textproduct: Salt Lake City

UPDATE

Updated key messages and aviation and fire weather discussions based on current trends and updated guidance. Previous discussion follows.

KEY MESSAGES

- Dry and mild westerly flow will prevail across the region Thursday through Friday.

- Locally critical fire weather conditions may return to portions of southern Utah Saturday afternoon and evening.

- A cold, early spring-like system will bring temperatures around 10 to 20 degrees below normal Sunday into Monday as well as accumulating northern mountain snow.

- Freeze conditions will impact most Utah valleys outside the Wasatch Front Monday and Tuesday mornings. Some areas may see another hard freeze including the Cache Valley, Wasatch Back, west central and southwest Utah and the Sanpete Valley.

DISCUSSION

Issued at 945 PM Wednesday May 13, 2026

A strong cold front is currently sweeping through northern Utah, and will progress through the central and southern Wasatch Front through 10 PM. Occasional gusts approaching 60 mph have been noted in the wake of this front across the Salt Flats, and these winds will likely persist in the lee of the Raft Rivers into the overnight hours owing to strong low level cold advection and strong pressure rises. As this front pushes into Utah County, anticipate downslope-prone areas in the northern portion of the county to see enhanced winds as well, and have issued a Wind Advisory for this area into the overnight hours as well. Additionally, webcams, satellite and surface obs all show considerable dust following the frontal boundary, which is reducing visibility to less than 3SM at times. With cooler air spreading into the region, daytime temperatures Thursday will trend as much as 15 degrees cooler across northern Utah, and 5-10 degrees cooler across central and southern Utah. Despite this, these temperatures will remain well above normal for mid May. Behind this system, zonal flow will develop across the area, with largely dry, quiescent conditions expected Thursday and Friday. Another storm system is likely to move through this weekend, likely late Saturday into Sunday, which will bring cooler and wetter conditions once again. While there is still plenty of uncertainty regarding this system, models are generally in favor of a pretty stout cold front, with chances for showers and thunderstorms potentially both Saturday and Sunday, as well as freezing temperatures for some valleys by Monday morning.

REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING

Generally VFR conditions will prevail with skies becoming mostly clear to clear through the night. At southern terminals the front will start washing out as it progresses, bringing a less sharp wind shift and much more modest gusts, if any. Clearing conditions can be expected across all terminals for Thursday.

FIRE WEATHER

A dry cold front will continue to cross Utah through the early morning hours. Behind this cold front, a cooler, more stable airmass will build into the northern half of Utah, with less cooling south of I-70. A gradual warming trend will bring temperatures back to near to around 5 degrees above normal across the region Friday into Saturday. Another cold front will cross the region later Saturday into Sunday. Ahead of this cold front, breezy southerly winds may combine with minimum humidities at or below 15% to bring locally critical fire weather conditions to portions of southern Utah where fuels are approaching critical levels.

A cool season system will cross much of the region Sunday into Monday, bringing temperatures around 10 to 20 degrees below normal, as well as snow levels as low as 5000 feet by Monday morning. There is an increasing likelihood of up to 6 inches of snow across the northern mountains, with significantly less for the central and southern mountains. This cool pattern won't last long, however, as a trend toward near to above normal temperatures and drier conditions is expected Tuesday through Thursday.

SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

UT...None.

WY...None.