SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — Happy Thursday or Friday eve, Utah! After a VERY warm start to the workweek with record-breaking temperatures on Tuesday, it will feel like we’re going back in time today as a cold front moves across the state.

We have seen showers in northern Utah through the morning, but as we move through the afternoon the best chance for wet weather will migrate into eastern and south-central Utah where we also could see a few thunderstorms. Southwestern Utah looks to stay mostly dry, but a few showers will be possible in Iron and Beaver Counties.

Daytime highs will be SIGNFICANTLY below what we saw yesterday in northern Utah with mainly 30s and 40s. Since it will take a little longer for the front to reach southern Utah, we’ll see 50s and 60s ahead of the front. Outside of any wet weather today we’ll see partly to mostly cloudy skies and it will be windy.

The cooler air will have some benefits. For now, it will help slow the enhanced runoff we’ve seen over the last couple of days. Also, the colder air will help stabilize the snow a little bit so the avalanche risk won’t be as high, but the risk will remain elevated in the backcountry areas for all northern area mountains. We are closely monitoring avalanche danger and flood conditions and will continue to do so and keep you posted. 

Into tonight the wet weather will gradually exit to the east leading to some clearing as the colder air settles in. Most will see lows fall into the 20s and 30s while St. George drops into the 40s. For our Friday, we’ll see partly cloudy skies across the state with temperatures similar to today in southern Utah while temperatures rise slightly in northern Utah, resulting in 40s and 50s. Trailing energy behind today’s system though could result in a slight chance for spotty showers in northern Utah, but the chance will be low with wet weather generally favoring the high terrain. 

It will be cold again Friday night, however, as high pressure sets up shop over the weekend we’ll go back to sunny skies across the state as temperatures warm up. On Saturday we’ll be close to our seasonal averages and by Sunday highs will be close to 70 along the Wasatch Front as lower Washington County returns to the 80s. Monday will be a bit warmer with more sunshine, but another cool down could be in store by Tuesday and Wednesday of next week with more wet weather potential. Stay tuned!