After setting five records, the storm that doused Utah with a heavy dose of winter is moving out.
Lake-effect snow squalls overnight put another several inches on the valley floor in Davis and Salt Lake counties. The snowfall that greeted commuters Friday morning stemmed from one of the storm's final weather impulses, in essence its "last hurrah," said Bill Alder, meteorologist in charge of the Salt Lake Forecast Office, National Weather Service."It's just been an incredible time period," Alder said. "In general, the metro area hadn't seen much snow. Until, all of the sudden, winter has really hit."
Considered among the state's "super storms" - those dropping at least 10 inches of snow - this week's snowfall followed a similar storm some 10 days ago. Historically, such storms come once every three years.
"To have two of these sort of back-to-back, that doesn't happen very often," Alder said. "It's continuing the weirdness. It's just been an incredibly weird winter."
Since Wednesday, the storm dumped 23 inches of snow in Sandy. Other totals include Cottonwood, 20 inches; Centerville, 14; West Jordan, 15; and Tooele, 19.
It set records for the most snow of any calendar day in January, 13.4 inches. The previous record was 10 inches on Jan. 17. During the 24-hour period beginning 2 p.m. Wednesday, more than 16.5 inches fell, another record for any 24-hour period in January.
The Wednesday snow total of 6.4 inches at the Salt Lake airport was a record for the calendar day, as was the 13.4 inches on Thursday. The storm netted the airport 0.67 inches of precipitation - yet another record.
As of Thursday, Park City's 122 inches of snow on the ground set a record for the greatest snowfall of any January.
The forecast calls for clearing skies late Friday. Another storm on Saturday could persist through the weekend, dropping several more inches of new snow by Monday, Alder said.
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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Hotline offers winter-survival tips
Concerned about winter preparedness? Contact the state's emergency hotline.
Call 1-800-753-2858 for tips about winter dressing or precautions should you get stuck in the snow.
In the past, the state used the hotline to provide updates about Japan's Kobe earthquake and for general earthquake tips. The toll-free line is operated by the Division of Comprehensive Emergency Management and is available 24 hours a day.
For local details, contact your area emergency management office, found in the government section of the telephone directory or the Community Pages of the Yellow Pages.