Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Salt Lake City, UT
Issued by NWS Salt Lake City, UT
068 FXUS65 KSLC 062152 AFDSLC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT Issued by National Weather Service Grand Junction CO 352 PM MDT Tue May 6 2025 .SYNOPSIS...A cool and unsettled pattern will persist into the middle of the week as a low pressure system slowly moves through the region. High pressure will bring a warming and drying trend for the latter portion of the week through the upcoming weekend. && .SHORT TERM (Through 12Z Thursday)...One piece of the Pacific low has moved into New Mexico this afternoon, with the second piece making its way into Arizona. Earlier shower activity over northern Utah has diminished, but showers predictably continue over southern Utah. The showers will tend to decrease in coverage overnight, but some could continue into the morning. Maxes have been just below seasonal normals over northern Utah and about 10F below with the showers in southern Utah. Saw some in the way of enhanced downslope winds last night, and the position of the low will make conditions move favorable tonight, with a good easterly gradient and cold advection. Have added the Cache Valley to the Wind Advisory, which already included the northern Wasatch Front, given the winds the area received this morning and the continued favorable conditions. That being said, HREF this afternoon has become less bullish on the speed of the winds, significantly lowering its chance of 40 plus mph gusts. However, ingredients remain favorable and guidance does not always have a good grasp on features of this scale so going headlines look good. The second wave with the Pacific system will move out of the area tomorrow, but showers will still linger, again particularly over southern Utah. Temperatures will begin their upward trend, with northern Utah seeing values up to 10F above seasonal normals as southern Utah moves back to normal for this time of year. .LONG TERM (After 12z Thursday)...All guidance is in consensus regarding a broad ridge building across the western CONUS. This ridge will result in soaring temperatures 15-20 degrees above normal this weekend along with dry conditions and mostly clear skies. This ridge is relatively short-lived as a trough moves into the west early next week. There is some uncertainty regarding the timing of this trough with ~58% of guidance bringing the trough close enough to initiate precipitation by late Monday and the remaining guidance holding off until Tuesday. Regardless, southerly winds will increase ahead of the trough with very dry conditions, particularly across the south and western part of the area. && .AVIATION...KSLC...VFR conditions will persist for the KSLC terminal through the period. Dry conditions will persist with CIGs gradually rising above ridgetops. Northerly winds will continue through ~05Z before some easterly canyon winds try to develop and reach the terminal. Typically these weaker events struggle to reach the terminal with more of a light and variable wind setup oscillating between easterly and westerly winds. This will persist throughout the night. REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...The northern half of the airspace will continue drying with CIGs gradually improving. The southern half will continue to see showers and intermittent MVFR/IFR through sunset before conditions start to dry out. Easterly canyon winds develop this evening for the northern Wasatch Front with gusty easterly winds overnight. && .FIRE WEATHER...Low pressure moving across the Desert Southwest will continue to bring unsettled conditions, especially for southern Utah, into Wednesday before exiting. Due to the low, temperatures will stay on the cool side over southern Utah as they return to near seasonal normals over northern Utah. Behind the exiting trough, high pressure will move in for the latter half of the week bringing dry and increasingly hot conditions. && .SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UT...Wind Advisory until 4 AM MDT Wednesday for UTZ104-107. WY...None. && $$ SHORT TERM/FIRE WEATHER...Traphagan LONG TERM/AVIATION...Mahan For more information from NOAA`s National Weather Service visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity