80 mph Winds, Heavy Snow Out West

At first glance, this weekend's weather appears to be pretty boring. But if you're watching some of the reports from out west, things are not so benign.

Winds, gusting over 80 mph, occurred in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Oregon and California on Saturday. At times this high wind was accompanied by thunderstorms and heavy snow.

Here's a list of gusts over 70 mph, compiled from National Weather Service reports and Mesonet stations:

HAT ISLAND, UT: 83 mph
I-80 WEST DESERT, UT: 81 mph
SNOWBASIN MT OGDEN, UT: 80 mph
INDEPENDENCE, CA: 80 mph*
SUNDANCE ARROWHEAD, UT: 79 mph
LAKESIDE MOUNTAIN, UT: 78 mph
SAWTOOTH, ID: 76 mph
VERNON HILL, UT: 74 mph
MOREY CREEK, NV 73 mph
RUBY VALLEY, NV: 72 mph
AMERICAN FORK, UT: 72 mph
HARNEY, OR: 72 mph
ROSEBUD, UT: 71 mph
CRANE SPRINGS, NV: 71 mph

*The 80 mph gust in Inyo County, California caused a tractor-trailer to overturn, according to the NWS.

The heavy snow that fell at many locations was hard to estimate... the National Weather Service in Salt Lake City commented:

SNOWFALL ESTIMATED USING SNOW WATER EQUIVALENT... CHANGE IN DEPTH AND NEARBY SNOW TO WATER RATIOS. NOTE SNOW RATIOS VARIED DUE TO INTENSE SNOW SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS IN SOME AREAS...

Here's a list of snowfall amounts at one foot or higher from NWS reports:

NORTHSTAR SKI AREA CA: 25.0"
KIRKWOOD SKI AREA CA: 23.0"
SIERRA-AT-TAHOE SKI AREA, CA: 24.0"
SODA SPRINGS, NV: 18.0"
SQUAW VALLEY, CA: 18.0"
MOUNT ROSE, NV: 18.0"
FARMINGTON PEAK, UT: 15.0"
HEAVENLY VALLEY, NV: 14.0"
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, CA: 13.0"
SOLITUDE POWDERHORN, UT: 13.0"
SNOWBASIN BASE, UT: 12.0"
PARRISH CREEK, UT: 12.0"