After a relatively slow start to the snow season, this storm could turn things around, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A sign reads “Pray 4 Snow” along South Big Cottonwood Canyon Road near Brighton on Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025.
Been wondering if Utah’s so-called “greatest snow on Earth” will ever show up this year? You might soon get your answer.
The National Weather Service’s Salt Lake City office expects northern and central Utah mountain ranges to receive 20 to 40 inches of snow from Thursday evening into late Saturday.
The national service implemented a winter storm watch for northern Utah’s mountains at 2 a.m. Thursday. It’s set to stay in place until Sunday at 5 a.m.
Sam Webber, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service’s office in Salt Lake City, said some snow will also likely make it into lower-elevation valleys, at least in early phases of the storm. Come Friday afternoon as temperatures rise, he said, areas along the Wasatch Front will begin to see more rain while mountainous areas continue to get snowfall.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Snow covers a branch during a snowstorm in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024.
“These storms tend to do very well for the mountainous terrain,” he said. “We’re going to see some pretty impressive numbers.”
According to Webber, the storm will hopefully make an impact on mountain snowpack, which largely falls between 20% and 40% of what would normally be expected this time of year in much of central and northern Utah.
Ski resorts have pushed back opening dates multiple times, with a handful of them opening this coming weekend.
Following record rainfall in Salt Lake City in October, Webber said the area has received 90% of the precipitation it would normally get. But because those storms didn’t carry a lot of snow, mountain snowpack is nearing a record low.
Webber believes the storm could potentially change that.
“Hard to tell exactly where we’re going to stand after this, but I think it’ll make a good dent in that number,” he said.
After the storm passes, high-pressure conditions could align to cause an inversion next week in the Salt Lake Valley, he said, though that depends on whether other storms roll through.
“I would anticipate at least a chance for some valley inversions,” he said. “Hard to say what the strength will be.”
The National Weather Service’s current seven-day weather forecast for Salt Lake City shows a chance of rain next Tuesday night and Wednesday, with a high on Wednesday near 51 degrees.