Record-breaking warmth, windy conditions forecast this week
Feb 3, 2025, 10:05 AM
People walk at Sugar House Park in Salt Lake City on Jan. 3. Salt Lake City is one of a few cities that broke a high-temperature record on Sunday, but more record-warm temperatures are forecast across Utah to start this week. (Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)
(Scott G. Winterton/Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow on Sunday, projecting six more weeks of winter.
However, it won’t feel like that in Utah this week.
High temperatures are forecast to remain in the upper 50s to mid-60s across the Wasatch Front, and in the 70s across southern Utah on Monday and Tuesday.
This comes after Salt Lake City already broke a daily temperature record on Sunday. Its high of 61 degrees broke a previous record set in 2018. Duchesne, Provo and Tooele all broke maximum high temperatures, while Cedar City, Scipio and Woodruff all either matched or broke high minimum temperatures on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
Utah’s capital city is projected to snap daily records set in 1953 and 1925, respectively, with the current forecast. Other daily records will likely fall elsewhere as temperatures stay 20 degrees above normal.
Why is it so warm?
The unseasonable warmth is tied to a few patterns that delivered rain and snow across Utah’s northern half over the weekend.
Places like Snowbasin Resort received as much as 21 inches, while many northern Utah communities received 0.33 inches to 1 inch of rain over the weekend, but a high-pressure system near the four corners has now pushed the atmospheric river north of the state. The shift has also allowed for southwest flow to push warmer air into Utah, while also allowing for windy conditions, especially across western Utah, KSL meteorologist Matt Johnson explains.
“That’s going to allow for more mild, cloudy skies,” he said. “Breezy winds out of the south (are) keeping temperatures into the 60s.”
The National Weather Service issued a wind advisory for parts of central and southwest Utah, where wind gusts of up to 55 mph are forecast across communities like Beaver, Cedar City, Delta and Milford through at least Tuesday evening.
When will precipitation return?
Winter storm warnings and advisories remain in place across Idaho, Montana and Wyoming to start the workweek, but were lifted across northern Utah early because the high-pressure system shifted everything northward. With more moisture coming off the Pacific, similar alerts are also in place across California, Oregon and Washington on Monday.
Utah may receive some scattered showers on Tuesday, but Johnson said more widespread precipitation isn’t likely until Wednesday morning, but it will be relatively small compared to the massive system off the Pacific Coast. High temperatures will remain in the 50s across most of the Wasatch Front despite the rain.
He adds that more “substantial” atmospheric river moisture is on track to arrive by the end of the workweek, potentially impacting more than just Utah’s northern half.
Full seven-day forecasts for areas across Utah can be found online, at the KSL Weather Center.
