Pleasant weather to start the weekend, thunderstorms to close it out

SALT LAKE CITY ( ABC4 ) — Happy Saturday, Utah! We’re kicking off the weekend with warm temperatures and pleasant weather.

Daytime highs will run about 5-10° above average with low 90s for most valleys, mid 90s for the usual warm spots, and St. George will barely break into triple-digits. Clear to mostly clear skies are in the forecast across the state for today with the thickest plumes of smoke behind us. We can’t rule out a few light showers in southwest Utah’s high terrain this afternoon.

A strong high pressure ridge is to thank for the above-average temperatures and quiet conditions, but as it tracks east on Sunday, that weather pattern will change. Winds will shift to a predominately southwesterly flow for us here on the west side of the ridge, which will drag Pacific moisture in from the California coast.

This Sunday, isolated thunderstorms will first make an appearance in southern Utah, particularly in the southwest. A few storms could bubble up over some of the mountains in central and northern Utah as well and only a slight chance for northern valleys. On Monday, the precipitation potential shifts further north bringing isolated thunderstorms for a large portion of the state, including the Wasatch Front. By Tuesday, the moisture will clear out of the south, but lingering moisture could continue to spell a few showers and thunderstorms for northern and eastern Utah, mostly in the high country.

By Tuesday afternoon, a dry airmass will start creeping back in from the south. Temperatures will stay in the upper 80s to low 90s through Tuesday, but a system from the north is on a trajectory to swoop in with significantly cooler temperatures and possibly more wet weather on the back half of the workweek.

We’ll give you the latest updates in our 4Warn Weather forecast both on-air and online, we are Good4Utah!

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