Weather
A strong multi-day winter storm will bring widespread early season snowfall to the northern Utah mountains from Thursday night through the weekend, with the Cottonwoods and other northern Utah resorts seeing the deepest new snow followed by a lighter wave Sunday night into Monday and a turn toward warmer, drier weather next week. All snow at the ski areas falls with temperatures mostly in the teens and 20s Fahrenheit, starting as light powder then trending a bit denser during the peak of the storm before cooling again late in the event, while snow levels climb high enough that lower valleys see more rain. Gusty west to northwest ridge top winds will create wind affected surfaces and drifting in exposed terrain, but they also help load leeward aspects for deeper pockets of soft snow at Brighton and Solitude, with closed resorts building a solid base ahead of their coming openings.
Thursday night through Saturday features a significant winter storm across the northern and central Utah mountains with a long window of steady snowfall and strong west to northwest winds. Moisture increases Thursday night as a strong jet noses into the region, producing cold, powdery snow initially with snow levels near 4,000 feet and snow to liquid ratios in the mid teens at the higher resorts. Through Friday the storm warms aloft, snow levels rise into roughly the 5,000 to 6,000 feet range while temperatures at mid mountain climb into the low to mid 20s Fahrenheit, so the snow gradually trends denser but remains all snow at resort elevations from roughly 6,500 to over 11,000 feet. Winds along the ridgelines strengthen into the 20 to 30 mile per hour range with gusts over 50 miles per hour in the Cottonwoods and Bear River range, so expect wind affected snow on exposed aspects and deeper deposits in lee terrain.
By Saturday night, this storm delivers a healthy early season refresh focused on the northern Wasatch and Cottonwood resorts. Alta and Snowbird collect the deepest totals with accumulations solidly into the mid to upper teens in inches, while Solitude and Brighton are not far behind with similar double digit amounts. Brighton and Solitude are already open, so expect soft but increasingly wind affected powder through the weekend on most aspects, while Alta and Snowbird use this storm to build a deep base ahead of their December 5 and December 7 openings. Park City, Deer Valley, Powder Mountain, Beaver Mountain, and Eagle Point farther south see more modest but still useful snow in the several inch to around foot category depending on location and elevation, with snow levels remaining below the main base areas throughout the event. Snow to liquid ratios trend from light powder Thursday night toward more mid density snow Friday night as values drop closer to the 10 to 11 to 1 range, before fresher colder snow mixes in again late Saturday.
Sunday through early next week brings a minor follow up wave then a shift toward a warmer, quieter pattern. Lingering moisture supports light snow showers on Sunday, mainly across the far northern mountains where Beaver Mountain and Powder Mountain can add another inch or two of accumulation Sunday night into Monday while most other resorts see little if any additional snow. Snow levels remain comfortably below the bases during this period, but snow to liquid ratios drop into roughly the 10 to 11 to 1 range, so this final snow will be more about topping off the base than deep new powder. Beyond Monday, guidance points toward several days of above normal temperatures and generally below normal precipitation for Utah, with the storm track focused farther north from the Pacific Northwest into the northern Rockies, so chances of another significant storm reaching these resorts through the middle of the following week look relatively low.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Snowbird – 16″-22″ Thu night (12/04) – Sat night (12/06)
- Alta – 16″-22″ Thu night (12/04) – Sat night (12/06)
- Solitude – 14″-19″ Thu night (12/04) – Sat night (12/06)
- Brighton – 12″-17″ Thu night (12/04) – Sat night (12/06)
- Beaver Mountain – 12″-17″ total (11″-15″ Thu night (12/04) – Sun (12/07) + 1″-2″ Sun night (12/07) – Mon night (12/08))
- Powder Mountain – 11″-15″ total (10″-14″ Thu night (12/04) – Sat night (12/06) + 1″-1″ Sun night (12/07) – Mon night (12/08))
- Park City – 10″-14″ Thu night (12/04) – Sun (12/07)
- Deer Valley – 8″-12″ Thu night (12/04) – Sat night (12/06)
- Eagle Point – 2″ Fri night (12/05) – Sat night (12/06)
