textproduct: Salt Lake City

KEY MESSAGES, Issued 953 PM MDT Fri Jun 19 2026

- Gusty west to southwest winds with gusts in excess of 30 mph will combine with very low relative humidity values to bring critical fire weather conditions to areas of central and southern Utah east of I-15 on Saturday.

- Widely scattered showers and thunderstorms, mostly dry, will develop over northern Utah during the day Saturday, with the best chances near the Idaho border. Strong outflow winds in excess of 50 mph can be expected with these storms, along with dry lightning.

- High pressure will rebuild for early next week, keeping conditions very dry with a steady warming trend in temperatures. The potential for heat related illness could increase for some valleys by the middle of the upcoming week.

DISCUSSION, Issued 953 PM MDT Fri Jun 19 2026

The persistent Pacific ridge moved east of the area into Colorado today as a disorganized trough made its way into the Great Basin. The center of that system is now near far northwest Utah with the associated boundary near a KTMT-KEVW line. Widely scattered showers continue over northern Utah and southwest Wyoming this evening, with these storms producing little if any rainfall. Gusty winds will be the primary threat with these storms, which will tend to diminish overnight as the center of the trough lifts northwest into Idaho.

There is relatively high confidence that the approach of a trailing wave from the storm system Saturday afternoon will combine with daytime heating to produce another round of showers with at least a few thunderstorms focused near the Utah/Idaho border. Given the continued dry nature of the airmass at lower levels, there is concern that coverage of dry lightning will be enough to produce critical fire weather conditions. South of the cold front, breezy west to southwest winds will continue to persist through Saturday afternoon, combining with the dry airmass to produce areas of critical fire weather conditions.

The trough and its associated cold front will also bring a noticeable cooldown, particularly for northern Utah where maxes Saturday will be up to 10F less warm than today's values. In a lingering unsettled airmass, Sunday's temperatures will not be much different than Saturday. However, the Pacific ridge is expected to rebuild over the Great Basin to start the work week, bringing a steady warming trend in temperatures. By midweek, there is potential for temperatures to get hot enough to increase the risk of heat related illnesses for some valleys, including the Wasatch Front.

AVIATION, Issued 953 PM MDT Fri Jun 19 2026

KSLC, Issued 953 PM MDT Fri Jun 19 2026... Isolated showers may result in gusty outflow winds prior to around 07Z Sat, but otherwise expect S winds to prevail into the day along with VFR conds. Winds expected to shift NW around 17-19Z Sat, but isolated to scattered high-based thundershowers late afternoon into the evening could result in gusty outflow winds (likely from the west) to around 35 kts. VFR conds anticipated to still prevail, with a low (5% chance) that something atop the terminal could briefly bring MVFR VIS.

REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...At southern terminals, clear skies with modestly gusty daytime winds (up to around 25 kts) expected. For northern terminals, high based showers will bring potential for gusty erratic outflow winds through 09Z or so Sat, though VFR conds anticipated to persist. After a lull, expect isolated to scattered thundershower development mid afternoon into the evening, bringing renewed threat of gusty erratic outflow wind gusts up to around 35 kts. VFR conds still largely expected to persist, though there is a low (~5%) chance any stronger cell moving directly over a terminal could briefly reduce VIS to MVFR range.

FIRE WEATHER

Today, low pressure to our west looks to continue pushing inland keeping winds elevated across UT bringing critical fire weather conditions to southern and eastern UT. Additionally, organized dry thunderstorms look to develop this afternoon across northern UT. Frequent lightning with strong to severe wind gusts appear likely with any storm that forms. As such, a fire weather watch remains in effect for zone 478 this afternoon.

Generally benign conditions are expected on Sunday as high pressure builds in with cooler temperatures filling in temporarily in the wake of todays system. From Monday on, temperatures look to increase notably with a return to hot, dry, and windy conditions around midweek.

SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

UT...Fire Weather Watch from 2 PM MDT this afternoon through this evening for UTZ478.

Heat Advisory until 6 AM MDT early this morning for UTZ104-105.

Red Flag Warning from noon today to 10 PM MDT this evening for UTZ482-484-488-489-493-494-496-498.

WY...None.