Weary of wet, chilly weather?
If so, repeat three times:Saturday is the first day of summer.
Saturday is the first day of summer.
Saturday is the first day of summer.
Weather incantations may offer some comfort to Utahns dealing with an unusually wet and cold mid-June.
Almost a foot of snow fell east of Vernal early Wednesday. Snow plows were enlisted in Parleys Canyon. Wind gusts reaching 70 mph Tuesday uprooted about 30 trees and toppled several storage sheds in Santa Clara, and Snowbird recorded about 13 inches of new snow.
"This was quite a substantial storm that hit heaviest from Utah County to the Uintas," said National Weather Service meteorologist Larry Dunn.
The storm moved in Tuesday evening, prompting weather officials to issue a snow advisory for the Uintas and portions of the Wasatch Mountains. Valley precipitation totals ranged from a half-inch to 1.5 inches of rain in Wasatch Front communities.
State troopers closed a stretch of southbound I-15 from 1000 North to 5300 South about 5 a.m. Wednesday when water began puddling, said Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Verdi White.
Although the freeway opened two hours later, wet weather reportedly caused 15 car accidents on I-15, "mostly when cars hydroplaned," White said.
Meanwhile, a cold front moving south and the warm jet stream traveling east met over Washington County about 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, creating a squall of thun-der-storms.
High winds closed the St. George Airport and toppled aging trees with shallow root systems throughout the county.
In two hours, the temperature in Hurricane dropped from 91 degrees to just 48, said NWS forecaster Larry Nierenberg.
The forecast is bright.
Valley rain and mountain snow were expected to continue in northern Utah Wednesday morning before decreasing in the afternoon. Thursday will look a little more like June, with temperatures reaching into the lower 80s. Cool and wet conditions could return Friday before warming for the weekend.
Utah's Dixie is also expected to be warm and dry through Father's Day.