS NOW IN EFFECT FROM 2
AM FRIDAY TO 5 PM MST SATURDAY.

* SNOW ACCUMULATIONS...EXPECT SNOWFALL ACCUMULATIONS BETWEEN 4 TO
  6 INCHES BELOW 7500 FEET AND 6 TO 10 INCHES ABOVE 7500 FEET. THE
  HIGHEST ELEVATIONS WILL SEE ACCUMULATIONS BETWEEN 12 AND 16
  INCHES. GUADALUPE COUNTY WILL SEE A WIDE RANGE IN SNOW TOTALS
  WITH 1 TO 4 INCHES POSSIBLE ACROSS THE EAST AND 4 TO 7 INCHES
  POSSIBLE ACROSS THE WEST.

* TIMING...THE MORE SIGNIFICANT SNOW WILL START FRIDAY MORNING
  AND CONTINUE THROUGH MUCH OF THE DAY ON SATURDAY.

* WINDS...NO SIGNIFICANT WINDS ARE EXPECTED WITH THIS STORM
  SYSTEM.

* SNOW LEVELS...SNOW LEVELS WILL FLUCTUATE BETWEEN THE SURFACE AND
  JUST ABOVE THE SURFACE DEPENDING ON THE TIME OF DAY.
  THEREFORE...RAIN MAY MIX WITH SNOW AT INITIAL ONSET AS WELL AS
  DURING THE AFTERNOON AND AWHILE INTO THE EVENING...ESPECIALLY
  ACROSS GUADALUPE COUNTY.

SOUTHWEST COLORADO:

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE GRAND JUNCTION CO
951 PM MST THU JAN 29 2015

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 8 AM FRIDAY TO
8 PM MST SATURDAY ABOVE 8000 FEET...

* TIMING...SNOW WILL BEGIN TOMORROW MORNING AND CONTINUE THROUGH
  SATURDAY EVENING. THE HEAVIEST SNOW WILL OCCUR FRIDAY NIGHT.

* SNOW ACCUMULATION...6 TO 10 INCHES. AROUND A FOOT AT LOCATIONS
  ABOVE 10,000 FEET.

* WINDS...SOUTH 5 TO 10 MPH.