textproduct: Salt Lake City

KEY MESSAGES, Issued 950 PM MDT Wed Jun 17 2026

- Hot and dry conditions will continue into Friday before a weak and mostly dry trough brings temperatures within 5F of seasonal normals for the weekend.

- Another round of gusty winds up to 30-40 mph combined with very dry relative humidity values will bring the threat of critical fire weather conditions to western Utah on Friday, potentially into Saturday.

- High pressure will rebuild for early next week, keeping conditions dry with a steady warming trend in temperatures.

DISCUSSION

Largely cloud free skies exist today as high pressure remains in control of the region alongside very dry conditions. In addition to dry and clear conditions, today marks a relative lull in hazardous weather as winds have weakened enough to allow for a day without Red Flag Warnings across the area. That said, high temperatures are still running anywhere from 3 to 7 degrees above normal for this time of year.

As we move into Friday, the area of high pressure that's been in control of the region will begin to break down as a shortwave trough moves across the region Friday afternoon through Saturday. Increasing southerly flow will spread over Utah through Friday, allowing for the repositioning of heat that has built over the Mojave. As such, high temperatures will make a significant jump on Friday, especially across northern Utah where high's will increase by upwards of 10 degrees. With high temperatures pushing into the mid- to upper-90s on the Wasatch Front and low temperatures only expected to recover to the upper-60s to around 70 degrees, an increased risk of heat related illness will arise across the hottest portions of the Wasatch Front (i.e. Salt Lake, Davis, and Weber Counties). Breezy conditions will also accompany these hot and dry conditions during the late afternoon and evening hours on Friday, shifting from southwest Utah northward into the Wasatch Front during the overnight hours into Saturday morning. See the "Fire Weather" portion of the forecast discussion for more information on expected fire weather conditions.

Upper-level moisture accompanying the aforementioned shortwave trough on Saturday will bring a threat of high-based showers and thunderstorms across a portion of northern Utah. Given how dry the sub-cloud environment will remain, showers will enough strength will bring the potential for strong outflow winds. In general, areas north of about Salt Lake City/ the I-80 corridor will see the highest overall risk for these stronger outflow winds. On a positive note, this trough will help to bring cooler temperatures area-wide by Sunday, though high temperatures will still remain solidly above normal for this time of year.

High pressure will rebuild over the region on Monday and will persist through the week. As high pressure strengthens, daily high temperatures will also see a significant warming trend through at least Wednesday. Along the Wasatch Front, temperatures will climb into the upper-90s once again, with highs reaching into the mid-100s in lower Washington County. With multiple days in a row of well above-normal temperatures, we'll also likely see the risk of heat related illness increase across the region.

AVIATION

KSLC...VFR conditions prevail at the terminal through the period under a persistent high level cloud deck. Increasing mid-level cloud cover is expected Friday, with a 10-15% chance for mainly virga showers to impact the terminal with gusty outflow winds to 30-35 kts mainly between 02-04z Saturday. Winds remain generally light out of the northwest today before transitioning southeast after 04z. Enhanced southerly flow develops around 18z before switching northwesterly again after 21-22z.

REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...VFR conditions persist for all regional terminals. A persistent high-level cloud deck will remain across the airspace through Friday morning, with more mid-level clouds developing Friday afternoon across central and northern Utah. There are slight chances (10-20% chance) for high-based showers and thunderstorms to impact some central and northern Utah terminals between 22-06z, with main impacts being gusty and erratic outflow winds to 30-35 mph.

FIRE WEATHER

An area of high pressure remains in place today, bringing continued hot and dry conditions to Utah. A relative lull in critical fire weather conditions is expected today, though areas of elevated to isolated critical conditions are expected in portions of eastern Utah where breezy afternoon winds continue. Critical fire weather conditions are expected to pick up once again across west-central and southwest Utah on Friday afternoon as high pressure begins to weaken as a weak area of low pressure moves into the region, allowing for southwest winds to increase across the region. These critical fire weather conditions are expected to shift eastward on Saturday, and will become much more widespread than Friday. A slight increase in moisture across the northern area on Saturday will also bring a threat of high-based showers and dry thunderstorms. These storms are expected to bring an isolated threat of lightning and strong outflow winds.

The area of low pressure will weaken through Sunday which will allow for high pressure to reestablish through next week. As a result, high temperatures will climb significantly across the entirety of Utah from Monday through Wednesday. Breezy afternoon conditions are generally expected each day alongside this building heat, which will bring elevated to near-critical fire weather conditions in southern Utah at the very least.

SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

UT...Heat Advisory from noon Friday to 6 AM MDT Saturday for UTZ104- 105.

Red Flag Warning from 3 PM Friday to 3 AM MDT Saturday for UTZ492-495.

Fire Weather Watch from Saturday afternoon through Saturday evening for UTZ482-484-488-489-493-494-496-498.

Red Flag Warning from 3 PM Friday to midnight MDT Friday night for UTZ497.

WY...None.