Snow blankets mountains

High winds and heavy mountain snow buffeted northern Utah Wednesday.

Wind speeds of up to 50 mph were reported in valley locations, while the mountaintops had gusts of 70 mph. Ben Lomond, north of Ogden, was dumped on by 42 inches of new snow from Monday afternoon through Wednesday afternoon.

"This is a good storm," said Mark Eubank, KSL's chief meteorologist.

He expects this latest storm will end by about 11 a.m. Thursday.

However, where the snow vs. the rain would fall is difficult to predict.

"It's tricky," Eubank said, expecting no more than an inch in valley locations and up to 3 inches on the benches. There was little doubt that slick roads were set to plague commuters coming from Park City to the valley Thursday morning.

The Salt Lake International Airport had only received a trace of snow by Wednesday night, reaching a high of 41 degrees. Normal for the day is 38 degrees. Provo reached 37 degrees Wednesday, Spanish Fork 36, Logan 35 and St. George 45. Nighttime lows in the valley didn't vary much, only dipping into the lower 30s.

Utah Valley in general had more snow than Salt Lake with 1-2 inches common. Trial Lake in the Uintas reported 14 inches the past two days, while Sundance had 32 inches and Solitude 29 inches of snow.

Eubank said it's not all that uncommon for the valley to receive rain this time of year. Also, he said if the valleys do not accumulate a snowpack because the temperature remains so warm, that alone will reduce the likelihood of a significant inversion coming back in the near future.

It's important too that the mountain watersheds are receiving ample snow. As of Wednesday, Utah's statewide snowpack was averaging 137 percent of normal. Highest areas are in southern Utah. For example, the Escalante River drainage is 305 percent of normal and the Virgin River is 286 percent.

Thursday temperatures should be 46 degrees for the high and 36 for the low in Salt Lake, with a 40 percent chance of rain/snow in the morning hours.

After that, Eubank expects the next storm not to arrive until Dec. 16. He's also predicted 50 degrees or more for the weekend high in Salt Lake. That's 12 degrees above normal, but nowhere near the record for Dec. 11 of 62 degrees, set in 1993.

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E-mail: lynn@desnews.com