ST. GEORGE — Utah’s southern mountains could see 6-12 inches of snow Thursday-Friday if a storm headed this way materializes.
The National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch Wednesday afternoon for Washington, Iron, Kane, Garfield and Beaver counties. The alert runs from 11 p.m. Thursday through 11 a.m. Friday and covers the Wasatch Plateau/Book Cliffs, central mountains and southern mountains and includes Scofield, Indian Canyon, Cove Fort, Fish Lake, Joes Valley, Brian Head and Alton.
According to an NWS news release, heavy snow is possible, with total snow accumulations of 6-12 inches, with amounts decreasing sharply towards lower elevations. Additionally, the NWS predicted the following:
A strong cold front will bring a band of moderate to heavy snow between 5 am and 10 am depending on location, lasting 1-2 hours in most areas. This will bring significant travel impacts for many areas, including higher summits of I-15 and I-70. Uncertainty remains as to how long the moderate to heavy snow lingers behind the front, which could result in a more prolonged period of impacts.
A wind advisory also will be in effect for Cedar City, with the NWS predicting winds of 25-35 mph and gusts up to 55 mph. Gusty winds could blow around unsecured objects, and a few power outages are possible, according to the NWS website.
An additional high-wind advisory was issued Thursday morning advising possible gusts up to 65 mph for the cities of Tooele, Grantsville, Vernon, Delta, Little Sahara, Beaver, Cedar City and Milford until 5 a.m. Friday.
The forecast for the St. George area calls for cloudy skies with a 50% chance of rain after 11 p.m. Thursday. Low temperature is expected to be around 39 degrees with south-to-southwest winds of 9-11 mph. There is a 40% chance of rain before 11 a.m. Friday with a clearing trend in the afternoon and an expected high temperature near 51.
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