Change

Temperatures along the Wasatch Front valleys topped out in the upper 50s and mid 60s this past weekend. Not very winterlike but a nice taste of spring. The SLC airport tied a daily high temperature record of 64 F on Sunday (2/8/2026). I think what set conditions apart on Sunday from other past high temperature records in February was the relatively calmer winds and mostly sunny skies. Typically, Utah sees warmer temps in the winter and spring during prefrontal periods, where strong southerly winds transport milder air from the south into Utah (warm air advection). These conditions are also frequently accompanied by clouds. 

Salt Lake City, Ut top maximum/minimum observed daily temperatures for Feb.8th

Workweek Storm

Timeline of weather events for northern Utah 2/10-2/13/2026

After a very mild and sunny weekend, the pattern has finally started to shift. Yesterday, a shortwave trough grazed Utah, bringing some light rain/snow showers across the northern half of the state. Some mountain locations picked up 0.5-1" of snow, with a trace of rainfall recorded at KSLC. A broad region of troughing across the U.S. Pacific coast has now established itself as a few disturbances spin off the coast of California. A low pressure system and associated moderate atmospheric river - noted in the visible satellite imagery below - will transport moisture and some energy into Utah late Tuesday through Thursday (2/10-2/12/2026). This will be a warmer Pacific storm, with snow levels seesawing through the period across Utah.

GOES-18 West True Color imagery 2/10/2026

Moisture begins to stream into the state from the southwest late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning (2/11/2026) as a warm front and strong jet max also lift to the north over the state. Divergence associated with the jet max, coupled with the moisture rich southwesterly flow and orographics, will aid in the formation of valley rain (and maybe a few rumbles of thunder) and mountain snow showers going through Wednesday. The orientation of the flow and moisture influx will highlight southwesterly favored mountain locations across the state, with the greatest coverage and heaviest precipitation expected Wednesday morning through the afternoon. Snow levels will start out near 6500-7000' across the state Wednesday morning, then rise to 7500-8000' by the afternoon, and finally drop down to 5500-6000' by Thursday morning. 

ECMWF 12Z 2/10/2026 four-panel forecast 2/10-2/13/2026: (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. Trough track (blue), moisture transport (green), and jex max divergence (white) overlaid.

Expect periods of heavy snowfall at times across the Wasatch, particularly above 7000' in the Cottonwoods, Wednesday through Thursday morning. Conditions settle down a bit by Thursday afternoon as the system weakens, but showers focused over the mountains will continue into Friday. The storm tracks to the south and east of the state by Friday. Winds never truly go northerly or northwesterly with this storm, so this won't necessarily be a Wasatch special. However, the Wasatch can and does do well in southwesterly flow. Model ensembles have been fairly consistent noting 1-1.5" of liquid with this storm across the northern Utah mountains. Using a 10:1 snow ratio, this would amount to 10-15" of snow, but it's likely that favored locations - such as the upper Cottonwood - could receive a bit more than this. 

Left: ECMWF ENS 12Z 2/10/2026 Total precipitation plume for Alta, UT; Right: ECMWF 12Z 2/10/2026 Total snowfall (10:1) for northern UT 2/10-2/13/2026

The Long Term

After the storm mid through late workweek, conditions quiet and dry out for the Valentines weekend. The break doesn't last long as troughing returns across the West, bringing an active and wet pattern to Utah early week through late next week. This storm cycle looks to be colder, and has the potential to impact Utah with a few different waves of energy and moisture. Ensembles and deterministic models are forecasting another 1-2" of liquid (10-20"+ snow in the mountains) with next weeks active storm cycle. The valleys may also get in on the snow as well, but that is TBD. So good news for anyone who has been pining for even more active weather. Your Valentine may come a bit late, but better late than never...