SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Happy Tuesday Utah! After a couple of warm spring days, we come back down on the roller coaster that is Spring in Utah today.
The bottom line? After a few warm days a storm today will bring cooler temperatures and strong winds statewide with wet weather potential in northern Utah.
A storm system will bring cooler temperatures and windy conditions statewide while in the northern half of the state, there will be a good chance for showers. Daytime highs today will come down roughly 15-20 degrees in northern Utah with mainly 40s and 50s while highs in southern Utah will ease down by about 5-10 degrees compared to yesterday with mainly 50s and 60s. Down south skies will be partly cloudy while in northern Utah outside of any wet weather, skies will be partly sunny to mostly cloudy.
In northern Utah, most of what we’ll see today will be valley rain and mountain snow. In the Wasatch Mountains, there is a Winter Weather Advisory that will run from 4 a.m. through 7 p.m. and during that time we could see 6-12 inches of accumulations. If you plan on traveling in canyons or mountain routes, be prepared for winter driving conditions.
Down to our valley floors we’re not expecting many wintry impacts, but in some of our typically colder valleys and benches, we could see some snow stick to elevated or grassy surfaces. While wet weather will be most likely in northern Utah, a few showers can’t be ruled out near the I-70 corridor.
It will be windy across the state today, but the strongest winds are expected in the eastern half of the state ahead of the cold front. A wind advisory will go into effect in the morning and will run through the evening for the Uinta Basin, Castle Country, the San Rafael Swell, Grand and southern Uintah County, the western Canyonlands, and the Glen Canyon/Lake Powell Area. Within these advisories, winds are expected to be sustained out of the southwest between 25-35 mph with gusts as high as 55 mph. Dangerous crosswinds will be possible on east-west routes and blowing dust will be possible, which could lead to dangerous driving conditions.
The cooler temperatures should ease some of the increased runoff from the last couple of days, but the concern will remain as snow continues to melt, and in northern Utah with wet weather, that could add to the water moving downstream. The Flood Advisory for Emigration Creek continues through late Wednesday morning with two spikes expected in the flow for potential flooding with the first peak between Monday night and early Tuesday, then the second from late Tuesday through early Wednesday. The flood advisory warns of minor flood damage that will impact homes and structures along the stream, including areas of the Hogle Zoo. With the Emigration Creek running through Salt Lake County, residents in the area are advised to take extra precautions and stay alert.
From this evening into the first half of Wednesday our weather will calm as high pressure tries to briefly build in. Temperatures will be cool with highs mainly in the 30s and 40s up north as some along the Wasatch Front get to 50 while southern Utah will see a spread mainly from the 40s to 60s. Similar temperatures are expected for Thursday.
By the second half of Wednesday into Thursday, the wet weather potential in northern Utah may pick up a bit again as some trailing energy moves through. Showers will continue to mainly be valley rain and mountain snow, but with lows expected to fall into the low and mid-30s the next couple of nights along the Wasatch Front, we could see some straight snow between late Wednesday and early Thursday. Even if we do see snow in our valleys, it’s not expected to be significant.
A few showers may linger early on Friday, but from Friday afternoon into the weekend a ridge of high pressure will set up leading to drier skies and moderating temperatures across the board. By Monday we’ll likely be back in the 70s in Salt Lake and 80s in St. George.
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