Get ready for another blast of winter

Brace yourself, Utah. Tuesday is Round 2, and Old Man Winter is coming out swinging again.

The National Weather Service is predicting most of Utah will be blanketed by more snow Tuesday, and a Pacific storm will bring more snow to the state on Christmas Day.

Salt Lake County had a slow start Monday, but snow totals indicate downtown Salt Lake City piled up an inch of snow while North Salt Lake received 3 inches. But that pales in comparison to snow totals from neighboring counties.

Snowstorms pummeled Utah County with Orem and Provo reporting 8 and 6 inches of snow respectively. By day's end, Brighton Crest reported the most snowfall with 23 inches.

The weather played a role in a fatal accident Monday morning in Provo Canyon on U.S. 189. Utah Highway Patrol trooper Cameron Roden said four teens were driving up the canyon to go snowboarding when Batnyam Erikhturiin's Audi went out of control just past Bridal Veil Falls. The car crossed over into westbound traffic, striking an SUV, then a Dodge pickup truck.

Erikhturiin, 17, of Heber City, as well as back-seat passenger Neal Harlan, 18, from Mapleton, died, Roden said.

The two other passengers of the Audi were taken to Utah Valley Regional Medical Center and are expected to recover. The driver of the SUV was not injured, and the driver of the pickup suffered minor injuries.

The road didn't have much snow at the time of the accident, Roden said, but it was wet, and the Audi was traveling too fast for the conditions.

The snowstorm lengthened motorists' commute to and from work.

Severe weather had already stranded people at the Greyhound station in Salt Lake City. The bus service said on its Web site that routes to places like Portland, Ore.; Spokane, Wash.; Vancouver, British Columbia; Seattle, and Billings, Mont., were all canceled because of severe weather.

Many passengers have been forced to wait out the storms in Salt Lake City.

"They're telling us that we have to stay inside, sleep on the floors. We don't have any food. We don't have anything. So basically, (we're) hungry and waiting," passenger Bernita Smith told KSL radio on Monday.

The avalanche danger remains high from Provo northward, with more new snow piling up on a weak, fragile layer. If temperatures warm later this week, the avalanche danger will be even greater.

Tuesday morning's commute could be slick, with 1 to 2 more inches of snow possible. Tuesday's high will only be about 31 degrees, about six degrees lower than Monday.

Tuesday night and Wednesday may be the best travel days for northern Utah, with only 20 percent to 30 percent chances of moisture predicted.

Christmas Day has an increasing 70 percent chance of snow in Salt Lake City.

Contributing: Ben Winslow, Sara Israelsen-Hartley and Lynn Arave. E-mail: jdana@desnews.com