Ask Santa for Snow

This fall/winter has yet to get truly cold, so the past few abnormally warm December days have felt par for the course. Nevertheless, it's still very odd to be having March weather in December. Salt Lake City set/tied a daily high record of 62 F yesterday afternoon (12/11). The normal high for the date is 40 F, so 22 degrees above normal is rather significant. 

The relatively mild and dry conditions will continue the next 3-4 days as a ridge continues to build over Utah. A weak and dry disturbance will pass over the state the second half of this weekend, which may knock temps down a few degrees from Friday or Saturday, but otherwise conditions will be quiet. 

The next opportunity for some actual weather across Utah looks to be the middle of next week. However, there's quite a bit of uncertainty and spread in the potential scenarios playing out. Ensembles are all over the place, with a large range in precipitation amounts next week. 

ECMWF ENS 12Z 12/12/2025 KSLC Total Precipitation

GFS ENS 12Z 12/12/2025 KSLC Total Precipitation

In the meantime, areas in the far NW part of the U.S. will continue to receive heavy rainfall and high mountain snow through the weekend and early next week.

The PNW

While Utah sits high and dry the PNW - specifically, Washington state -, will continue to get deluged with rain and snow. Many locations are already under flood risk as streams and rivers crest above flood stage. In the past week, areas along the Washington Cascades have received 10-20"+ of liquid. For reference, SLC receives about 16" total liquid in a year, so parts of Washington have gotten more precipitation in a week than SLC does in a year. 

NRCS Site 7-day Precipitation Total (in)

PRISM 10-day Estimated Precipitation Total (in)

Multiple additional rounds of atmospheric river moisture and energy will impact the PNW the next 5-7 days. Accompanying warmer temps will let most of the precip fall as rain, with snow levels staying high. This could allow for more runoff than would typically occur when temperatures are colder. Another 5"+ inches of liquid are forecast for the region. 

ECMWF 12Z 12/12/2025 four-panel forecast 12/12-12/18/2025: (Top left to bottom right) MSLP/precip and 1000-500 mb thickness; 300 mb gph and winds; ; 500 mb gph, vorticity, and winds; 700 mb gph, RH, temp, and winds

ECMWF 12Z 12/12/2025 Total Precipitation (in) 12/12-12/18/2025