SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) – Happy Monday, Utah! Our fantastic weather from over the weekend carries over into the new work week.

Bottom Line?! Warm and breezy weather the first half of the week and big drop in temperatures Thursday.

High pressure in place over the region will continue keeping mostly sunny skies around and warmer than normal temperatures. Daytime highs will climb into the low 70s along the Wasatch Front, into the mid to upper 80s for St. George.  This rapid warm-up has temperatures trending 10-15 degrees above normal for this time of year. 

With the abundant mountain snow, the warmup will increase runoff into our rivers and streams, and they’ll be moving very fast and running extremely cold. Don’t let your pets or children play near them as temperatures will remain above normal and increased runoff is expected.  

Avalanche danger will likely remain elevated this week as the warm temperatures are triggering wet avalanches. Don’t be surprised if backcountry avalanche warnings from the weekend continue early in the week. Avalanche danger will remain along all aspects of the mountain and at nearly all elevations. If you do head out for some backcountry recreation, be sure to stay off of and away from slopes greater than 30 degrees. 

High pressure will shift east into midweek with southwest flow increasing on Tuesday.  This will continue the warming trend with daytime highs approaching 90 degrees in St. George, mid-70s for the Wasatch Front.  This will put temperatures within 5 degrees of the record high for both Salt Lake City and St. George.

Enjoy the mild temperatures while they’re here, a strong cold front will sweep through early Thursday and drop temperatures 15-25 degrees from Tuesdays highs.  We’ll see a chance of valley rain showers and mountain snow off on Thursday and Friday along with breezy winds. 

Active weather should clear just in time for the weekend. Right now, mostly sunny skies are expected statewide on Saturday and Sunday with daytime highs near average Saturday, climbing 5-8 degrees above normal by Sunday. 

For all the latest on the weather, be sure to keep it on Utah’s Most Accurate Forecast! ABC4, we are Good4Utah!