SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Happy Friday, Utah! Another beautiful day is on deck! Dry conditions with mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies are expected as daytime highs climb close to our seasonal averages.
The bottom line? Calmer skies today as we warm and bring a chance of storms back in for Mother’s Day weekend.
Salt Lake City usually tops out at 71 degrees this time of year and St. George is typically hitting 83º. Temperatures today will top out in the 60s and 70s in the northern half of the state, with mountain valleys ranging in the 50s and 60s. St. George is expected to hit the low 80s again.
The difference today in comparison to yesterday is the slight chance of moisture. We have a small chance to see a few showers in the high country, but most stay dry under mostly sunny to partly cloudy skies.
A warming trend is underway, and temperatures will warm up even more into the Mother’s Day weekend as we move into a bit of an unsettled pattern. This is thanks to an increasingly likely Rex Block Pattern. This means that an upper-level high pressure will set up shop to our north allowing for a few systems to undercut it. For us, that could result in monsoon-like weather with above-average warmth and increased wet weather potential with the best chance coming to southern Utah.
By Mother’s Day into early next week, we could be looking at daytime highs near 80 along the Wasatch Front with highs in the low 90s in St. George. We also could see the chance of some gusty canyon winds along the Wasatch Front, so this is something we will monitor throughout the week. Easterly downslope winds are a possibility along the Wasatch Front Saturday into Sunday. If you plan on recreating with Mom, stay weather aware & know you face the chance of storms, especially in the afternoon and evening.
FLOOD ALERTS
Even with the more seasonal temperatures, our flood concerns continue with multiple flood watches and warnings. We currently have four river flood warnings in effect.
The warning for the Bear River in Rich County will remain in effect through next Monday. The flood warning for the Sevier River near Hatch remains in effect until further notice. For most of these rivers, minor flooding is forecast.
A Flood Advisory is also now in effect for Blacksmith Fork River near Hyrum affecting Cache County with the flow projected to stay above action stage. The Ogden River below Pineview is also now under a flood advisory, and the Bear River near Corrine is also under an advisory as farmland and roads see minor flooding near Corinne. We also have a flood watch for Little Bear River below the Hyrum Dam.
A flood watch means flooding is possible while a flood warning means that flooding is occurring now or is imminent. Even for waterways not in alerts, they will continue to run high, fast, cold, and extremely dangerous as our snowpack melts and as water is released from reservoirs. Be sure to keep a safe distance from raging waters.
Stay on top of all of Utah’s changing weather and flood concerns with Utah’s Most Accurate Forecast both on-air and online. We are Good4Utah!
