SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Happy Thursday, Utah! We have made it to Friday eve! It will be another day of toasty temperatures in the North, but monsoon moisture is surging further north and brings the potential for isolated storms along the Wasatch Front with scattered showers and thunderstorms in Central and Southern Utah. 

The bottom line? Monsoon moisture is on the move bringing an increase in storm potential statewide.

While severe storms are unlikely, some strong storms capable of heavy rain and gusty winds will be possible. With an abundance of moisture present, our risk of flash flooding hits the “probable” category and will exist across all southern Utah recreational areas and across the Mighty 5 as well. On days where flash flooding is probable like today, it’s best to avoid backcountry hikes; especially ones that involve slot canyons, dry washes, and burn scars. We saw several advisories and warnings yesterday, and we could see that again today.

Outside of any wet weather, skies in southern Utah today will be partly to mostly cloudy while northern Utah will check in with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies. Daytime highs will range in the 80s and 90s for most across the state. While that’s seasonal for southern Utah, highs in northern Utah will be roughly 5 degrees above average.

Along the Wasatch Front, we’ll see highs mainly in the mid-90s as Salt Lake hits 98°, with St. George hovering right around the century mark. A cooldown will follow thanks to increased cloud cover and moisture. By Friday temperatures will begin to ease down with that trend expected to continue into the weekend. By Sunday we could see highs fall to the mid-80s for both Salt Lake and St. George which would be more than 10 degrees below average in St. George! 

The big atmospheric picture shows the same overall setup of high pressure to the east of us and a low-pressure system to the southwest that doesn’t move much along the coast of California, allowing for moisture to move continually northward thanks to an increased southerly flow. This low-pressure system will eventually move to the east later in the week due to two other systems: a low-pressure area developing over British Columbia and Tropical Storm Hilary moving north along the Baja California region.

Depending on the eventual track of Tropical Storm Hilary,  we could see tropical remnants of Hilary enhance our surge of monsoon moisture. While it’s a few days away, we are monitoring the potential closely as models refine the forecast.  At this point, active skies with thunderstorms remain in the forecast for the state through the weekend and into early next week with a good chance of widespread showers and thunderstorms across the Beehive State. 

Stay on top of the latest weather changes with Utah’s 4Warn Forecast both on-air and online! We are Good4Utah!