Weather
This forecast was created at 10:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 23, 2025.
Utah’s holiday storm cycle starts warm, windy, and snow-level challenged, then flips colder late Friday into Saturday with much better snow quality in the high terrain. Expect the first push from Wednesday night through Thursday to favor the highest elevations with dense, moisture-heavy snow and periods of rain or mixed precip near many base areas, while strong southwest winds impact exposed ridgelines. A colder frontal push Friday night into Saturday drops snow levels sharply and improves snow-to-liquid ratios into a more wintery, fluffier regime, with the best new snow stacking up in the Wasatch’s higher bowls and upper canyon terrain. Sunday trends drier with temperatures rebounding, and the extended pattern leans mild but still active enough to keep additional opportunities on the table into late December and early January.
Wednesday night through Thursday brings the warmest, windiest part of this cycle, with snow levels running very high and the best accumulation confined to the upper mountain. Snow levels generally hover in the 8,500–10,000-foot range early on, placing several base areas near the rain-snow line, while the highest lifts and summit zones do the heavy lifting for new snowfall. Snow-to-liquid ratios in this window mostly fall in the 5–9:1 range at many Wasatch locations, so expect dense, heavy snow where it does pile up, especially during the heart of the moisture on Wednesday night and Thursday. Southwest winds are a major player, with sustained speeds commonly in the 20s to low 30s mph and gusts frequently pushing into the 50–60 mph range on exposed ridges, so conditions will feel blustery up high.
Friday into Saturday is the quality upgrade, as colder air arrives and snow levels crash, shifting the focus to higher-confidence winter turns at open resorts. The colder push late Friday and into Saturday helps snow levels fall from the early-event warmth down toward roughly 6,000 feet and lower by Saturday, greatly improving the odds that more of the mountain skis like winter rather than spring. Snow-to-liquid ratios also rise notably into the 12–16:1 range by Friday night and Saturday at many Wasatch resorts, so the snow that falls in the colder portion should be noticeably drier and more pleasant to ski than the earlier cement. Winds gradually shift to a more westerly to northwesterly pattern behind the front and trend down through Saturday, improving comfort and reducing the impact of gusty ridgelines compared to the midweek peak.
Sunday dries out with temperatures nudging upward again, and the broader late-December into early-January pattern favors mild temperatures alongside a continued signal for periodic moisture. That means the post-frontal refresh will have a relatively short window before warming starts to work back in, so timing matters if you are chasing the best snow quality. Resorts that remain closed, such as Beaver Mountain, will still benefit from new coverage in the high terrain, but the best on-snow experience will be in open areas that can capitalize quickly after the colder surge. Looking beyond the weekend, the larger-scale signal supports above-normal precipitation potential in Utah and leans warmer than normal overall, which often translates into more opportunities but with snow levels that can fluctuate and occasionally run high depending on storm track and intensity.
Resort Forecast Totals
- Alta – 11″–17″ Wed night (12/24) – Sat night (12/27)
- Snowbird – 10″–16″ Wed night (12/24) – Sat night (12/27)
- Brighton – 10″–15″ Wed night (12/24) – Sat night (12/27)
- Solitude – 9″–13″ Wed night (12/24) – Sat night (12/27)
- Powder Mountain – 7″–10″ Thu night (12/25) – Sat night (12/27)
- Eagle Point – 5″–8″ total (2″–3″ Wed night (12/24) – Thu night (12/25) + 3″–5″ Fri night (12/26) – Sat night (12/27))
- Park City – 5″–7″ Thu night (12/25) – Sat night (12/27)
- Beaver Mountain – 4″–7″ Thu night (12/25) – Sat night (12/27)
- Deer Valley – 4″–6″ Thu night (12/25) – Sat night (12/27)
