


Area Forecast Discussion
Issued by NWS Salt Lake City, UT
Issued by NWS Salt Lake City, UT
607 FXUS65 KSLC 020936 AFDSLC Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Salt Lake City UT 336 AM MDT Tue Sep 2 2025 .SYNOPSIS...Warm and dry conditions will remain in place across Utah and southwest Wyoming today. Moisture gradually increases Wednesday onward, bringing increasing chances for showers and thunderstorms, especially by the weekend. && .SHORT TERM (through 12Z/6AM Thursday)...A ridge remains centered across the Intermountain Region today, which will result in continued above- normal heat and dry conditions areawide. Despite the dry airmass in place, efficient daytime heating will allow for some cumulus buildups along the higher terrain, and perhaps an isolated high- based shower or thunderstorm capable of producing gusty outflow winds this afternoon. Monsoonal moisture draws up from the tropics late today into Wednesday, though greatest moisture transport will initially favor the western Great Basin. Most of Utah and southwest Wyoming is expected to remain dry on Wednesday as a result, the exception being southwest Utah where enough moisture creeps in to push PWAT anomalies around 150% of average. This will allow for scattered shower and thunderstorm development across southwest Utah Wednesday afternoon and evening. Dry lower levels, especially on the fringes of this moisture transport, will result in mainly a dry microburst threat. However, can`t rule out a stronger cell that develops over a sensitive area producing localized flash flooding. .LONG TERM (after 12Z/6AM Thursday)...As the axis of an upper level ridge begins to shift eastward through the latter half of the week an influx of moisture is expected to spread across Utah and southwest Wyoming. Key messages: - Increasing moisture from Thursday through Friday/ Saturday will bring increasing chances for showers and thunderstorms across the area. - Storms developing late in the week will likely be slow moving, bringing higher likelihoods of producing heavy rainfall and flash flooding in slot canyons, slickrock areas, normally dry washes, and recent burn scars. - Seasonal temperatures will drop back to below normal levels as afternoon convection, increased cloud cover, and overall cooler overhead temperatures spread over the region late in the week/ over the weekend. By Thursday, surface high pressure will continue to weaken across Utah and southwest Wyoming as the center of the ridge drifts eastward. Coincident with the movement of the ridge, overhead temperature anomalies will also shift eastward which will initiate a gradual cooling trend through the remainder of the week. Lower level moisture will continue to be suppressed to southern/ southwest Utah on Thursday afternoon as a deeper, moist southerly flow will be lacking, however, layer PWAT values will still be running 150-175% of normal across southern Utah. That said, any storms developing during the afternoon hours across southern Utah will have a relatively slow storm motion (10kts or less), increasing the overall risk of heavy rainfall and flash flooding. A more established southerly flow is expected to develop overnight into Friday, helping to advect greater moisture into Utah and southwest Wyoming. Storm motions on Friday will remain relatively slow and we`ll begin to see an expanding threat of heavy rainfall/ flash flooding into central Utah. Moisture is currently expected to peak during the overnight hours into Saturday morning. This peak moisture is anticipated to pair with a shortwave trough being ejected from an upstream longwave trough off the U.S. West Coast. At the very least, chances for showers and thunderstorms will be maintained through the overnight hours into Saturday, with Saturday seeing the best chances for scattered to widespread showers and thunderstorms. Conditions gradually dry out from Sunday forward as dry southwesterly flow persists across the region. && .AVIATION...VFR conditions under largely clear skies are expected to prevail over the KSLC terminal through the valid TAF period. Light diurnally driven flows will dominate the wind patterns today, with southerly flow transitioning to a northerly flow around noon. .REST OF UTAH AND SOUTHWEST WYOMING...VFR conditions expected through the period across all of Utah and southwest Wyoming. Cumulus development is expected over the high terrain across Utah during the afternoon hours, with high level cloud cover spreading from south to north through the morning and afternoon hours. Winds will maintain generally light and terrain driven trends through the period. && .FIRE WEATHER...High pressure remains in place today, resulting in continued hot and dry conditions across the region. Monsoonal moisture is expected to gradually increase from the south starting overnight tonight, resulting in slight improvement of overnight humidity recoveries across southwestern Utah into Wendesday morning. This increased moisture across southwest Utah on Wednesday will also result in increased chances for afternoon high-based showers and thunderstorms, with potential to produce gusty and erratic outflow winds. Moisture will continue to deepen and spread northward Thursday through this weekend, allowing storms to trend wetter and coverage to become more widespread through the latter half of the week. Temperatures are also expected to gradually cool in response to this push of monsoonal moisture, with highs running a few degrees below normal by the weekend. && .SLC WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... UT...None. WY...None. && $$ Whitlam/Webber For more information from NOAA`s National Weather Service visit... http://weather.gov/saltlakecity