Pull your snow shovel out or get your snow blower tuned up, then grab your boots and gloves. And get ready for a possibly messy commute Tuesday and Wednesday as the first valley snowstorm of the season targets northern Utah.

The Salt Lake office of the National Weather Service is expecting "a sharp cold front" with some "intense precipitation" to hit the region through midweek.

Snow levels are predicted to reach the valley floor across northern and central Utah sometime Tuesday.

In addition, temperatures are expected to plummet, with a daytime high in the low 40s Tuesday, temperatures are expected to dip to about 29 degrees in the Salt Lake Valley. Normal temperatures this time of year are about 60 for the high and 38 degrees for the low.

The Weather Service expects that the only areas of the state to be above freezing will be the lowest valleys in Utah's Dixie. Forecasters believe the storm will herald the end of the growing season with this hard freeze.

Rain was predicted in the valleys sometime after midnight Monday, according to KSL meteorologist Dan Pope, and the cold front was expected arrive in Salt Lake City about 6 a.m. Tuesday.

"Rain will turn quickly to snow on the benches, but may take a little longer to change over on the valley floor, by 9 a.m. for sure," Pope said. "There will be a three- to six-hour period of moderate to heavy snow along and just behind the front. Then, the snow will turn more showery. Accumulations will be 2 to 5 inches on the benches and 1 to 2 inches on the valley floor."

Because the ground is still fairly warm, most of the snow will either be slushy or melt off the roadways in the valleys, he said. Some snow may accumulate on the bench roads, though it is expected to melt Tuesday afternoon.

But, Pope said, that won't be the end of the storm.

"The storm will slow down and send occasional snow showers over the Wasatch Front Tuesday night," he said.

"Of particular concern is the addition of 'lake effect' to the areas south and southeast of the Great Salt Lake moving into the Salt Lake Valley in the afternoon and nighttime hours. That could initially mean up to several extra inches of snow in the Murray, Olympus Cove, Sandy and Draper areas and eventually directly south into West Jordan and Herriman by Wednesday morning."

The mountains will see much more snowfall, Pope said, with 12 inches expected in the mountains above 7,500 feet. More than 18 inches could accumulate in the Cottonwood canyons and also the mountains east of Provo and Nephi and over the Uinta Mountains by Wednesday.

A 30 percent chance of snow showers and a high of 37 is forecast for Wednesday. It should also be breezy, with a northwest wind from 13 mph to 23 mph.

Wednesday night is expected to be the coldest night of the season so far, with a predicted low of 24 degrees at the Salt Lake City International Airport.

e-mail: lynn@desnews.com