FXUS65 KSLC 032147

AFDSLC



Area Forecast Discussion

National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT

247 PM MST Tue Feb 3 2026



.KEY MESSAGES...



- Building high pressure keeps conditions dry and mild through the 

remainder of the week. 



- There is a greater than 70% of at least 0.01" (measurable) of 

precipitation across much of UT and SW WY from Sunday night into 

Wednesday. 



- Mountain snowfall appears increasingly likely across most of the 

forecast area, starting with northern UT, beginning as early as 

Monday evening. 



- A shift to a more favorable pattern for unsettled weather appears 

increasingly likely past the long term.  



&&



.DISCUSSION... Upper level ridging is forecast to persist across 

much of the western U.S. through the remainder of this week keeping 

conditions warm and dry through Saturday. Currently, the ridge is 

settled over northern CA and will gradually drift east with time 

toward northern UT. During this time, an upper low is expected to 

develop west of the Baja Peninsula and meander over the Pacific 

before ejecting northeast and phasing in with the mean flow on 

Friday. Despite this trough ejecting across the forecast area, 

weak ascent and meager moisture leave much to be desired with 

little expectation with respect to precipitation from this system.

However, this does notably erode the persistent western ridge, 

leading to what appears to be a pattern shift as we enter next 

week. 



A transient upper ridge will develop in the wake of the 

aforementioned upper trough which is expected to slide east as a 

longwave trough pushes in through the West Coast. Just about every 

ensemble member we have at our disposal indicates that a return to 

mountain snowfall is increasingly likely with this system. 

Currently, onset of the incoming weather across northern UT appears 

to be the only major disagreement amongst ensemble members with 

around ~60% of guidance favoring precipitation moving into northern 

UT as early as Monday evening. With this system persisting into 

Wednesday morning, snowfall amounts at this time appear to range 

from 4-14" across our northern UT mountains. Given how far out this 

event is, snowfall amounts and timing remains subject to change, 

but there seems to finally be a glimmer of hope on the horizon. 



Looking even further, the pattern does appear to remain active 

following this system. Lots can change as we draw toward next week, 

but model consensus appears to keep the forecast area open to a 

notably colder western troughing regime with ample moisture going 

forward. 



&&



.AVIATION...KSLC...VFR conditions prevail over the KSLC terminal 

under high level cloud cover. Light diurnally driven winds are 

expected through the forecast period, with northerly upvalley flow 

switching to southeasterly around 04z, with a 30% chance of delaying 

until 05z. Haze is expected to increase by late Wednesday morning.



.REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...VFR conditions and light 

winds will prevail across the area during the forecast period, with 

no surface weather concerns. High level cloud cover is expected to 

linger in the northern half of Utah and southwest Wyoming through 

the evening. 







&& 



&&



.SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...

UT...None.

WY...None.

&&



$$



PUBLIC...Worster

AVIATION...Verzella



For more information from NOAA's National Weather Service visit...

http://weather.gov/saltlakecity