Utah almost broke another heat record in July — it was also wetter than average

SALT LAKE CITY — Last month was the warmest July in the contiguous U.S. since at least 1895, but not in Utah — just barely.

The Beehive State ended July with an average temperature of 76.7 degrees, which was its second-warmest July overall over the past 132 years and a half-degree shy of its July record set in 2003, according to National Centers for Environmental Information data released on Monday.

Utah’s near-record average was anchored by extreme heat events during the first half of the month.

Salt Lake City notably broke its record for the hottest day ever recorded since 1874, as the thermometer reached 109 degrees on July 12. That said, Salt Lake City’s average temperature last month ended up at 85.5 degrees, its third-highest on record, trailing only behind 2021 and 2022.

A few other cities also hit record highs, but Utah’s capital city also matched its all-time highest minimum temperature in July, when the official temperature only fell to a low of 82 degrees on July 27. Statewide, Utah averaged its third-highest maximum temperature and second-highest minimum temperature since 1895.

It has continued a trend tied to rising temperatures across the state in recent decades. It’s generally influenced by development and a changing climate, but this year’s record-low snowpack, which melted early, likely contributed to this summer’s heat, said Jon Meyer, assistant state climatologist at the Utah Climate Center at Utah State University.

“(W)hat has changed over the few recent decades … is the extent of the season where we have the opportunities to have those 100s present or 95s,” he told KSL in July.

Last month may not have broken a record like the U.S. did because the second half of the month brought in monsoonal moisture, helping lower temperatures in some areas.

The state received, on average, 1.31 inches of precipitation, making it the 31st-wettest July over the past 132 years. It’s a key reason why average valley and mountain soil moisture ended the month above normal across the state.

But experts also cautioned that some areas received much more rain than others, which skewed the statewide averages. For instance, Piute County had its ninth-wettest July on record, and a few counties experienced Top 20 all-time July precipitation totals, while some counties — mainly across Utah’s northern half — had below-normal precipitation totals.

Uintah County had the worst collection compared to normal. Its 1 inch of rain countywide was 75% of its July normal.

“The statewide picture glosses over important geographic variability,” Jordan Clayton, a hydrologist for the Natural Resources Conservation Service, wrote in a report last week, noting that the driest soil moisture levels were along the Uinta Basin and southwestern corner of the state.

What’s expected for the rest of this summer?

Utah already shattered every temperature record tied to meteorological winter, while it also experienced its second-warmest spring on record. The state is now on pace for its third-warmest summer on record, following July.

Hot and dry conditions returned to start August, the final month of the meteorological season, but it’s unclear if Utah will continue its record-breaking run of heat that still has it on track to break the calendar year record set just last year.

A monsoonal pattern returned to the state this week, bringing back much-needed moisture. Isolated showers and thunderstorms are expected to continue across the state before a slowdown this weekend.

Weather models suggest that the activity could return by early next week, though. Odds lean in favor of above-normal moisture and above-normal temperatures lingering in Utah for the rest of the month, according to the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center‘s latest long-range outlooks.

Should that be the case, it could help moderate temperatures and reduce the state’s drought. Over 93% of the state remains in at least severe drought, including over one-third in extreme drought.