Fall on hold: More summer heat will precede the next storm in Utah
Sep 19, 2022, 12:30 PM
Witnesses report a man in his 20s was driving a motorcycle very fast up the canyon. Following this, he lost control of the vehicle and crashed (Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
(Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — The highs that are predicted to be in the upper 80’s the week aren’t unusual.
Typically, the last 80-degree day of the year falls around October 4 according to KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson. He said that the reason northern Utah is seeing temperatures in the low 90’s so close to the first day of fall is simple — it’s the warm before the storm.
“Preceding the storm you get that southerly flow before the cold front … and that’ll bring up warm, dry desert air from Arizona, California and Nevada,” Johnson said.
The next storm is set to hit Utah on Wednesday before tapering off Thursday. Johnson isn’t expecting rain totals to exceed those from last week.
“[The storm] is not a direct hit, it’s going to move through the western side of the state,” Johnson said. The storm is also weakening as it spends more time hovering over California before moving up toward Utah, according to Johnson.
The storm could bring anywhere from one-tenth to one-third of an inch of rain to the Wasatch Front.
When can Utahns break out the hoodies and sit around the bonfire a little more often? Johnson said those days will likely hit in mid- to late-October.
Next: when it does get colder Utah’s winter inversions will likely return.
