Salt Lake hit a record high on Friday, but winter is on the way back
Jan 3, 2025, 7:26 PM | Updated: 9:53 pm
Celia Horowitz and friend Caroline Cooper take a walk at Liberty Park as warmer weather moves into the Wasatch Front on Friday, January. 3, 2025. Salt Lake City hit a record high temperature on Friday. (Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
(Scott G Winterton, Deseret News)
SALT LAKE CITY — It hasn’t been this warm in Salt Lake City since 1918.
The National Weather Service reported that the official high at Salt Lake City International Airport on Friday was a record 52 degrees.
Related: Mountain snow crucial to keep Utah out of drought, NWS says
The warm day wasn’t unexpected. Early Friday morning, the NWS said temperatures in Utah and portions of Wyoming would feel more like early spring than winter.
With record challenging temperatures in the forecast for Utah and southwest Wyoming today, it’s going to feel a lot more like mid to late March than early January. Thankfully, another winter storm is on the way for Saturday morning into Sunday. #utwx #wywx pic.twitter.com/cV8MZ2Exv0
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) January 3, 2025
But the record high likely won’t remain. Meteorologists expect a storm system to hit northern Utah early Saturday morning.
A Pacific Northwest storm system will move across the area early Saturday into Sunday, bringing much colder temperatures and significant snow accumulations for the mountains of northern Utah. Travel will be especially difficult Saturday morning with a cold front. #utwx pic.twitter.com/01sDfNDuzO
— NWS Salt Lake City (@NWSSaltLakeCity) January 3, 2025
KSL Meteorologist Matt Johnson said northern Utah mountains could see from five to ten inches of snow, with 12 inches of snow possible in Salt Lake County’s Cottonwood Canyons.
Saturday morning’s cold front has trended in the right direction. This is the best signal for valley snowfall that we’ve seen from forecast models all season long. #utwx
Valleys: 1-2″+
Benches: 2-4″
Wasatch Back: 2-6″
Mtns: 5-10″
Cottonwoods: 6-12″+
Central Mtns: 4-8″ pic.twitter.com/nLZHtPpkP1— Matthew Johnson (@KSL_Matt) January 3, 2025
Though it hasn’t felt much like winter, officials said a series of storms around Christmas significantly boosted the snowpack. Citing information from the Natural Resources Conservation Service, KSL.com reported that the amount of water held in the snowpack on New Year’s Eve had risen to 95% of the median average.
